Matching tattoos, crying in interviews, alleged affairs and poster controversies: the Yellow Brick Road to the “Wicked” movie has been far from smooth, but the destination is a movie that fulfills every theater kid’s wildest dreams.
Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked” premiered on November 22, 2024, with a second part scheduled to come out on November 26, 2025. The film was an adaptation of a successful Broadway musical which was, in turn, an adaptation of the “Wicked” novel by Gregory Maguire. Overall, Chu masterfully took advantage of the medium of film to create an immersive world that enhanced the story while centering the emotional and authentic friendship of Elphaba and Galinda.
The story follows the origins of the iconic villain of L. Frank Baum’s “Wizard of Oz” series, the Wicked Witch of the West. In the film, Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo), known as Elphaba, and Glinda (Ariana Grande), known as Galinda, form an unlikely friendship at their school, Shiz University, amidst a sinister backdrop of government corruption designed to oppress the animal citizens of Oz.
The Broadway musical “Wicked” has been my favorite musical since I saw it at the age of ten. While my childhood self couldn’t wait to see the film, I was also skeptical of its purpose, especially considering the Hollywood epidemic of producing only sequels and remakes. Fortunately, the first five minutes of the film had me questioning why a “Wicked” movie hadn’t been made sooner because of the expansive and breathtaking sets and intricately detailed and whimsical costumes.
The film’s production designer, Nathan Crowley, made a committed effort to use real sets, rather than CGI, which was a breath of fresh air from most blockbuster movies. According to Crowley, Shiz University blended features from Portuguese, Indian and Italian architecture with fantasy elements like circular rotating bookshelves. This made it feel both unique, but also familiar. In a play, the set design is limited to a single stage, but the film was able to take advantage of the limitless possibilities of movie set design to create one of the most immersive fantasy worlds that I have seen since “Harry Potter.”
The costumes were just as magical as the sets. Costume designer Paul Tazewell blew me away from the very beginning with Galinda’s iconic pink gown. Each new costume was as thoughtful and well-designed as the one before, and the cameras were able to capture every detail in a way that a play never could.
It would be impossible for me to write a review of “Wicked” without highlighting the singing. Erivo tackled Elphaba’s emotional ballads effortlessly and stole the show with “Defying Gravity.” While some songs stood out more than others, the vocals were always strong. I particularly admire the choice for Grande and Erivo to sing all of their songs live, which not only added to the authenticity but also paid homage to the original Broadway production.
Just like the singing, I cannot get through this review without mentioning the dancing. Christopher Scott was the talent behind the choreography, and he brought the same high-energy choreography to the “Wicked” movie as he did to the “Teen Beach” movie, another one of his works. My favorite dance performance came from Fiyero (Jonathon Bailey), the main love interest of the film. His dancing in “Dancing Through Life” was infectious and just pure fun.
While Erivo’s vocals were undeniably flawless, it was Grande’s head-to-toe embodiment of Galinda that had me most captivated. It was clear from the start that Grande fully immersed herself in this role. She played the flighty self-absorbed blonde perfectly and had the entire theater laughing every time she was on screen. Even more impressive, despite her obvious flaws, I always found myself rooting for Galinda. The depth Grande gave to the character highlighted her internal struggles.
It’s hard for me to point to any major flaws in the movie; however, there were a few moments where I found my attention waning. The main culprit was Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage). The film made Dr. Dillamond a CGI goat rather than the human with goat-like features that he was in the musical. In my opinion, the CGI made it harder to empathize with Dr. Dillamond because his facial expressions were minimal and he felt fake and out of place. Whenever he was on screen, I found myself wishing we could go back to the Elphaba and Galinda storyline.
Even with dazzling costumes, mesmerizing sets and incredible musical numbers, the film would not have worked if there were no chemistry between Elphaba and Galinda. Luckily, I have never seen two actresses with more chemistry than Erivo and Grande. Erivo had tears in her eyes in almost every scene, and Grande’s authentic acting let you feel their love for each other. This made their split at the end all the more emotional.
Not only did the “Wicked” movie do the play justice, but it also showed that not every large-scale new movie has to be a spectacle of the latest technology, devoid of creativity and only designed to make money. I can only hope that the film’s success paves the way for more movies like it, and I can’t wait to see where the Yellow Brick Road takes us next.