‘Wicked’: Defying expectations, from musical to movie
Over the past few months, the internet has seen Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo laugh together, cry together and sing together. They’ve held hands — and famously enough held fingers — both during their time on-screen and in their press tour. Their chemistry, among other factors, is what has made “Wicked” a box office hit that perfectly encapsulates what a musical-made-movie should be.
“Wicked” is split into two parts with the second movie, “Wicked: For Good,” releasing in November 2025. The film has been long-awaited by fans of the stage production, which premiered on Broadway in 2003. This isn’t just a wait of a couple of years… the wait has lasted two decades. And, as someone who saw the show for the first time in 2019, (allegedly) watched several “slime tutorials” (if you know you know) and saw the show again in San Francisco in 2024… I think I’m qualified to judge the movie.
The movie’s cast and crew melted viewers with action, tension and friendship. Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Ariana Grande-Butera (Glinda) brought audiences to tears at their displays of friendship, and brought me, a semi-retired theater kid, to tears with their chemistry on their press tour. Though they’ve been criticized for the amount of tears they shed interacting with each other and interviewers, any theater kid understands how emotional the closing of a show is.
It’s not just the amount of time spent together filming a movie or rehearsing a show that makes a movie like this one emotional. Erivo and Grande delivered an incredibly raw performance in the Ozdust ballroom dance scene. Following the realization that she has been tricked by Glinda, Elphaba steps into the center of the dance floor and begins dancing on her own — to the ridicule of all her classmates.
Erivo’s tears, according to interviews, were natural and unscripted in this scene. And, Grande’s wiping of Erivo’s tears was also unplanned. Chemistry like this cannot be rehearsed, and performances such as these require a level of vulnerability that would bond anyone for life.
More practically, the vocal blend between Erivo and Grande took practice and coordination. In terms of vocalization, their voices blend into each other at multiple points in the movie, especially during the song “Defying Gravity.” The hours of practice between the two actresses undoubtedly led to a closer bond on-screen as well.
The movie’s $150 million budget led to stunning design which hits the viewer as soon as the movie begins. The Emerald City is not the only thing that shines off the screen (though it is an amazing part of the movie), as the rolling fields of Munchkinland show off nine million tulips that were planted specifically for the filming of the movie. Planting nine million tulips is an insane gesture in any situation… but it just goes to show the amount of dedication put into the movie production from film director John M. Chu and the rest of the crew.
Though I largely enjoyed the film — I’m incredibly grateful that they didn’t cut or fundamentally change any songs — there are some decisions I don’t love. Many of the deleted scenes that have since been released by the film team are incredibly moving, and provide a lot of context that would have been good to see in the film, not just in post.
The friendship between Elphaba and Glinda feels rushed in the stage version, but given that Broadway musicals only have around two or three hours total to tell a story, this makes sense. Movies have the luxury of, largely, having more time to tell a story. Yet, the scenes that got cut are the scenes that most build Elphaba and Glinda’s friendship. To viewers unfamiliar with the Broadway source material, this could lead to the movie feeling choppy — or make Glinda seem like a fake friend.
One of the biggest decisions that I have to question is casting Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible.
Yeoh is an amazing actress. Her role in “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” brought me to tears, and I love her work overall. However, she is not a singer. Why not cast a singer in the role, especially given that this is a movie musical? To her credit, Yeoh has admitted in interviews that she does not consider herself a singer. But when other actresses who are noted singers auditioned, such as Hannah Waddingham of “Ted Lasso” and “West End,” why weren’t they given the role instead?
Still, Yeoh has some iconic scenes in the movie, and overall, I believe that she killed it for an actress with limited musical theater experience. After all, her power walk through the castle in the Emerald City radiated confidence and girlboss energy, and she and Jeff Goldblum (who played the Wizard) make an iconic duo.
Though I, and I’m sure other viewers, will always find things to criticize, I truly believe the cast and crew made the “Wicked” movie one that will be beloved and remembered by fans of the stage production and movie-goers for years to come. If “Wicked: For Good” manages to come near the level of “Wicked,” then I owe the film team a hearty “congratulotions.”
Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.
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