I’ve loved Gregory Maguire’s Wicked since I first read it in high school. Discovering Elphaba’s story was one of the first times I saw a beloved story turned around and told from a different point of view. Seeing a villain as a hero, realizing that there truly are two sides to every story and that maybe the side that is best known isn’t actually the truest side. These were big concepts for my young mind. Now that treasured story is being brought to life on the big screen as a musical. I’ve always maintained that books are far superior to movies, so did Wicked impress me?
[Warning: Potential spoilers from Wicked the movie, the musical and the novel are below!]
Wicked Part One: singing & popcorn & glitter, oh my!
Wicked, the book, has been in print for nearly 25 years, and the musical has been on stage for over twenty years. The movie version of the stage musical has been in production for several years, and at times, it felt like it would never come to fruition. As I said already, I love Wicked the book, but I’ve never seen, nor wanted to see Wicked the musical. I just am not a musical kind of person. When I heard that they were making a movie but were basing it around the musical, I was less than enthused.
However, my brother, Mr. Musicals, was very excited. He kept going on and on about it. Finally, thinking it would shut him up (it didn’t), I agreed to see it with him. Even though I wasn’t super excited, I decided to go in with an open mind. The day of the press viewing, we headed to the theater, and while I wasn’t jumping up and down (my brother literally was), I did feel a little excited to see Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) brought to life. When we got in, there were several picture opportunities, a raffle, and glitter! Armed with popcorn, Icees, and glitter, we settled in for the movie. And I was blown away!
Everything about Wicked was a delight for me. Okay, maybe I could have done with slightly less singing, but at the same time, “Dancing through Life” in the library was one of the best scenes in the movie. The acrobatics that the actors performed while singing live were incredible.
Yes, you heard that right, all the singing was recorded live during the scenes, it was not done in a studio and voiced over. This is unheard of in modern-day filmmaking. I had been told this before seeing Wicked, and it made all the songs much more amazing to me. I said it: I enjoyed a musical!
I’m honestly having difficulty organizing this review because I can’t decide what I want to share first and what is most important about this movie. If it doesn’t sweep the Oscars, I’ll honestly be in shock. The acting was phenomenal. I was in tears several times. Cynthia Erivo’s performance of Elphaba was so moving. Ariana Grande made a wonderfully ditzy Galinda/Glinda. Even Jeff Goldblum, who I usually don’t care for, was so perfect as the wizard that I found myself hating the character and not him!
All this fantastic acting and singing was done on some incredible sets. The sets are both beautiful and whimsical. The library’s bookshelves were both impractical and mesmerizing. I couldn’t decide if they were the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen or if I wanted some of my own! Together with these enchanting sets were the creative costumes. Much is said about a character through what they wear, and the unusual yet somewhat familiar outfits that everyone wore helped to establish Oz as a world apart from ours, filled with people who were not all that different from us. It was an exciting way to visually make that case.
Representation is the word of the day in this film
Throughout the film, much is said about Elphaba being very different from everyone else. With prejudice being such a strong theme in Wicked, it was very exciting to me to see the level of representation in the movie. Not only are there people of every color (including green!) included on screen, there are also people of every size included. There were skinny girls and hunky guys, sure. But there were thicker men and women, from just a little extra weight all the way up to quite heavy.
There were also people with disabilities represented. Now I wasn’t looking for it specifically, so there may have been even more people in there, but besides Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), I saw another person in a wheelchair. Two might not sound like a lot, but that’s two more than most movies have. When I looked at the screen, I felt like I was looking at a real crowd, not a movie crowd, and I’m not sure that I’ve ever felt that way at a movie before.
There were also openly gay characters included in Wicked. Of course, if you’ve read any of the books, sexuality is very blurry in Maguire’s Oz so not having a gay or bi character would have felt wrong. In short, everyone was invited to the party, and it made the movie feel much more real to me.
But is it for fans of Gregory Maguire’s Wicked novel?
So, I enjoyed the movie—that much is obvious. I even reviewed the book over on The Cosmic Circus. But is it something that fans of Wicked the novel will enjoy? Well, the story is based on the musical, not the book. There are some changes made. There are also some characters missing. I, personally, felt like not including Yackle was a mistake. I love that saucy old lady! And depending on how many movies they ultimately make, erasing Elphaba’s little brother could become a problem.
Still, most of the changes were pretty minor. The main feeling of the book came through. It was still the story of the Wicked Witch of the West, who wasn’t really all that wicked. It was still about finding out who you are and taking control of your own power and life. It was still about standing up for what’s right, even if people don’t understand why you’re doing it. Wicked was still a beautiful story that stayed true to what Gregory Maguire was trying to do 30 years ago.
I think that Wicked book fans will love the movie as long as they can get past the singing, which is a lot. But it does mostly move the story along nicely. There is also a lot of humor in the movie. I laughed a lot! And there are even a few Easter eggs that call back to the 1939 The Wizard of Oz movie that made me smile.
Just be aware that they decided to split the story into two movies, so when you go and sit for almost three hours, you’re only halfway there. Next November, the second part will be released. And I’m already marking my calendar. I enjoyed Wicked Part One enough that I’m eager to see Part Two. So yes, if you like the book, go see the movie. The book is still better, but the movie is worth it, too.
Wicked Part One is currently in theaters. On social media, @Mycosmiccircus or @boxseatbabes, let us know your thoughts on this book-to-stage-to-screen adaptation!
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