*Spoilers Ahead*
“I’m a witch, and I’m a witch, well which is witch? Well, here’s the sitch?” Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo took the screen in part one of the American musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu “Wicked.”
The film was adapted from a 2003 musical about a young woman named Elphaba who is misunderstood because of her green skin who creates an unbreakable and unbelievable friendship with Glinda, a student with an insatiable desire for popularity. After a meeting with the Wizard of Oz, their relationship hits a crossroad as both of their lives go in different directions.
This movie was easily a 10 out of 10. As someone who has seen the musical many times, I can confidently say that this movie was amazing and incredibly adapted. The movie runs around two hours and 40 minutes but definitely does not feel that way at all. It was easy to follow along and anticipate what would come next. I don’t think that being unfamiliar with the storyline would make it any less enjoyable.
As soon as the movie opened with “No One Mourns the Wicked,” there were instant chills. The mix of the ensemble and Grande, the extraordinary set design and the execution are everything and more. The way everything came together to enhance the “Wicked” experience was amazing.
One of my favorite parts of the movie is when Erivo (Elphaba) and Grande (Glinda) stop in Wiz-O-Mania on their way to the Emerald City and find two enchantresses, played by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, a reference to the original Broadway cast of “Wicked” where Menzel played Elphaba and Chenoweth played Glinda.
The movie is easily one of the best, if not the best, screenplays of 2024. With so many of today’s movies being made with CGI or AI, it was nice to know that while there was some in this movie, it was very little compared to others.
For example, the train that takes Elphaba and Glinda to the Emerald City is real, the tulips in Munchkin land were completely real and planted for the movie, and all of the buildings at Chiz, the Emerald City and Munchkin land were real along with the library with moving circular shelves that the cast would dance on. On top of this, Erivo did all her own stunts and decided that she did not want to use CGI to make herself green but instead sat in the makeup chair for four hours to truly embrace her role.
Can we also talk about Grande’s vocals? She is one of a kind, hitting high notes that felt higher than possible, to the point where it was sometimes hard to understand what was being sung.
Speaking of which, all the music was sung live on set—there was no musical overlay used by either Grande or Erivo, making it all the more impressive knowing that the notes were genuinely hit and that it was actually them singing to the audience.
The movie ends with “Defying Gravity,” easily one of the most well-known songs from the musical. Erivo had my jaw on the floor the entire time, the way she is simply flying through the air singing and still sounding amazing. The way she captures the emotions of what the Wizard has just made her do, and the way that she grabs the audience and takes them along this journey of hers is nothing like I have ever experienced before.
I couldn’t tell where they added scenes or what they extended. They truly made it feel like they simply took the musical with the same script and placed it into movie form, even though part one of the movie is longer than the entire play.
Not to mention that the casting for this movie was perfect, everyone who was cast fit their role perfectly as if it was really them in real life. I have never found a movie that I have felt as if I was experiencing with the characters, except for this one.
Needless to say, I am counting down the days until part two is released on Nov. 21, 2025.
