At 8 Years Old, She Attended The Wizard of Oz Premiere. At 94, She Sees Wicked in Theaters with Her Granddaughter (Exclusive)

Eighty-five years ago, JoAnn Van Dam, then 8, attended the premiere of The Wizard of Oz in 1939.

Fast forward to 2024, and now at 94 years old, JoAnn recently experienced another Oz-related milestone when she went to see Wicked in theaters. Her granddaughter, Alison, detailed the nostalgic moment in a now-viral TikTok.

Reflecting on her first viewing of The Wizard of Oz, JoAnn shares memories of a bygone era, where movies were a rare treat. “Back then, fantasy was so new, and we didn’t know what to expect,” she exclusively tells PEOPLE. “Seeing a movie — especially one in color— was a huge deal. It just felt so real compared to everything we had seen before.”

For many at the time, the shift from the sepia-toned opening sequences to the vibrancy of the rest of them film was an unforgettable moment. “We had no idea that was coming,” she recalls. “The color made it feel so much more alive and magical.”

More than eight decades later, JoAnn’s viewing of Wicked with Alison and her mom, Lois Martin, brought those cherished memories full circle.

Alison recounts the joy of watching her grandmother take the moment in. “She was amazed at the big screen and the special effects — like the flying monkeys,” she exclusively tells PEOPLE. “It was so cute to see her completely immersed.”

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Alison, who filmed parts of JoAnn’s reactions and shared them on TikTok, didn’t initially anticipate a viral response. “I just thought it was such a cool, full-circle moment,” she shares. “Seeing people’s reactions — how much it reminded them of their own grandparents — was so touching.”

JoAnn, modest about the viral video, focuses instead on the memory they created together. “It was so much fun. And being with them — that’s the best part,” she says. Her daughter, Lois, looks back at the moment too, saying, “It’s humbling to see how much it means to others.”

“It’s just a joy to watch my children bond with my parents,” Lois adds. “Seeing the connections deepen between generations makes these experiences worth it.”

“It fills my heart to see you experience this with your grandmother,” wrote one TikTok user, while another recalled their grandmother singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to them as a child. “My grandma used to rock me to sleep for naps as a little kid and sing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow.’ She passed away in 2009. You’re so lucky to have this moment together,” they wrote.

With JoAnn’s 95th birthday on the horizon, the family is already planning their next adventure together: to see the second adaptation of Wicked when it premieres in 2025.