Wicked (2024)

November 26, 2024 1:09 PM

Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman because of her green skin, and Glinda, a popular girl, become friends at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. After an encounter with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads.
posted by BuddhaInABucket (36 comments total)

Is it better than the other prequel?
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 2:42 PM on November 26, 2024 [1 favorite]

Which other prequel?
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 4:01 PM on November 26, 2024

I assume Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon is referring to Oz the Great and Powerful from 2013, but I am prepared to be told that I am wrong about this.

My general thought on the matter is that Wicked is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz to roughly the same degree that Black Sails is a prequel to Muppet Treasure Island, which is to say there are a bunch of characters with the same names and the stories somewhat lead from one into the other but I would not expect much tonal fidelity between the two.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 4:34 PM on November 26, 2024 [11 favorites]

Muppet Treasure Island certainly features more nudity.
posted by td2x10e3 at 6:36 PM on November 26, 2024 [4 favorites]

i wanted them to kiss so badly (i mean I'd hope they'd kiss well when they did kiss but they did not kiss)
posted by kokaku at 7:31 PM on November 26, 2024 [2 favorites]

I may be well actuallying here, but just in case it's not widely known: Wicked is an adaptation of this book by Gregory Maguire, which is an adult novel playing with the characters and world of Oz. Totally different in tone and intent than either the original L. Frank Baum books or the various cash-grab movies.
posted by restless_nomad at 5:14 AM on November 27, 2024 [10 favorites]

Thank you, restless_nomad. I had not heard of that book.

I am not big into musicals, but I enjoy some of them! I have not seen any version of Wicked, stage or screen. Wicked has been so enormously popular; but I cannot think of a single tune from the show that broke out as a hit. Seems odd... most musicals with this kind of lasting popularity end up with at least one song that becomes well known outside of the show.
posted by SoberHighland at 7:41 AM on November 27, 2024 [1 favorite]

Uh. Defying Gravity made it onto Glee as a pretty significant character development moment.
posted by emkelley at 8:06 AM on November 27, 2024 [5 favorites]

There’s no surer sign that a person knows no gay men than never having heard Defying Gravity ad nauseum. (Just playing, SoberHighland).

This gay man thought the movie was basically as perfect as it could have been. The singing, acting, casting, costumes, sets, dancing, cinematography… spectacular!
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 8:39 AM on November 27, 2024 [6 favorites]

I’ll add that it should be against the law for a movie to be this long without a 5 minute bathroom break, though.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 8:40 AM on November 27, 2024 [4 favorites]

To be fair, right after Defying Gravity is where the bathroom break is in the stage production.

(Went to see it on Broadway as my wife's college graduation gift - that was amazing.)
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:18 AM on November 27, 2024

Wicked is one of my favorite books, and I was a bit bemused when it was turned into a musical many years ago. I did get to see it a while back and enjoyed it, but definitely very different from the book. And the casting of 30-something women in roles meant for teenage girls will always feel like a misstep to me, regardless of how talented the actors are. In addition to other thems, the book is very much a story of teens getting a rather harsh lesson on how the world works; harder to buy when watching fully adult women.

What's funny to me is seeing tiktoks with people warning parents that Wicked the book is not really suitable for young readers, like for the folks thinking they'll get their 10-year-old Wicked-the-musical fanatic the book as a gift is maybe...not a great idea.
posted by Molasses808 at 9:54 AM on November 27, 2024 [3 favorites]

I assume Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon is referring to Oz the Great and Powerful from 2013, but I am prepared to be told that I am wrong about this.

That was the one. I actually didn't hate it as much as most. It was OK.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 3:04 PM on November 27, 2024

What's funny to me is seeing tiktoks

That is weird. He's not really a part of the first Oz installment in any medium.
posted by LionIndex at 5:06 PM on November 27, 2024 [22 favorites]

Well, I just saw it and really liked it. For this long of a movie, it didn't drag at all, even if I still think it's ridiculous to have two parts. It's beautiful to watch, love the costumes. Love Fiyero most, I think, and the "Dancing Through Life" sequence in the circular library with the dancing is fucking amazing, and I want to go to the Ozdust ballroom. Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh are excellent at what they do, and the girls made me root for them.

When Elphaba called Fiyero out on being unhappy and he was dumbstruck...my, my. And he heroically immediately ran to save the cub, awwww.

I am, however, "Boq? Why is this guy here?" I read the book/saw the musical long ago and I don't even remember that guy, so every time he popped up I was all, "why?" Also, looking at him and looking at Ariana and thinking, "In real life those two left marriages for each other," and I'm still all....why? Really? THAT pairing?
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:58 PM on November 29, 2024 [1 favorite]

To be fair, right after Defying Gravity is where the bathroom break is in the stage production.

The stage production, intermission included, runs two hours and forty five minutes.

The film runs two hours and forty minutes.
posted by Karmakaze at 7:17 PM on November 29, 2024 [3 favorites]

Yeah, I read part of the book around the time it was published, but kind of stalled out partway through as I wasn't finding it particularly compelling. I think the stage musical is a delight, however. When I heard a film adaptation was coming out, I was tentatively interested but when I heard it was going to become two entire movies, I was somewhat taken aback because that is a LOT of additional content they have to extend that into.
posted by rmd1023 at 7:48 AM on November 30, 2024 [1 favorite]

I was concerned about the two-parts of it all, but having finally seen it yesterday, I think they made the right call. I think a film necessitates slowing things down a little - and this film let's the first act breathe. (I saw the stage show again earlier this year and it flies by so fast! That's not a complaint, but there is definitely good reason to slow things down.) The film teases out some ideas and a sequence like Dancing Through Life which, on stage, is a single number that dovetails into the Ozdust Ballroom scene, is broken down into distinct segments in the film. It hits all the emotional beats and lets the audience feel them before moving on.

It doesn't really feel like padding it out, though. There is one new song, which is dropped into the One Short Day/Oz sequence and it feels essential - or worthy of being there for several reasons, which I won't spoil. And there are other segments of the film, like Elphaba's childhood, which actually draws in more detail from the Maguire novel.

I never felt the length of it was a problem. Chu knows how to stage a musical number. Some of it might have been a bit overwrought, but some of the changes in tone and inflection (line readings, additional flourishes in the singing) really hit the nail on the head.

Hell of a month to release a film about fascism, too.
posted by crossoverman at 3:16 PM on December 1, 2024 [10 favorites]

I went in concerned... movies of musicals tend to not live up to expectations. Had seen the Broadway show (with the original cast), read the book (barely, it was a slog). Read nothing about this past it was a part 1 and what came up for the fan-edited poster controversy.

Length was not an issue. Sometimes a three hour movie seems longer (Marvel, we're looking at you.) This was not like that. It didn't feel like whole things were added, just embellishments here and there. Like in Popular.

Got concerned that Ariana Grande was doing more of a "playing Kristin Chenoweth playing Glinda" than actually playing Glinda. Realized pretty quickly that no, that's just how the character is. From there on out, settled in and let it go. And it was good.

Avoiding spoilers, the scene crossoverman refers to in the city of Oz was very well done, and while not needed for plot, was important for the fans of the stage show. The Wizard was a perfect casting as well, no notes and I can't think of anyone else for it.

Will probably want to rewatch, there was some foreshadowing I caught and interesting play of pink and green in... well, everywhere.
posted by neilbert at 6:38 PM on December 1, 2024 [3 favorites]

I had forgotten so much of the show, which I saw 11 years ago. Thought the casting of every part was great, but Cynthia Erivo was particularly amazing. Her expressions were so powerful.

I enjoyed the scenery, costumes and music, although I thought Popular was over edited, with way too many cuts. After the first scene, which dragged, it mostly moved right along.
posted by Sukey Says at 8:17 PM on December 8, 2024

It's probably pretty telling that everyone keeps asking, "Have you seen Wicked yet?!" at me. Haven't had that socially go on since Barbie.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:37 AM on December 9, 2024 [2 favorites]

The stage show incubated a huge audience for this, it's very well done by people who are clearly huge fans of the stage show, plus the sets and colouring pay respects to the Technicolor masterpiece of the MGM film. Stephen Shwartz's musuc weaves themes and motifs throughout (even hiding the first 7 notes of Somewhere Over the Rainbow in the Unlimited motif) and it's thorough earworm territory.
posted by k3ninho at 6:02 PM on December 11, 2024 [2 favorites]

I am a huge Wizard of Oz fan and I hated the book WICKED. I thought the stage production was bloated and confusing, though I did love the music. I enjoyed this movie a lot! I think they added just enough to the story so that Elphaba's actions now (to me anyway) make sense and are clearly motivated by her love and respect for the talking animals. And her justifiable fear of a clearly fascist Wizard. I can't wait to see Part Two!
posted by pjsky at 10:21 AM on December 15, 2024

I just came from finally seeing this. I remember enjoying the book when it first came out, but the musical left me a bit cold. I thought the movie was great, despite its length.

Excellent casting, amazing singing, great sets and cinematography, much funnier than I had expected. The themes are perfect , and I thought the filling out of the story was great. Definitely excited for the next installment - which will make bank for sure…
posted by gemmy at 5:05 PM on December 15, 2024

Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero was an absolute revelation to me. I had no idea of his theatrical background and that was a fun dive.

I really liked all the subtle cues to the character arcs, esp Bailey's.

My kids are huge Aaron Tveit fans and they're incredibly sad he wasn't shoehorned into a role here, though I do agree he might have been an interesting Wizard.

The book is banned in a few of the local middle schools, apparently because of themes, not because it's terrible.
posted by beaning at 8:02 AM on December 16, 2024

Re: Defying Gravity as the breakout hit from the show - my partner, someone who does not like musicals, said we should go see Wicked because it had been pushed so hard in her social media feeds. I, someone who DOES like musicals, readily said yes, and we just went last night.

Turns out, she was familiar with Defying Gravity, but she had no idea that it came from Wicked.

(This movie sadly did not change her mind about musicals. I enjoyed the heck out of it, though.)
posted by solotoro at 8:41 AM on December 24, 2024

If you can, see this on the big screen. The visuals and production design are SO GORGEOUS. It pays such tribute to the 1939 film while being very much a thing of its own. It's worth seeing just because it's so goddamn beautiful and well made. The casting is top-notch, the acting is great, the songs are fine, "Defying Gravity" is the breakout hit with good reason.

I didn't expect the story to be so multilayered, coming from a children's book. But after being filtered through so many adaptations, it's timelier than ever, and yet very true to the source material, eugenics included. It starts with the celebration of the death of the Wicked Witch, and as the celebration goes on it becomes clear there's more to the story, that Glinda is hiding something guiltily. As we learn about Elphaba's life we discover she's the opposite of Wicked, and yet we always know her fate. It's so tragic. She's abused by everyone: her parents, her roommate, her headmistress. But she also wins people over, at least temporarily. It's shocking and real when Galinda is moved to dance with her. She gains the trust of Dr. Dillamond. We so want her to succeed, knowing she will not.

The Wizard, touted for his knowledge and skill, we know to be a charlatan. But he proves himself to be a true villain here, not the bumbler of Dorothy's story. What he does to his daughter (VERY telegraphed if not explicitly stated) is so awful, and the implications that he created her in order to control her and use magic through her is so gross and creepy. The parable aspect of his reign and his scapegoating of Animals resonates with this moment in America so strongly. We feel the echoes of the Gilded Age of the original Oz book and the rise of fascism concurrent with the best-known Oz film. Those of us who care for others, who are against the bullies--we are losing, we are cast as villains like Elphaba. Maybe the chads and their tradwives will win out over us woke SJWs, but we have to keep fighting just the same.
posted by rikschell at 4:23 PM on December 30, 2024 [2 favorites]

I didn't expect the story to be so multilayered, coming from a children's book.

As was pointed out earlier, Wicked (the actual book series) is very much not meant for kids.
posted by NoxAeternum at 3:32 PM on January 1 [1 favorite]

I've seen this twice. Can any big Wicked fans or folks who know music explain why I get Nobody's Side from Chess stuck in my head after seeing it? I don't think it's a coincidence, as my first and second viewing were six weeks apart.
posted by amarynth at 6:58 AM on January 6 [1 favorite]

Okay, this is amazing:
YouTube: How People Thought ARIANA GRANDE Would Sing WICKED (FULL VERSION)
posted by mochapickle at 10:13 AM on January 10 [2 favorites]

I am not a crackpot, but my personal theory is that Wicked (the stage show) is the greatest one-act musical of all time. So it felt like a personal gift from the universe that the movie adaptation allows one to stop right at the end of the good stuff. Seriously, all the best songs are in the first act, watching the characters pace through their now clearly pre-determined arcs is tedious, and it feels like you're in Evita in a bad way. I really liked this movie, but I will not go see "Part II".

neilbert mentioned it, but I personally never got over Ariana Grande playing Kristin Chenoweth playing Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. It wasn't so distracting that it ruined the movie but she didn't bring anything new or even different to the character at all. When we saw the musical in 2009 in San Francisco (fun fact, San Francisco was actually the world premiere, not Broadway) Kendra Kassebaum was Galinda and she rocked it.

But Cynthia Erivo, holy god! She brought so much to this, really helped make the story much, much more than just "see how the Wicked Witch of the West was made". You see her struggle against circumstances, first in her own family as the almost literal black sheep, and then in the broader world. You can almost see the gears in her head turning as she weighs trusting untrustworthy would-be allies, debating between keeping up the front and risking vulnerability. A delight. There was a comment I saw on Mastodon that this was the "Blackest movie ever" (as in showing the African-American experience) and I can't really comment on the truth of that statement but it certainly added a fascinating level of allegory.

Yes to the set design, graphically you can tell that the makers of this movie knew all the source materials and brought it to bear. Special effects were helpful and not distracting. The only thing that stuck out in a negative way was the camera seemed to linger on Grande's clavicles in a downright uncanny light.

Glad I saw it, knew that I would be sobbing at the end of Defying Gravity and indeed was. A worthy adaptation.
posted by wnissen at 8:08 AM on January 13

The book is banned in a few of the local middle schools, apparently because of themes

And the polyamory and the orgies and the violent murder of Dr. Dillamond, among many other reasons people might think teens shouldn't read it. (I disagree and I hope the bans move kids to find ways to read the book.)
posted by tzikeh at 9:59 PM on January 17

Just got around to seeing it, and it really exceeded my expectations! I think splitting it into two was a good decision. The story benefitted from having room to breathe. And it helps that there is such a clear 2 act structure to this.

Cynthia Erivo really brings so much to Elphaba. It's truly a remarkable cast overall, but Erivo adds so much depth. I got chills during the final Defying Gravity scene.

Also the CGI and effects are insanely good. Seeing the Emerald City and Oz like this...it's so gorgeous.
posted by litera scripta manet at 6:39 PM on January 27

I'm....not a huge musical fan, ironically. Movie musicals either, and I only saw this because I always try to see the Best Picture nominees. So I'm more of a "meh" here - it looked gorgeous, and Erivo was great and Grande did better than I thought she would, but I never was into the musical so the movie of it left me at "meh".

I DID really appreciate the cameos in the extra song crossoverman talked about, though.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:39 AM on March 1

I finally saw this and the cameos there had my wife and I almost falling out of our seats laughing. I was pretty skeptical but I think stretching it out to over 2 hours fleshed out a lot of stuff that would be easy to skim past in live theater - there's a different feel to seeing something on stage vs the more immersive experience of watching a movie. Also, book-sliding choreography! Erivo was amazing - Grande was good but I had trouble understanding her enunciation when she was singing up at the top end of her range.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:58 PM on March 3

realizing with a chuckle that the movie straight-up does the "she takes off her glasses and lets down her hair… and she
is
beautiful"
trope pretty much without any hint of irony

(I'm behind the times but also this movie only just came out here less than a week ago)
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:50 PM on March 12 [1 favorite]