Wicked tells the backstory of the two witches of Oz: Galinda (Ariana Grande), known as Glinda the Good Witch, and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), the Wicked Witch of the West. Born with a birth defect of green skin, Elphaba accompanies her sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) to drop her off at Shiz University, but accidentally shows an extraordinary display of magic, wowing the Dean of Sorcery Studies, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). The impressed dean offers to privately tutor Elphaba, much to the disdain of the vain Galinda, who also desires nothing more than to become a sorceress herself. The two girls are forced to become roommates and must learn to tolerate each other while at school.
Wicked is, first and foremost a musical and an excellent one at that. Legendary musical theater composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz–who wrote Pippin and the original Wicked Broadway musical–returns as composer, lyricist, and executive producer the film. His expert hand is felt, as the film stays mostly true to the musical. Some songs feature more modern, pop interpretations by the performers, which may annoy Wicked purists, but will absolutely wow regular audiences.
Whether you’ve seen the musical or not, the songs are phenomenal and captivating. “Popular”, “The Wizard and I”, “What Is This Feeling?”, and “Dancing Through Life” are showstoppers and expected crowd pleasers. There are a few laggy moments where songs have been extended, allowing for extended choreography and backstory that kill the momentum of the songs, particularly “No One Mourns the Wicked” and “Defying Gravity”, which unnecessarily drags at the end of a nearly three-hour movie.
A highlight of Wicked is the intricate and immersive sets, adding realism and depth to this candy-colored, steampunk, magical world. The seaside Shiz University is dreamy and picturesque with its crystal blue waters, floral gardens, quirky centrifugal library, and grand classical architecture. It’s refreshing to see so many beautiful physical sets when it seems nearly every high-budget film is done entirely on green screen and riddled with overwrought CGI effects.
Since the physical sets are stunning, you can instantly spot when CGI is used. The opening scene pans through Oz is entirely CGI with stiff CGI characters walking on the yellow brick road. But then the scene transitions to Munchkins running through a tulip field to a village, which every inch is a real set from the flowers and dirt to the domiciles. The difference is stark and palpable. The first half of the film mostly uses real sets, but as our heroines approach The Emerald City, the sets and cinematography shift to more CGI, which looks fake and takes you out of the moment (especially Elphaba’s ever-growing cloak during the finale).
The Land of Oz in the 1939 Wizard of Oz is jewel-toned and vibrant, showcasing the groundbreaking Technicolor capabilities of the time. Unfortunately, instead of leaning into this, the colors in Wicked are sometimes muted and uninspired, mostly due to overuse of backlit lighting. There are a few dazzling splashes of color, such as the juxtaposition of bubblegum pink Glinda and cilantro green Elphaba, but many scenes are bland and washed out, such as the fields in “The Wizard and I” and the interiors of the classrooms and Wizard’s palace. Considering everything from the music to the costumes are so theatrically over-the-top, it’s a missed opportunity to not likewise push the color palette to jewel-toned extremes.
The three leads feel miscast and it’s not for a lack of talent. Landing the role of Glinda has a dream role for Grande since she was a child, so clearly wish fulfillment; however, she doesn’t capture the natural bubbly effervescence of Glinda’s personality (cemented into history by the original Broadway Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth), but rather she feels like she’s cosplaying the character. Glinda is funny because the script is clever, but Grande herself lacks natural comedic timing and ease. She hits all the notes, awkwardly attempts all the sassy hair flips, and gives it everything she’s got, yet in the end, it just wasn’t believable. Grande also looks terrible as a blonde, so her complexion with bleached eyebrows and bottle-blonde hair is quite distracting.
While Erivo has an incredible set of pipes and is an accomplished singer (you don’t win the Tony for nothing), she is too old for the role. Elphaba is supposed to be a young adult entering university; however, visually Elphaba feels out of place as Erivio’s in her late 30s, which may be why they cast Jonathan Bailey as the rebellious Prince Fiyero. Bailey, while deliciously fantastic, has also seemingly aged out of this role (while it’s easier for older actors to get away with playing these characters on stage, the big screen is less forgiving). It’s as though director Jon M. Chu was obstinately determined to cast Erivo for her vocals and make her fit (harkening back to what Disney did with Idina Menzel—the original Elphaba on Broadway—in casting her as a 21-year-old Elsa). There’s also a stark difference between when Erivo acts and sings: when she acts, Elphaba is flat and boring; when she sings, she’s passionate and mesmerizing.
The other characters are hit and miss. Hits are Ethan Slater as the delightful, Munchkin Boq; Bowen Yang as Glinda’s college friend, Pfannee; and Peter Dinklage as the voice of the goat professor, Dr. Dillamond. The background dancers and singers are Broadway caliber and amplify every scene with their precision and skill.
Misses are Madame Morrible, Nessarose, and the Wizard, simply because, while their acting performances are great, they can’t sing. The contrast is apparent when they are feebly singing against the other professional singers (again, Chu forcing a square peg into a round hole). It’s mind boggling why in 2024 we still feel the need to force non-singers into singing roles. Can we jut go back a few decades when it was perfectly acceptable to overdub with a real singer? This in no way takes away from the actor, but allows for a more cohesive musical ensemble and final product.
There is a fun cameo with the originators of Elphaba and Glinda from the stage musical, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth respectively. This is during the “One Short Day” sequence in the Emerald City, where a needless new verse is added (after some clunky exposition). It’s frankly expected that these two would make a cameo in some way, therefore it’s a highlight seeing them back together on screen. But once they start singing and belting out notes, it becomes apparent what singing powerhouses are, making it hard to go back to Erivo and Grande’s vocals.
The first half of Wicked is a delight–visually, musically, and emotionally. It is so much fun. However, once “Popular” concludes, the party’s over. The film’s extended two-hour and forty-minute runtime is a chore by the end of it (smaking you in the face with a “To Be Continued”, coming as a shock to some audience members). The climax in the Emerald City is a boring slog and the iconic “Defying Gravity” is ruined by the song constantly starting and stopping for characters to talk and evade palace guards. You’re begging Elphaba get on with it and sing her final note so it can be over, which really is sour note on which to end.
Wicked is a pleasurable spectacle that mostly hits all the right notes from the musical. The songs are the high points and steal the show as they’ve done for nearly two decades. While it is long in the tooth, you’ll still leave the theater feeling like you too deserve the chance to fly.
★★★★
