For over 15 years, the hit Broadway musical and “The Wizard of Oz” revisitation “Wicked” has been captivating audiences with its stunning costumes, enchanting music and unforgettable story. Now, the Broadway sensation found its way to the big screen through a “Wicked” movie adaptation.
The movie covers an untold story about a green-skin girl named Elphaba played by Cynthia Erivo, and her journey of becoming the Wicked Witch of the West as seen in the 1939 film, “The Wizard of Oz.” Elphaba’s friend, schoolmate and complete opposite Glinda, played by singer-songwriter Ariana Grande, helps Elphaba through her school experience.
With the first version of “Wicked” being released as a book in 1995 and the Broadway adaptation premiering in 2003, the movie adds to the collection of “Wicked” variations. While seeing this movie, I noticed that it was filled with magical and unforgettable moments.
“Wicked” released to theaters on Nov. 22. Director Jon Chu and the other filmmakers decided to focus on the details and not worry about the length of the movie. That can be shown from the movie, spanning 2 hours and 40 minutes. With a similar run-time, “Wicked Part 2” will conclude the story and come out almost exactly one year from when the first part was released on Nov. 21, 2025. So, the final film product will be made up of two movies with around five hours of total run time.
The singing was one part that really stood out to me since it was a musical. Grande and Erivo’s voices fit perfectly together and created outstanding harmonic moments when they were singing together. When not singing together, their voices still highlighted the scene and made it feel like I was listening to the live musical version.
Two aspects that have been common in recent movies are a lack of live singing and the usage of computer-generated imagery. The producer’s goal was to do this in “Wicked.” There were over 4 million tulips planted, and all settings were built in real life and acted on for each scene. Furthermore, the singing was not pre-recorded and there were no stunt doubles for any of the actors, including Erivo’s flying scene during “Defying Gravity.”
With no added computer-generated effects, the emotions of the actors show through the screen and captivate the whole audience. Some scenes deeply connected the audience to the movie and made them empathize with the characters.
Another aspect that made the movie stand out was the costuming. The iconic green skin on Elphaba took Erivo over 4 hours each shooting to take the make-up on and off. Her clothing, school uniform and dresses all matched the scenes perfectly. Grande’s character, Glinda, also had stunning hair, makeup and gowns. Each small detail added up to the final product, making the movie much more visually pleasing and generally well-produced.
After scoring 88% and 96% the weekend of the premiere on Rotten Tomatoes, this shows that the costumes, real-life scenes, talented acting and belting singing all made viewers feel connected and fall in love with the movie.
This is a must-watch for all ages with the classic story coming to life on the big screen. From the “Wicked” book to the new “Wicked” movie, the overall products have been outstanding with the singing, costuming and acting truly attracting the attention of the whole audience.
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