“Wicked” tells a story of friendship, acceptance and the differences between good and evil. The original book by Gregory Maguire was written from the perspective of the witches from L. Frank Baum’s popular “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” The beloved musical was first performed in 2003 and is the fourth longest running show in Broadway history. According to CNN, the movie has already made over $360 million and has received 89% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The story revolves around the girls who grow up to be the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch. Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivio, who was born green and magical, grows up feared by everyone around her. On the other hand, her blonde counterpart, Glinda (Ariana Grande), is the most popular girl at school. They form an unlikely friendship at Shiz University when Elphaba rooms with Glinda so she can take classes from the sorcery professor Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh).
The opening song, “No One Mourns The Wicked” lets all the true “Wicked” fans breathe a sigh of relief. The striking of chords and beautiful dissonance in the harmonies made clear that director Jon M. Chu was sticking to the original music score.
Grande was beautiful in the movie. She returned to her theatre roots to take on the role of Glinda and did so almost perfectly true to the musical. Though she was amazing as the character, the fact that she was already a celebrity made it seem more like it was Grande taking over the screen, not Glinda. This took a bit of the magic away.
One disappointment was the casting of Yeoh as Madame Morrible. In the iconic song, “The Wizard and I,” Yeoh opens the song about how Elphaba is special, something she’d never been told and that she could work with the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) once she can control her powers.
Yeoh’s voice sounded similar to strained speaking or whispering. This fit the situation, but felt almost too gentle for the bad intentioned sorceress. Especially when compared to the Broadway version where Morrible has a more powerful voice that gives foreshadowing to the choices she makes later in the story. Yeoh is a clearly talented actress and embodied the character physically, but putting her in a role where she couldn’t sing something many others could have was a frustrating choice. The absence of her powerful voice felt like a piece was missing and the song didn’t reach its full potential.
On the other hand, Erivio’s voice has a natural warmth that translates Elphaba’s distinctive kindness. Although she changed the notorious “Defying Gravity” riff, her choices were made artfully and didn’t overwhelm the audience with differences. Although her voice was beautiful, it didn’t hold the power that is associated with Elphaba.
One thing that was different from the Broadway version was the fact that it is cinema, not a live performance. The close ups of the actors in the movie version created a more intense focus on their facial expressions and emotions. Audience members could see the slightest feelings cross their face. In comparison, in the stage production the emotions come more from the music, dance and lighting. This powerful emotion made the movie a challenging acting job that the characters very much delivered on.
The costumes in the movie were also part of the close ups. Glinda’s bubbly personality was translated into her poofy pink dress. Elphaba’s hat, which Glinda gave her, was a rendition of the classic black witch hat. These outfits translated the emotion of the characters into visual clothing.
Since the stage show is split by an intermission, the movie decided to split the story into two parts. By doing this the producers could fit all the songs in without rushing through the story. With only half the story, the movie still sat at a running time of two and a half hours. This left many audience members who weren’t familiar with Wicked frustrated with the abrupt ending. On top of that, Part 2 comes out in Nov. 2025, a full year from now. Although there was annoyance, splitting the movie was a good idea and didn’t overwhelm moviegoers like it would have with the full story.
Another unexpected aspect of the movie were the changes in the songs. Many songs like “I’m Not That Girl” had added riffs and little pieces added. The quick paced “One Short Day” slowed down in the middle to feature Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenowith, the original Elphaba and Glinda, in a new duet.
By far the most recognizable song, “Defying Gravity” was drawn out a bit too long in the attempt to make the ending feel more like an end. At around seven minutes and 40 seconds, the climax song “Defying Gravity” from the official Wicked Movie Soundtrack is almost two minutes longer than the original Broadway Cast Recording. It put too many breaks in the song and the build up to the end was not thrilling enough.
Overall, the beloved story of “Wicked” was retained throughout the movie. While the changes that come with cinema were perplexing at first, the power and emotion of the story balanced the differences. Even though the live show was better, the movie was a great way to make the story and music accessible for anyone to see. Any age can relate to the tale of the witches, and that is the magic of “Wicked.”
