Last month, the iconic musical “Wicked” came out from the curtains of Broadway and into the theatres of Hollywood, impressing fans across all platforms with its familiar spin on the classic fairytale, “The Wizard of Oz.” The movie has made an engaging appearance attributable to its songs, settings and online popularity.
Frank Baum’s classic, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” sparked a following of storylines branched from that same tale. Published in 1995 by Gregory Maguire, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” was brought to Broadway on October 8, 2003, only eight years later.
The original musical version of “Wicked” was told from the perspectives of Elphaba, “The Wicked Witch of the West,” and Glinda, “The Good Witch of the North,” and it exposes the complexities of their friendship due to their contrasting personalities and opposing perspectives. The two characters also share a love interest and react differently to the Wonderful Wizards’ corrupt rule and Elphaba’s tragic fall. The original Broadway production won a total of three Tony Awards, seven Drama Desk Awards and the original cast won a Grammy Award.
The film utilizes an adequate balance of both practical and computer generated imagery effects, creating an immersive and fanatical world. The color grading in the movie was seen as very washed and dull at times.
“Wicked’s color grading is intended to ‘immerse people into Oz, to make it a real place,’” Director Jon M. Chu said in a Variety interview. “I think that brighter colors portrayed in the film would have made more sense as the town of Oz is supposed to be conveyed as a magical place, as is the fairytale-like nature of the film in general.”
The second part of the film will be released a year from now, starring Ariana Grande, American singer-songwriter and actress, and Cynthia Erivo, British singer and actress.
Since the movie’s release on Nov. 22, it’s all the media seems to talk about. Between Grande and Erivo, the film blew up across social media and even started new pop culture references. Interviews involving the two actresses made the internet go wild over the phrase “holding space,”which refers to a line in the interview about them “holding space” for the song “Defying Gravity.” These small social media references produced more inflammation in the film’s streams.
The layout of the film was put together in a captivating way. The whole movie started from a flashback, and opened with Glinda (Grande) answering a question from a townsperson about her relationship with Elphaba (Erivo), turning it into a movie about their lives at school.
“There’s definitely a lot of excitement around ‘Wicked’ but a lot of people, like personally, I haven’t seen the Broadway musical, so I think that it gave a good background on the storyline before you were actually introduced to all of the characters in the present day,” Ella Kaplan (11) said.
The film was primarily about their time together at school, “Shiz University” and was left off on a cliffhanger of Elphaba escaping her unwarranted troubles. Fans were upset about the cutoff of the film, as the movie only contained the first act of the story. Controversy rose on the internet about this decision, some say it was for the better as we are getting further into the story, and more in depth details, while others argue it was a mere marketing ploy.
“I do think it creates a sense of suspense after the first movie,” Kaplan said. “It’ll make people more likely to go back if they enjoyed the first one. I think it’s definitely a marketing thing because both parts were filmed at the same time so they could have easily released it together.”
Sometimes a movie with abnormally colored witches and talking animals can be surprisingly heartfelt and eye-watering, and this was one of them. The side storyline about the talking animals’ speech being taken away seemed utterly horrible while I was engrossed in watching the film, coming to show how engaging it was to watch. In the closing scene, the overnight sensation song “Defying Gravity” was empowering to Elphaba’s character and by the time I watched “Wicked” (five days after it came out), I knew nearly every word because of the internet’s obsession.
Elphaba’s empowerment from her sheer difference was shown before and after the cameras were on, as the actress wanted to embrace her African American culture with her character having micro-braids, instead of wavy hair like she did in previous shows.
The movie’s ending lies where the show’s first act does, leaving viewers anxious for the second act and their cliff-hanger to be saved by a green figure on a broomstick or a talking goat.
“Wicked” earns a perfect score in my books, for its exceptional soundtrack, dazzling sets and outstanding performances by its cast. Every song hit an in depth emotion, and the intricate sets put you into the world of “Oz”, as they intended to. The actors brought an iconic presence to each character, through their passions for the art, and the musical itself.
Rating: 10/10
