Here’s How the ‘Wicked’ Movie Is - and Isn't - Like the Musical (2024)

It’s certainly been a long wait, but after 21 years, Wicked has finally made its way to the big screen! The magical tale promises to not only cast a spell at the box office but has already garnered glowing reviews. A prequel/retelling of The Wizard of Oz, the film follows Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a girl born green, ostracized for her looks and her incredible magical abilities. After forming an unlikely friendship with a popular girl named Galinda (Ariana Grande), the two set out on a journey that will see one come to be known as good and the other, wicked. But how does the big screen adaptation compare to the smash hit Broadway musical? The answer is far more nuanced than many may realize.

‘Wicked’ Only Adapts Half of the Musical

By now, it’s well known that Wicked is only the first entry of a two-part adaptation. Opening on Broadway on October 30, 2003, the show is presented in two different acts. Act One follows the adventures of Elphaba and Galinda while they attend Shiz University, and is the source of inspiration for the first feature film outing. While said act runs roughly 90 minutes on stage, the film clocks in at around 2 hours and 40 minutes, yet, it still manages to be incredibly faithful to the show that inspired it.

The movie contains all of the major numbers from the original stage production, only eliminating a very short reprise of “The Wizard and I” sung by Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh in the picture) and Elphaba. Elphaba and Galinda’s enemies-to-friends arc also remains completely intact. Additionally, the movie reaches the same conclusion as the musical’s act one finale. However, it’s the movie’s nuances and deeply developed arcs that set it apart from the show audiences have come to know over the years.

‘Wicked’ Creates More Complex Character Backstories

The film may be faithful to the Broadway musical, but it does dive deeper into its characters, starting with Elphaba. While there have been plenty of takes on the Wicked Witch over the years, Elphaba has always been one of the most unique. The stage show never presents her as morphing into a traditional villain, and the movie follows suit. However, her journey to becoming the character Oz fears is sourced from a painful upbringing. Like the musical, the movie opens with the “No One Mourns the Wicked” sequence, which reveals her father (Andy Nyman). But, the stage production never shows Elphaba’s upbringing beyond her birth. There are hints of her difficult childhood, but the movie gives the audience so much more understanding.

The character of Dulcibear (Sharon D. Clarke) doesn’t exist at all in the musical, however the film cleverly uses its new addition to build a tighter arc for Elphaba. When the film reveals that Dulcibear is the one who truly raised Elphaba, it makes her fight for animal rights (a driving force behind the movie and musical) all the more personal and deep. Prior to her entrance at Shiz, the musical also doesn’t reveal Elphaba’s admiration for the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) until she sings “The Wizard and I,” but the film makes her reverence for the Wizard an integral part of her childhood. Galinda also receives a more nuanced take. In the musical, she comes around to Elphaba in the same way she does in the film, but the picture adds the persistent and overpowering element of peer pressure that keeps her from accepting Elphaba at first. It’s a wonderful way to make the characters' transition more understandable and satisfying. But the movie’s characters aren’t the only thing to get a deeper take.

Oz’s Mythology is More Complex in the ‘Wicked’ Movie

The land of Oz itself is far more filled out on the screen. On stage, Madame Morrible is completely in charge of Shiz, serving as its headmistress and its professor of sorcery. But the movie offers a much more interesting hierarchy to the school. Miss Coddle (Keala Settle) serves as the headmistress, overseeing a plethora of new staff members, while Oz at large receives a new backstory for the Wizard’s uprising. The Wizard’s backstory in the stage show is largely the same when compared to what audiences know from The Wizard of Oz. But Wicked expands on the false legend he spreads to the people of Oz, and thus expands upon the Grimmerie, a major plot point in Elphaba's arc. While the musical certainly does a wonderful job representing Oz within its limited capacity, the movie’s expansion of the world is really a fantastic way to make it feel more tangible, complex, and even dangerous.

Wicked’s journey from stage to screen was not only a long one, but a complicated one. While it remains beautifully faithful to the musical upon which it is based, the filmmakers proved that they really knew how to use its new medium to expand upon its world. From deeper character arcs to more meaningful mythology, the film truly strikes the right balance between loving and original.

Wicked is now playing in theaters across the U.S.Get Tickets

910

Wicked

PG

Adventure

Fantasy

Musical

The story of how a green-skinned woman framed by the Wizard of Oz becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. The first of a two-part feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical.

Release Date

November 22, 2024

Director

Jon M. Chu

Cast

Cynthia Erivo , Ariana Grande , Michelle Yeoh , Jeff Goldblum , Jonathan Bailey , Ethan Slater , Marissa Bode , Bowen Yang , Bronwyn James , Keala Settle , Peter Dinklage , Aaron Teoh , Grecia De la Paz , Colin Michael Carmichael , Adam James , Andy Nyman , Courtney Mae-Briggs , Sharon D. Clarke , Jenna Boyd

Runtime

160 Minutes

Main Genre

Musical