2024 has seen the release of over a dozen highly anticipated films from big studios with big names attached. But none have achieved half the amount of hype as the long-awaited film adaptation of Wicked. Ever since its Broadway debut in 2004, the musical has taken the world by storm and solidified itself as a modern day classic, accumulating millions of fans worldwide. Among those fans was thirteen year old me, who discovered the musical in middle school and has loved it ever since. So when the film adaptation of Wicked Part 1 was finally released last week, expectations were running high. But did this long awaited spectacle deliver?
Even with a cast of unknowns, Wicked would've been successful, but the film's anticipation increased tenfold when Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were attached as the two lead witches. Suddenly, diehard theater fanatics weren't the only ones excited for the film's release. Not to mention the later news that Michelle Yeoh, Peter Dinklage, and Jeff Goldblum were also set to star. It was also announced early on that John M. Chu was set to direct, the filmmaker behind Crazy Rich Asians and Lin-Manuel Miranda's movie musical In The Heights.
For the past few months, Wicked's marketing team has been absolutely relentless. Tie-in products like clothing, home decor, costumes, and even food began showing up in stores across the world. Most extreme of all was the University of Greenwich in London which temporarily rebranded itself to the "University of GreenWitch." Wicked became downright inescapable for the everyday person, further increasing audience expectations. But all of this aggressive advertisement seems to have been working since Wicked has quickly shot its way to becoming the #1 movie in America. But is the film itself actually any good?
I discovered Wicked in seventh grade, right around the start of my musical theater obsession. As someone who's always been sort of a black sheep, its message of finding strength in what makes you different stuck with me. Not to mention the incredible soundtrack by Steven Schwartz that I would play on a constant loop on my iPhone 5. So of course I was excited when I saw the film's first trailer! But upon seeing it this Thanksgiving, I left the theater with a lot more complicated thoughts that I'd anticipated.
Wicked had a gargantuan budget of $150 million and it shows. The production design of the Emerald City and Shiz University are among some of the film's strongest aspects. The CGI looks impressive and it's amazing to see just how much of the set was physically built and not a green-screen. Costume designer, Paul Tazewell gives us his finest work yet, truly making the world of Oz come to life through fashion. As someone who doesn't normally notice costumes, Tazewell's work will truly blow you away!
But the real stars of Wicked are of course, the two main witches, Elphaba and Glinda played by Erivo and Grande respectively. Audiences were initially skeptical of how Ariana Grande would fare as Glinda the Good, considering this was her first film, but it's clear in her performance just how much she adores the source material. She approaches the character with so much enthusiasm and really was a joy to watch on screen. Cynthia Erivo's performance as Elphaba made me see the character in a whole new way. I've always loved Elphaba, but her being performed by a Black actress adds a certain nuance that the character has been missing. Historically, on Broadway, Elphaba has been portrayed by white actresses, but witnessing a character who's discriminated against because of the color of her skin, being played by an actress who knows what that feels like makes the performance so much more powerful. Not to mention just how ridiculously impressive Erivo's vocals are throughout the film. She plays Elphaba with such ferocity and understanding, it's downright impossible not to root for her. It's such a beautiful thing to watch Elphaba and Glinda's friendship develop on screen, and it's clear that Erivo and Grande have just as much love for each other as their characters do.
But while you go to Wicked for the performances, it's the music that makes you stay, and this aspect didn't exactly pass with flying colors. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are both impressive vocalists but a lot of the film's songs are interrupted much too often by dialogue, which is common in musical theater, but doesn't translate as well on screen. This is most prevalent in the musical's most iconic number, Defying Gravity which takes six minutes to perform on stage but stretches to a sixteen minute scene in the film. Usually, Erivo will sing a line or two and then break for two minutes of dialogue before resuming. It breaks up the continuity and after a while, I couldn't help but think, "can we just finish the damn song?" The people behind this film knew this was the song that audiences came to see and they really milked it, maybe a little too much.
Probably the only aspect of Wicked that I can call legitimately bad is the lighting. There are certain moments where entire windows are blown-out, or the characters blend in with the background. Even my brother, a casual movie-goer had something to say about just how dark the lighting was at the beginning of Defying Gravity. For all the outdoor scenes at Shiz University or the Munchkin village, you'd think the only kind of weather Oz experienced was overwhelming sunlight. It just makes some scenes feel flat and not as dynamic as they should be. It has even become a trend on Twitter for people to take their own shot at color-grading stills from the movie. The opening number, No One Mourns the Wicked is far better executed on stage than on screen, because of the lighting and how the scene is staged.
Another issue is the pacing. The original Wicked musical has a runtime of approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes for the whole show. The film adaptation ends up being around the same length for only Act 1. Meaning that when Part 2 is released next year, the entire story will be nearly six hours, over double the length of the Broadway musical. Even as someone who loves the source material, the nearly three hour runtime for only act one is a little much. Someone who doesn't know or like the musical in the first place will potentially find it difficult to sit through. The story was just stretched out way too much, and the film suffers because of it. From the insane marketing campaign to the mammoth runtime, Wicked feels like a classic example of too much of a good thing.
Wicked began filming in the summer of 2022, so it's been a long time coming. And with booming ticket sales and great reviews, it seems like audiences have deemed it officially worth the wait. While I do have my issues with Wicked, I appreciate how ambitious it was to adapt it to film and I had a great time seeing it in theaters. Nearly all my favorite songs from the musical take place in Act 2, so next year you can expect to find me at my local theater, popcorn bucket in hand, ready to see where the story leads next.