Wicked, the movie was released into theaters on November 22, 2024 and critics and fans are pleased with how the movie adaptation has turned out. The film is based on the Broadway musical, which has had a long stint on Broadway since it opened in 2004. The musical is based on the book Wicked by Gregory Maguire, a prequel to the 1939 film and book The Wizard of Oz, written and published by L. Frank Baum in 1900. There have been many adaptations to The Wizard of Oz and with every adaptation there is more and more depth being added to the characters.
Audiences are introduced to Elphaba, portrayed by Cynthia Erivo, a young woman with green skin with magical powers as a result of her mother’s affair with a mysterious traveler, who offers her a green vial of liquid to drink. Later on the mother had Elphaba’s sister Nessarose, who is born without the use of her legs because Elphaba and Nessarose’s father made the mother take a home remedy so that Nessarose would not be green like Elphaba. Elphaba is blamed all of her life by her father for her mother’s death during childbirth and for Nessarose’s affliction and is mistreated by society for her green skin.
Elphaba and Nessarose are soon enrolled into the prestigious Shiz University where Elphaba meets Glinda (formally Galinda), who is portrayed by Ariana Grande. Glinda is a popular, pretentious girl who claims she does deeds “from the goodness of her heart.” Elphaba and Glinda are both total opposites and they despise each other because of it, until they soon share a deep bond together through being roommates at Shiz University.
Soon they go on adventures together to see the Wizard that Elphaba has dreamed about from a young age and things go wrong as soon as they get there. Later, Elphaba has to fight back and is painted as wicked and evil for the rest of time. The movie ends with a promise to continue the story in Part Two, set to premier in theatres November 21, 2025.
As the audience experiences the 2 hour and 45 minute musical, they see all of the hard work that the cast and producers have put into this film adaptation. The performances were outstanding in this musical adaptation. It was no surprise that the vocals would be incredible from Cynthia and Ariana as they sang. Audiences and fans of the original musical were a bit worried when they found out Ariana Grande was going to be Glinda. Could they separate her from her previous work, from her Nickelodeon days and popstar career? But I had a feeling she would nail it. Afterall, she had a long acting career before her time as a popstar, with her humor often shining through the most. And as I expected, Ariana captured the role as Glinda perfectly. Cynthia and Ariana captured the bond with such raw emotion that you just can’t help but tear up. This movie personally is one of the best I have seen all year and the emotions in this movie is just impeccable.
Overall, this adaptation is worth watching and I think you should watch it even if you have never seen the original Broadway musical. The actors put so much into this movie for the fans and for themselves as well. Ariana Grande has always wanted to play Glinda, and with her hard work and dedication, she was made for this role.
Cynthia’s hard work for this movie as well was just as astounding, her vocals and her acting in this movie causes so many feelings when the audience watches it. Cynthia won a Tony Award back in 2016 for her strong, emotional performance as Celie in the revival of the musical The Color Purple, a performance that put her on the map as a rising star in the Broadway and film world.
As Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth, who originated the roles of Elphaba and Glinda on Broadway, appear in the movie they add a little touch that simply warms the hearts of the audience as they watch. Seeing Wicked truly has opened up a spot in my heart for these films, and I can’t wait to see what Wicked Part Two has in store.
