Wicked: Part 1 (2024)

“DISCOVER WHAT HAPPENED IN OZ BEFORE DOROTHY DROPPED IN!”

So said the radio ad as I sat in my room as a High Schooler, when I first heard of the musical “Wicked.” My first reaction as a theater kid was genuine: “This sounds like one of the stupidest thing I have ever heard of.” Not long after, in the band room at school, our teacher mentioned we would be performing the music of Wicked, and everyone burst into applause…including me (peer pressure is a powerful thing). A little over a year or so later, I finally saw the show on stage, and was a life long fan of what would be come possibly the biggest musical to hit the 21st century (at least until Lin Manuel Miranda came around).

I had finally trusted my instincts, closed my eyes, and took the leap.

All this said, I was worried beyond skepticism that the new film adaptation would flop (it did not entirely help when I found out there would be two films, the second part to be released in November of next year). Even with a promising cast (although I was very nervous about the casting of Ariana Grande) and a director like Jon M. Chu (who helmed Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights), the constant amount of ads I have seen in the last year for the film had me on edge. 

Well, as I put in my notes with the first twenty minutes of the film: “…yep I’m sold”.

For those unfamiliar with the story of the musical based off of the 1995 book of the same name (I admit I forgot the story had a lot of animals in the story), the film starts off with the news that the Wicked Witch of the West (whose 1939 caricature in the immortal classic film is still one of the top five or so villains in cinematic history) is dead. All of Oz is celebrating, even though it is discovered that Glinda (Grande) actually did know the green Witch.

In flashback, we see how the WWOTW, real name Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) had to deal with all the hate shown her way due to her green skin, and eventually became the roommate of Galinda/Glinda (I remember, when watching the show, thinking there was a typo in her name, but realized that was intentional. Like everyone in Oz, she yearns to meet the almighty Wizard (Jeff Goldblum, of course). 

Casting this movie would seem a daunting task, as the stage musical left shoes near impossible to fill. Afterall, Elphaba is the role that shot Idina Menzel to a household name long before she was Elsa in the Frozen films, and Kristen Chenoweth as Galinda/Glinda is just as memorable. Still, Erivo clearly has the pipes to carry some of the most memorable tunes of the last quarter century of showtunes.

As for Ariana Grande, well…I was just plain wrong when I originally thought her casting was questionable. She was after my time (my little brothers’ generation would know her Nickelodeon work more than me), but her talent is clearly appealing to anyone’s generation. She fills the shoes of the future Good Witch of the North so well, it is almost easy to miss the depth she brings to the worth. She is a sparkling bubble on screen (or a bubbly sparkle, I can’t decide).

Others in the cast fit their roles easily, such as Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Marissa Bode as Elphaba’s half sister Nessa, Ethan Slater  as Boq, Jonathan Bailey as the charming Fiyero,  and Peter Dinklage as the voice of Dr. Dillamond.

There is no way around it: the movie is indeed long at two hours and forty minutes. As stated before, the second half of the story will be out next year. The after taste of The Hobbit films (which never needed to be three films: two at the most) came back. I understand people who would want the film to be shorter (I admit it dragged at times), but I have a hard time of knowing what to cut.

Parents, the PG rating does come with a fair share of warnings. There is no swearing, and very little sexual content (aside from a scene of flirting/foreplay at the beginning). There is, however, some scary moments, dealing with the always creepy flying monkeys. As a kid, I never completely understood why my dad was always afraid of the flying monkeys, but I can now. Kids under five may get nightmares.

There is one last worry I have about the second film, which is the songs. I have always felt the majority of the best songs were in the first half (“Dancing through Life”, “Popular”, and of course “Defying Gravity”). Each of the songs done in the film are done with the love and care you would want if you are a fan of the musical like I am. I was afraid that the songs in the film version would erase my memory and admiration of the original cast recording. The new versions are not “better” renditions but rather amplified, which is what one wants. It also helps that Jon M. Chu adds in the colors and choreography and music that makes the film very swankified, and that fills me with the utmost gratitution. 

As for those who don’t like this film, well…I am disgustified.

Overall: