“Wicked” movie poster.
COURTESY | Amazon
After “Wicked” lost the Best Musical Tony Award in 2004, theater fans everywhere have waited for the wider recognition and acclaim that the musical truly deserves. “Wicked”— the fourth-longest-running Broadway musical — has one of the catchiest soundtracks on Broadway and an iconic original cast featuring Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda.
“Wicked: Part One,” the movie, had big ruby slippers to fill, and with mega pop star Ariana Grande playing Glinda and Emmy, Grammy, and Tony award-winning performer Cynthia Erivo playing Elphaba, it seemed maybe it could be done. The $150 million budget also helped a lot.
While the movie was overall worth seeing, it fell into the pitfall of humanizing Glinda too much, leaving the audience a bit confused about the story’s main takeaway. But, what the cinematic experience blurred thematically, it made up for with stunning choreography by Christopher Scott, vibrant coloring, and in-depth backstory.
The original story is meant to shake up what audiences already know about the classic L. Frank Baum story of “The Wizard of Oz.” In the original story, Elphaba is the Wicked Witch of the West, who terrorizes munchkins and is killed with a bucket of water by Dorothy Gale. “Wicked” gives us a glimpse into Elphaba’s backstory as a green woman, largely ostracized and rejected by society for her appearance. Relating to their status as outcasts, she also advocates for the rights of animals, who talk and teach before the Wizard mobilizes his guards to put them in cages and somehow remove their ability to speak. Elphaba uncovers, before Dorothy, that the Wizard of Oz is a fraud with no real magic.
The musical works to convince the audience that Elphaba is good after all. The hive-minded munchkins and the tyrannical government distort her legacy to hide their own flaws and snuff out resistance.
Glinda, who changes her name from Galinda, is the Good Witch from “The Wizard of Oz.” She eventually becomes Elphaba’s friend, but abandons her when they are being chased down by the Wizard’s guards, and—spoiler alert—will ultimately serve the Wizard’s agenda to bring Elphaba down in Part Two.
Glinda is also meant to shock audiences by being too afraid, too much of a bystander, and, honestly, too ditzy, to join Elphaba in her revolutionary dreams for justice and equality. Glinda is evil because she aids evil, and happily receives credit and accolades for magic that is not hers.
The way Grande plays Glinda in the movie is wholly human and complex. This is mainly due to the up-close reactions and struggles that the camera illuminates in a way the stage cannot. Glinda was much more three-dimensional than she typically is on stage. The audience feels for both her and Elphaba, but this largely skews the musical’s most compelling takeaway: the way we label people as good and as evil is not necessarily law or truth. Good and bad people are more complicated than what we are told and can see.
This could very well change in Part Two (due to release November 21, 2025), as Glinda’s crimes are more clear and less forgivable with some close-up tears and twisted facial expressions. But the audience will have grown to love Glinda already by this point, making the clear contradiction between her title as Good Witch and her actions as complicit in the Wizard’s schemes more understandable, and maybe even forgivable.
Despite this thematic hiccup, “Wicked” was a stunning movie-musical experience. Erivo is easy to root for as Elphaba. She balances her hard exterior and independence with a palpable yet subconscious desire to be liked that softens her. Her voice is unparalleled in every way with effortless riffs and a deep emotional connection to the lyrics she sings. Unsurprisingly, Grande holds her own vocally, and both performers validate director Jon M. Chu’s decision to cast professionals over hidden no-names. They demonstrate flexibility and dexterity while playing challenging roles, both vocally and emotionally.
The dance numbers were fun but different from the Broadway choreography, with the Emerald City having what Scott described as a “vogue-inspired, popping, and Afro dance” vibe while Munchkinland dances had a more grounded and communal feeling. Those differences and intentional choices read well on screen.
The movie also added elements to the story that the production often does not have the time, ability, or money to stage. The audience gets a scene from Elphaba’s childhood, closer, more personal reactions from the characters, and a beautiful scenic design of Elphaba and Glinda’s shared room that is more than a couple clothing racks and two beds.
The trade off for a more detailed story was the fact that Part One alone was two hours and 20 minutes, with Part Two coming out next November. The movie could have done without the painfully long Ozdust ballroom sequence, but overall the time was well used and well spent. The film generated enough intrigue about Part Two that I predict it will be another smashing box-office success despite the long gap in between the films. And despite her unfortunately nuanced Glinda, Grande and Erivo are both serious contenders for an Oscar.