We’re off to see the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This time around, however, the journey is not told through the perspective of Dorothy and her voyage following the yellow brick road. Instead, the popular broadway musical “Wicked” takes center stage, with the witches Glinda and Elphaba taking over as the lead characters. After the musical made its debut in 2003, a feature length film adaptation seemed almost certain to happen. The musical’s film adaptation was initially announced in 2016. However, after a series of production halts, director changes and release date delays, the film looked like it would never see the silver screen. Thankfully, eight years later, the film pushed through all of its “Wicked” troubles, and was finally released in theaters. A long awaited production and adaptation of the beloved musical, does the “Wicked” have what it takes to live up to the hype of the massively successful broadway classic?
Right off the bat, the film wisely balances its musical sequences with other scenes strictly of dialogue throughout the entire runtime. As someone who isn’t a fan of musicals, the songs were able to find a perfect balance of being catchy, serving a purpose in the story and not going on too long for no reason. On top of the amazing soundtrack comes the choreography, which featured incredible wide shots of the cast dancing and the atmosphere in which they were taking place in. A mix of catchy musical numbers and mesmerizing choreography, “Wicked” flawlessly translated the animated elements of musical theatre onto the screen, which made the film an entertaining watch.
The top notch song and dance numbers in the film could not have been pulled off without singers and actors that can execute them perfectly; in this film, it’s Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey. Actors Erivo and Grande, who played Elphaba and Galinda in the film respectively, delivered top notch vocals for a movie featuring on-camera live singing. The two leads had amazing chemistry with one another on screen, as shown through both the emotional moments they shared in specific scenes as well as throughout the film in general. As for Jonathan Bailey, he perfectly blended the Prince Charming-esque character with an incredibly memorable musical number that made his character stand out in the film as well.
The land of Oz is known for its fantastical landscapes and vivid colors. As for the world building and setting in the film, production utilized practical effects to recreate the world of Oz to perfection. So many movies that have come out in recent years solely rely on CGI and visual effects to pull off its best moments, which most of the time looks off-putting and fake. However, with “Wicked,” most of the sets were built and were independent of CGI, which made them look convincing and did a great job of transporting the audience to a fictional world that felt believable and lived-in.
While “Wicked” featured many great aspects in the movie, there were a few distracting elements that detracted from the overall quality of the film.
Whenever a musical movie is made, someone in the cast is going to stand out from the rest as the ones who clearly are not singers in real life. With this film, it comes down to the two legacy actors in the film: Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh. While they didn’t have any bad singing in the film, it was clear that they weren’t vocalists in real life. Especially compared to the talents of Erivo and Grande, their singing by comparison was a lot more distracting.
On top of the difference in singing quality of the cast, there also were off-putting visual elements in “Wicked.” Even though the film featured captivating and lively colors throughout the entire runtime, some of the specific color palettes themselves looked more noticeable, especially in the third act of the film. While it didn’t detract from the overall experience of the film, it did provide for a couple of moments where some of the coloring looked a bit off.
Overall, “Wicked” is an absolute triumph on almost every single level. As someone who could care less about the musical movie genre, this is a film that does it right. With its catchy songs, incredible directing from Jon M. Chu and top notch performances from all the actors across the board, the film is guaranteed to please fans of the Broadway musical and possibly even win over new fans too. The film is a must-watch for fans of the musical and the world of Oz, and should definitely be seen on the biggest screen possible.
