November 24, 2024 – It's a morally ambiguous, dangerous place where Munchkins are tall, the Wicked Witch is not evil and there is a Trump-like smear campaign against animals for political gain. Turning Oz upside down in this way reminds me of “Maleficent” (2014) which similarly altered the Cinderella story.

Based on the play of the same name, which I have not seen, it is a musical, like most modern musicals, with a couple of good songs surrounded by a lot of forgettable music. To be fair, this is only half the stage musical. The rest comes a year from now in part two. It does, however, have an interesting plot, and an interesting character, Galinda (AKA “Glinda the Good,” played by Ariana Grande-Butera) who seems to be suspended between vanity and a desire to be altruistic.

The movie seems to begin where “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) ends, but it only seems that way at first. Galinda appears to the people of a village, and is asked by a young girl about her complicated relationship with her friend, Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo of “Harriet”). The story she tells, unfolds as the main story of the movie.

The friendship between Galinda and Elphaba begins when they become roommates at Shiz University. Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh of “Everything Everywhere All at Once”) who teaches magic at Shiz, sees that Elphaba is possessed of tremendous magical powers. Morrible places Elphaba with Galinda, even though Elphaba was not enrolled as a student at the time. Galinda is jealous of Elphaba's abilities, and Elphaba is jealous of Galinda's beauty and popularity. Elphaba is shunned by most because of her green skin.

The two later become friends when Galinda does something nice for Elphaba's paraplegic half-sister, Nessarose (played by Marissa Bode) and the two women share a very weird dance scene at a party, when Elphaba is in danger of becoming an object of ridicule. Galinda is vain and jealous, but she also is able to fight back against her worst instincts.

There is a lot to unpack in this movie, which is really half a story. For one thing, there is a scapegoated goat, of all things, Doctor Dillamond, the only animal professor at Shiz. Dillamond, and the other talking animals, are being targeted by some students, but there is something more going on. Elphaba learns from Dillamond there is a conspiracy to make talking animals into enemies of the state and to stop them from talking altogether.

Eventually, Elphaba is summoned to the Emerald City to meet with the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum of “Jurassic World Dominion”). There, she begins to learn what is really going on in the Kingdom of Oz. As is often said in the Marvel stories, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Elphaba has great power, but will she become corrupted by that power? We'll just have to wait and see.

Wicked is a musical with numerous songs. It helps that Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are both very talented actresses and singers. It is not always so with musicals. This musical is blessed with perfect casting for these two central roles. The strong cast includes Ethan Slater (of “Lost on a Mountain in Maine”) as the very tall Munchkin, Boq, and Jonathan Bailey (of the “Bridgerton” series) as the handsome leading man, Prince Fiyero, who becomes part of a lovers' quadrangle.

Director Jon M. Chu (“In the Heights”) has also put together a stunning visual backdrop for this musical drama extravaganza. You can see the big budget reflected on the big screen. So far, this movie is making a lot of money in ticket sales, and it is going to need to make a lot more to turn a profit, in part because of the huge amount of money being spent to promote this film.

I would not be surprised to see this movie get a Best Picture nomination next year, not because it is a great movie, but because critics and members of the Academy are very partial to ambitious, old-fashioned musicals like this. Remember the monumental screw up at the Academy Awards ceremony in 2017 involving the mediocre musical “La La Land?” It should have never been in the Best Picture competition to begin with. But, at least, “Wicked” is not bad. I give it a C+.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2024 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at