Of course, I’m something of an Oz purist. I have read all 14 of L. Frank Baum’s Oz books. Yes, there are 14, and another 19 by a subsequent author named Ruth Plumly Thompson. They have surprisingly little in common with either Wicked or the beloved 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz.
The two attempts at an Oz sequel by Disney, first in 1985, (Return to Oz) and 2013’s Oz The Great and Powerful generally disappointed audiences hoping for another trip “Over the Rainbow.” But in my book-bound world, Return to Oz nailed it. Anyone who saw it remembers the “Wheelers,” a character right out of the book “Ozma of Oz.”
But back to Wicked. Here again, I read the book of the same name by Gregory Maguire in 1995. It was a wonderfully imaginative origin story of Elphaba Thropp, the green Wicked Witch of the West, and the loosely referenced source material for the Broadway play.
So, now that we’ve spent far too much time on the Yellow Brick Road leading to this movie, I can confidently say that it is one of the best of the year! Ariana Grande as Glinda the Good and Cynthia Erivo as the Wicked Witch bring the girls to life in story and song. And boy, can they sing! There will be awards.
AMC Theaters asked on network news that moviegoers refrain from singing during the showing of Wicked out of respect for those unfamiliar with the stage play. That sounds like a promotional stunt to me. But I guess there are fans who crave the interactive experience that The Rocky Horror Picture Show once was. We had no singing in our theater. Thank goodness!
Wicked is actually Part 1 of this origin story. And it is the origin of everything associated with Baum’s children’s books, including talking animals. Here, a note is in order. Think twice before bringing children to this PG-rated show. The music, colors, and action are stunning, but flying monkeys, no matter how they are portrayed, are the stuff of lifelong nightmares. And the winged primates in Wicked are scarier than ever.
Jeff Goldblum is fine as the Wizard but has become a bit too Jeff Goldblum-ish for me. The same goes for Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Dean of Sorcery Studies at Shiz University. (Note here: Shiz predates Hogwarts.) Are there no other mature Asian women in Hollywood? She’s being overused. The one person perfect for this tale, Peter Dinklage, did NOT play a Munchkin. I leave it to you to figure out who he was in the film.
Bowen Yang, from SNL, plays Pfannee, always at Glinda’s side, and is part of a gender-fluid coterie that makes Glinda come off as a Mean Girl. Some of them also fawn over Prince Fiyero, played by Jonathan Bailey, whose earlier work in Bridgerton and Heartstopper won him this role as an Ozian heartthrob.
Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu, sometimes feels like a Disney film. It is not. At others, it seems distilled from extra Harry Potter footage. The visual effects are fun and over the top, with numerous nods to the 1939 production. Watch for them.
When we reached the Emerald City, we felt as if Wicked might be five hours long. And that’s where having a Part 2 makes sense. Just about at the point where good and evil were Cuisinarted for about the fourth time, they wrapped things up and sent us home, having felt we got our money’s worth. This one is worth seeing in Imax if you get a chance, but definitely don’t wait to see it at home–unless you plan on singing.
Wicked, Part 1 (2024) runs 2 hours, 40 minutes and is rated PG
