Spoiler Warning!
“Wicked” is based on the 1900 book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” which was later made into a movie: “The Wizard of Oz” in 1939. In the original stories, a young girl named Dorothy is featured; she explores Oz, making her way to the Emerald City. Unlike this story of travelling up the yellow brick road, “Wicked” focuses on the two witches of the story, delving into their past. The story of “Wicked” came first, however, at the end of “Wicked” the two stories meld into each other.
“Wicked” began originally as a broadway musical in 2003, starring Kristen Chenoweth as Glinda and Idina Menzel as Elphaba. It has since been nominated for ten Oscar’s, ten Tony’s – three of which it won – and a Grammy. Naturally, “Wicked” is the number one best selling show on Broadway of all time with a total gross of almost two billion dollars.
Anticipation for this film has been building for multiple years. Especially since it was announced that pop super star, Ariana Grande, would portray Glinda, and Cynthia Erivo, would be starring as Elphaba. The announcement of the leads wasn’t until 2022, but the introduction of this adaptation of “Wicked” was introduced in 2016, with a release set in the winter of 2019. However, this date was pushed to 2024 due to storytelling drawbacks, as director Jon Chu put it in a tweet in 2022.
“As we prepared this production over the last year, it became increasingly clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story of “Wicked” into a single film without doing some real damage to it.” Chu said
Elphaba Throppe was born unusual, to say the least. A result of her mother’s affair, her skin was green. Her parents, specifically her father, rejected her immediately.
Growing up, Elphaba was mocked and taunted by others. She had to quickly grow into tough skin. Upsetting situations like these triggered strange things to happen around her; rocks would get thrown around, tables would fly and glass would break.
Elphaba is very protective of her younger sister, Nessarose, portrayed by Marissa Bode. The favorite child of her parents, Elphaba accompanies her on her first day at her new school “Shiz,” where she meets Galinda Upland and accidentally ends up enrolled at the school. Her green tint is met with disgusted faces and teases. As opposed to Galinda, with perfect teeth and bouncy hair; she is the most beloved face of Shiz.
Headmistress Madame Morrible, portrayed by Michelle Yeoh, rooms Elphaba and Galinda together. Their loathing and hatred for each other slowly turns to love and admiration after an extremely moving scene in the film that ends with an embrace and teary smiles. Empathy gnawed a hole in Galinda’s stomach, and she finally realizes she is not the “goodest of them all.” This scene strikes them with a realization that they’ve shaped each other, for better or worse; it serves as a relationship turning point.
Erivo’s portrayal of Elphaba’s connection with her classmates provides a world full of tension and anticipation. A love triangle between herself, Galinda and Galinda’s lover, Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) soon erupts. Elphaba and Fiyero unspokenly share emotional weight, subtly indicating their allurement towards each other.
Madame Morrible’s manipulation of Elphaba and her powers, catering to her own interests, leads to chaos. Abuse of power and dilemma are constant elements in the film. The dilemma of going against her own morals or building herself a successful future in Oz, slaps Elphaba in the face. It’s clear the side she chose when she sings the rebellious and self liberating closing number, “Defying Gravity.”
“I hope you’re happy” is the last line we hear from Glinda, her tearful eyes watching her best friend making her break. She faces the acceptance of who Elphaba truly is. Neither of them want to hold each other back from their passions and desired future, no matter how different. Their love and respect for each other shine through their differences.
The film closes with the famous Defying Gravity riff that Broadway fans know all too well. The film was crafted with intelligence, leaving viewers yearning for the end of the story.
Erivo didn’t let flying around in the air while wearing a tight corset stop her from singing live. Grande and Erivo did all of their own stunts and sang live on set, giving the film the feel of Broadway. The actresses wanted to make it as authentic as possible. Endless love and sweat was put into this film.
Along with top notch production and film, part 1 of “Wicked” carries countless foreshadowing for its second part coming later in 2025. This Includes hints at the future tin man and the cowardly lion, the creation of the yellow brick road and Elphaba’s allergy to water.
Although already filmed and ready for the big screen, “Wicked: Part 2” is set to be released in November of 2025. The second part represents the story that would pick up after intermission on Broadway.
This film was perfectly stunning and full of magic,erupting all over social media. “#Wicked” was trending on Tiktok all over the world.
Ariana Grande’s soft angelic voice and Cynthia Erivo’s stellar vocal control echo throughout theaters for years to come.
Whether it’s Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel’s unexpected cameo or the performance of the original “Wicked” songs, this film creates a deep connection with the original Broadway musical, and begins a new era of green and pink.
