The classic “Wizard of Oz” inspired story “Wicked”, an original musical that takes on the perspective of the two witches before Dorothy finds her way to Oz, received its own film adaptation in November 2024. The flying monkeys and magical shoes that graced the big screen back in 1939 revolved around the idea of pure good and evil, this story explores the complexities of that thought process.
The musical had established a vast and passionate following as it has been one of Broadway’s biggest blockbusters since its first performance in 2003. This is why the conversation regarding this film began as soon as it was announced, and it has not stopped since.
Many people voiced their eager concerns online, mostly referring to their distaste for certain casted individuals. A lot of worry stemmed from Ariana Grande’s participation as Glinda/Galinda in the film. The die-hard musical fans stressed over if she was suitable for the role, doubting her acting experience and ability to embody Glinda’s character.
After watching the film, I could see that both Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Ariana Granda were able to completely lose themselves in their roles. Interviews of the two actresses have become memes a few times, but they have shown how attached they are to this project and how badly they want to do it justice.
It is not often we see actors want to perform their own stunts, let alone sing live while doing them. The dedication to becoming as close to the actual characters as possible paid off, and it made it possible to believe the fictional story was truly happening.
The musical has been incredibly popular for twenty years because of how easily you are able to connect with the songs. I have never been one to gravitate towards musicals but the timing, placement, and captivating melodies were powerful enough to get me to encourage my musical-hating family to give it a chance.
As an individual who was previously almost completely clueless to the plot of the musical, and had only heard the songs that had become a part of America’s Got Talent popular performance lineup, I never felt lost or bored during the almost three hour runtime.
While my friend was able to lip-sync through every song right next to me and I had to learn the lyrics for the first time, we were both able to walk out of the theater with the same beamingly positive review.
This response was all due to Erivo and Grande’s overwhelmingly strong chemistry, as well as their vocal delivery during the ten songs they took part in. The musical established itself as both dramatic as well as comedic, and the audience was able to be persuaded by the comedy because of their chemistry.
The film’s story is packed with emotional themes, following Elphaba being constantly judged and misunderstood by her family and peers only to be misguided and manipulated by the people she had looked up to tugs at the heartstrings of viewers. Though some had complaints about the length of the film, this first half of the tale sets up relationships that begin as rivals and end as companions all while developing the serious issues of social justice. It needed the time to thoroughly expand on each aspect of its multifaceted themes.
There is an additional aspect that drew me in, the film is visually stunning. Certain trailers did not do the coloring justice, giving people another reason to hate on the movie before it came out. This was immediately proven wrong, and I was taken back by how colorful and beautiful the visuals were.
The most impressive part being the limited Computer-generated imagery (CGI) usage, practical and physically built sets were crafted to showcase the beautiful settings that varied from tulip fields to the impressive emerald city. Using tangible sets recreated some of the energy from Broadway’s “Wicked” and broke it away from the profuse reliance on CGI nowadays.
This adaptation not only lived up to the towering expectations of its devoted fans but also brought new magic to the timeless story, growing the audience for the second part of the musical that will be released November 21, 2025.