Warning: The following content contains spoilers
“No one mourns the wicked,” but after watching this enlightening sequel that plays off of the original Wizard of Oz, one may shed a tear for these misunderstood witches. The musical Wicked is a story about testing the limits of an unexpected friendship between Elphaba: our outcast and justice-seeking protagonist, and Glinda: a popular and bubbly character who is somewhat shallow. As someone who has never seen the Broadway show but grew up watching the original Wizard of Oz, I walked into the theater with fresh eyes and some knowledge of the general background/storyline behind this musical. While many are lovers of the movie musical, it has left some like me unsatisfied and annoyed.
Although visually appealing, the movie was too long. I had trouble getting hooked at the beginning of the movie because it was honestly a bit slow. The scene in the Munchkin Village at the beginning was a bit long which really made it hard for me to get interested. It wasn’t until the scene of Glinda arriving at Shiz (school) that I could finally understand where the storyline was going.
I think the movie could have spent more time showing the developing friendship between Elphaba and Glinda, instead of the long scene in the beginning. I have never seen the musical, so I’m not sure if they were just trying to stay true to the original, or they just thought the beginning was important. I think showing the development of their friendship more would have allowed the audience to get attached to the idea of their relationship being positive and close. Showing more of the steps would have made the events of the ending more sad but perplexing to the audience. It would make viewers more eager to come and watch the second movie.
With that being said, I don’t even understand why they are making the one musical into two movies other than the fact that they just want to make more money. If they could tell the whole story in one musical on the Broadway stage, they can do it in one movie. Some may suggest that making only one movie wouldn’t do the musical justice, but I think people would enjoy it more if we just got it all at once. This way we don’t have to wait for November of 2025 to finish the story. By that time, everyone who hasn’t seen the Broadway musical will have forgotten it all and won’t have much interest in seeing it. It’s also not like we are left on a cliffhanger. If anyone is wondering badly how it ends, they could always look it up or watch the original musical.
The one thing that I do think was phenomenal about the movie was its soundtrack. The movie has a pretty talented lineup of singers, aside from Jeff Goldblum or the Wizard of Oz, who left much to be desired. Although sometimes difficult to follow because of its inconsistent tendencies, the music and lyrics within the movie have become very “popular” as Glinda would say. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande stayed very true to the expectations of the stylings of their characters’ voices but also added a new and personal touch to many songs. For example, Elphaba’s ending with a battle cry in the song Defying Gravity is very similar to the popular one that the original Broadway star Idina Menzel riffed on. But it is not the same, instead, she adds a little growl and changes the emphasis on different notes to really highlight the character’s grit and anger during this scene.
Although the soundtrack of this new movie-musical is impressive, I would still give the whole production a seven out of 10. As someone who is a lover of the original Wizard of Oz, I think they could have taken a better approach and could have included some of the original characters. It would have definitely made the beginning less boring. It was just way too long for being only half of the musical. Let’s hope that part two is better if I even have the motivation to go see it.
