Wicked

WICKED (WICKED: PART 1) (PG)

D: Jon M. Chu

Universal (Marc Platt & David Stone)

US 🇺🇸2024

160 mins

Musical / Fantasy

W: Winnie Holzman & Dana Fox [based on the musical by Stephen Schwartz & Winnie Holzman and the novel “Wicked: The Life & Times of The Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire]

DP: Alice Brooks

Ed: Myron Kerstein

Mus: John Powell; Stephen Schwartz

PD: Nathan Crowley

Cos: Paul Tazewell

Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba Thropp), Ariana Grande (Galinda ‘Glinda’ Upland), Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero Tigelaar), Ethan Slater (Boq Woodsman), Peter Dinklage (voice of Dr. Dillamond), Michelle Yeoh (Madame Morrible), Jeff Goldblum (The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz)

For me, The Wizard Of Oz is a timeless masterpiece and even though the filmmaking practices have changed since its 1939 production, the magic is still very much there well after 85 years. There have been a number of attempts to bottle that magic, including a highly flawed 1985 sequel and a visually splendid, but narratively weak 2013 prequel. However, the most well-received property was the Wicked musical by Stephen Schwartz & Winnie Holzman, premiering on the stage in 2003.

It’s more a re-imagination than a prequel or sequel, focusing on the friendship between Glinda (The Good Witch) and Elphaba, prior to the latter becoming known as The Wicked Witch of the West.

Born with green skin, Elphaba finds herself ostracised from society, even when she enrols at a university, though her potential is noticed by the headmistress & as roommates, Elphaba and Glinda have a love-hate relationship that develops into a respect for one another. 

This really is a difficult film to review honestly because only half the story is here, due to being split into two halves, with the second part being released in late 2025.  This practice might have worked for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but it’s really irritating to see it become a norm with properties that are likely to have a 4 hour plus running time.  In my mind, it should either be tackled as a 4 hour film, or released as a TV series, rather than being hung on a string for over a year to see how it all ends. 

Since only half the story is shown here, my review may change (for better or worse) after seeing the concluding part, but I would admit that this is a visually remarkable film, with superb production design, costumes, makeup and visual effects, and even though musicals aren’t really a genre which I favour, there are handful of songs which I enjoyed, especially the “Defying Gravity” number which the stage play initially made famous.  Cynthia Erivo has a tremendous singing voice and makes the part of    Elphaba her own, but I actually think the true revelation here is Ariana Grande, who seems as though she was born to play Glinda and give the part her absolute everything. 

I’ve not seen the stage play to confirm, but this film feels as though it was trying to hint at racism allegories, which I just don’t feel work in a setting with magic, wizards, witches and talking animals, but this social messaging aspect only feels a little forced in a very small handful of scenes. 

As a stand-alone film, it’s an entertaining watch, but I still don’t think it has anything approaching the impact of The Wizard Of Oz from 1939, though the bar there is set awfully high.  

8/10