Can you believe there are still people out there who don’t know that all-conquering smash musical Wicked is the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. I know this because I met one of them just the other night. Relief: he did know what The Wizard of Oz was. That way true madness lies.
So to this much feted, hated, memed and debated movie, which won Oscars for production design and costumes only. Precisely what that guy didn’t know but now does – the back story of Elphaba, who died at the end of the 1939 movie – Wicked picks up the story right there, before dissolving into the shimmery past where, as good witch Glinda tells it, she and the Wicked Witch were once friends.
This is the story of that friendship. How it was made and how it went wrong. What’s commendable about its telling, especially considering it’s Ariane Grande playing Glinda, is how much this story is on Elphaba’s side. Born the wrong colour and rejected by her parents, Elphaba is a school-of-hard-knocks moppet with unfocused magical skills who eventually turns up at a Hogwarts-alike wizarding school only to be rejected all over again. As Kermit can confirm, it ain’t easy being green.
Glinda is the opposite. Fair of face and unaware that she stinks of entitlement, she’s initially disdainful of Elphaba but gradually mollifies her stance a touch, yielding to a white-saviour impulse when she takes Elphaba under her wing. Only very late in the day do the two of them become actual friends, just before they meet the Wizard, who turns out to be not just a silly old silly (as in The Wizard of Oz) but something a fair bit more malevolent.
Here, right at the end, the film makes its bold political statement, leaving Glinda looking like someone happy to ride along with injustice – because it’s fine for her – and Elphaba taking arms against a sea of troubles by rejecting the status quo. It’s all To Be Continued, so we’ll have to see how that pans out in Wicked: For Good.
Director Jon M Chu’s decision to keep CGI out of it as much as possible is a sound one, and roots the screen Wicked in the same proscenium-arched soil as the stage one. Grande, to her credit, approaches this as a performer with an astonishing voice, rather than as Ariane Grande Pop Star. A few insanely high notes to one side, she’s more Julie Andews than Céline Dion Mark II and leaves the theatrics and melismatics mostly to one side, which gives Cynthia Erivo the space to show that she, too, can sing like an angel, a bird and a diva – she’s won an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony so it’s no real surprise that she can.
None of Stephen Schwartz’s songs are as good as the ones in The Wizard of Oz, though that’s a high bar. They are the sort of thing that lovers of the Broadway belter save up for, and Schwartz rewards the fans with big solo numbers that are the film’s high points. All the leads get one. Even Michelle Yeoh, who plays wizardy maven Miss Morrible (who is in fact Horrible). Yeoh isn’t a natural singer but demonstrates that technique is enough if you have enough of it. And she does. (Pointy) hats off.
Jeff Goldblum also shows he can handle a tune. Giving off charismatic Goldblum-y vibes, he is perfectly cast as the Wizard, all dithery pauses and tics, reminding us somehow of the original Wizard from all those decades ago. Nice also to see Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth – who originated Elphaba and Glinda on stage – turning up in salty cameos. I was less certain of the point of the character of Fiyero as a potential love interest. This selfish, shallow hunk of manhood, even in the hands of Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton) is a character who briefly shines before going phhht. Part II maybe?
Here comes the faint praise bit. Everything is undoubtedly done to an exquisitely high standard – from the beautifully tailored costumes and kitsch Disney-esque production design to the casting of the minor roles and the hoofing of the massive chorus lines. The story also turns out to be much more complex and interesting than it might have been. BUT, I have to say, standout songs and some remarkable singing to one side, there is something missing – eccentricity. Too Broadway, maybe? Maybe the magic is being saved up for the concluding instalment.
Wicked – Watch it/buy it at Amazon
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© Steve Morrissey 2025
