WICKED (2024)
Starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode, Ethan Slater, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Keala Settle, Bronwyn James, Bowen Yang, Aaron Teoh, Guan Ti, Adam James, Colin Michael Carmichael and the voice of Peter Dinklage.
Screenplay by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox.
Directed by Jon M. Chu.
Distributed by Universal Pictures. 160 minutes. Rated PG.
Have you ever wondered what came before Dorothy and the yellow brick road? Wicked answers all of these questions and more in the most spellbinding fashion. Jon M. Chu’s long-awaited film adaptation of Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz’s hit Broadway musical, Wicked, gives audiences an inside look into how Elphaba Thropp became known as the Wicked Witch of the West, and how Galinda Upland became Glinda the Good Witch.
For those who don’t already know, Wicked is the musical prequel to L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (my fellow musical theater geeks know that Elphaba’s name is derived from Baum’s initials). Baum’s novel took the world by fire and earned its very first film adaptation in 1939, The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, Jack Haley, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan, Margaret Hamilton, Billie Burke, and Clara Blandick. Unsurprisingly, the film quickly became a cult classic which led to numerous sequels, retellings, and, you guessed it, prequels.
In 1995, Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West was published, a prequel to Baum’s award-winning tale. The novel tells the previously untold story of how Elphaba and Glinda’s complicated relationship came to be, exploring themes of Good vs. Evil, Identity, Discrimination, and Friendship. With the success of Maguire’s novel, further conversation sparked about translating the story into a musical.
In 2003, Wicked made its Broadway debut at the Gershwin Theatre with music and lyrics composed by Stephen Schwartz and script by Winnie Holzman. The award-winning original cast featured Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, making the pair household names.
Being lucky enough to have seen Wicked twice on Broadway, I, as well as other theater enthusiasts, had extremely elevated expectations for its highly anticipated film adaptation. Recent movie musicals have let me down, so I was curious how Wicked would fall on my wickedly misguided to thrillifying rating scale.
Needless to say, my expectations were defied.
The film begins exactly as its musical counterpart does, picking right up where The Wizard of Oz film left off, with the Munchkins of Munchkinland celebrating the melting (death) of the Wicked Witch of the West, belting opening number “No One Mourns the Wicked.” Glinda (formerly GA-linda) floats down in her iconic pink bubble to “rejoicify” with the Munchkins. Glinda’s sudden appearance prompts one of the Munchkins to ask Glinda if she was ever friends with the Wicked Witch, to which she responds that she was. Glinda then goes on to tell the origin story of the green witch (Elphaba,) and the trials that she endured as early as a newborn baby.
The story continues as Elphaba grows up and enrolls in Shiz University, with Galinda as her roommate. The duo become unlikely best friends, even after expressing that they equally “loathe” one another. Over the course of the girls’ first semester at Shiz, the talking animal professors of the university begin to lose their voices, reverting to their animalistic bleating, mooing, selves. As Elphaba has such a passion for the rights of all living things, she seeks out the help of the great and powerful Wizard of Oz to serve justice to the animals. Elphaba and Glinda make their way to the renowned Emerald City, not knowing that their adventure is just beginning.
I was concerned that Elphaba and Glinda’s characters would get lost in the mix of Wicked’s star-studded cast, but this was not the case at all. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande transformed into the film’s iconic pair on the screen before me. Be prepared to see Erivo and Grande as you’ve never seen them before – their chemistry and talent are unmatched. Wicked is a true masterpiece and Erivo and Grande are coming for those Oscars.
Between Jonathan Bailey’s charisma playing Fiero, Michelle Yeoh’s mesmerism as Madame Morrible, and Jeff Goldblum’s allure as the Wizard, every single person in this cast carried their weight and more.
Alongside the incredibly brilliant cast, Wicked’s cinematography is another massive contributor to its success, in my book. The film is jam-packed with breathtaking landscapes including Munchkinland’s radiant tulip field (including nine million real planted tulips,) the effulgent Emerald City (which was actually a physical set,) and the ethereal Shiz University, complete with its very own lake and stone academic buildings (surprise – another physical set.) Aside from the sets, the vibrancy of every shot in the film is unrivaled.
Regarding the film’s musical aspect, I am still speechless, even after departing the theater. Not only can this cast act, but they can sing. Beautifully. It is rare for a film adaptation of a musical to hit the mark with its soundtrack, but Wicked did much more than hit the mark, it smashed it with a giant broomstick.
Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the entirety of Wicked’s original songs, co-wrote the film’s musical score alongside John Powell. The scoring evoked such emotion and tied the whole feature together with a pink and green bow.
After watching Wicked, I can confirm that pink does go “good” with green.
Kayla Marra
Copyright ©2024 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: November 20, 2024.
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