Rating: 8/10
**This review contains spoilers.**
Eleven years after its Broadway premiere, the movie adaptation of “Wicked” once again brings a powerful tale of friendship, belonging and morality to audiences.
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On Nov. 22, “Wicked” was released to theaters after months of advertisement and brand collaborations with companies like Lego, Vera Bradley, Starbucks and more.
Despite this intense marketing campaign, one important fact that was conveniently left out was that the 2024 film was only the first act of the Broadway musical. The second part will be released on Nov. 21, 2025.
According to director Jon M. Chu’s post on X, the film is being released in two parts to allow for more depth of the characters and plot.
The work that Ariana Grande (Glinda), Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Chu put into fleshing out the plot and characters was evident while watching the film.
Although deemed the “Wicked Witch of the West” and “Glinda the Good Witch” in the original “The Wizard of Oz,” the plot of “Wicked” urges the audience to rethink their assumptions by showing that no one is purely good or evil. “Wicked” highlights the moral complexities of its characters — a difficult task to wrap into a nice two-hour package.
While the musical “Wicked” clearly focuses on the story of Glinda and Elphaba, the movie adaptation places greater emphasis on the discrimination that the animals of Oz faced.
Yet another characteristic that separates Elphaba from other citizens of Oz is her compassion for the animals that live there. Throughout the film, the Wizard of Oz forces the animals out of institutions and into cages. This leads to Elphaba’s refusal to work with the Wizard at the end of the film despite being her goal since childhood.
With the additional screen time, it felt as though Glinda and Elphaba’s transformation from enemies to best friends was more gradual and realistic.
Despite these additions, the overall plot stayed true to the Broadway musical. A trap that other film adaptations of musicals, such as “Mean Girls,” have fallen into is trying to change and improve the story. However, as the fourth-longest-running Broadway musical, it was clear that the foundation of “Wicked” should remain untouched.
The film featured a cameo from the original Broadway Elphaba and Glinda, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, during “One Short Day.” The scene was a touching passing of the torch from the original generation to the new one.
No songs were cut or added to the soundtrack, eliminating the possibility of upsetting die-hard fans. Somehow, Grande sounded eerily similar to Chenoweth, adding to the film’s ability to remain true to the original.
While the general structure of the musical was maintained, changes were made to the soundtrack in the film adaptation.
The soundtrack fell victim to the popularization of synth, which was made obvious in songs like “What Is This Feeling?” and “Dancing Through Life.” The synth matched the overall vibrancy of the film, but in some spaces, it became too distracting. The production made the songs feel more like modern pop than a musical soundtrack.
The only downfall that this film faced due to its added plot depth was the feeling of a rushed ending. Before Elphaba travels to the Emerald City for the finale of Act One, the plot lulls with the slow ballad of “I’m Not That Girl.” This made the ending jolt forward and startle the audience with the sudden, quick pace of action.
The ending is arguably one of the most complicated parts of the film, where the character developments and complexities of “The Wizard of Oz” realm are revealed to the audience. However, the disjointed pace lost much of the impact the ending could have had on the audience.
Although many would not want to sit through a four-hour film, ending the film adaptation after Act One was extremely abrupt, with a finale of “Defying Gravity.” It also leaves the audience — especially ones unfamiliar with the Broadway musical — wondering what could be revealed with a second film.
The most well-known songs were all in Act One, which may cause a lack of interest in the second part, especially when audiences have an entire year to forget the plot of the first part or simply satiate their curiosity by looking up the ending.
Only time will tell if “Wicked” can successfully adapt the classic Broadway musical into a beloved film.
