Wicked is finally here! After more than a year of tease and hype, the film version of the long-running Broadway musical Wicked has made it to the big screen. Well, actually, the first half of Wicked – turning what is probably a 2-1/2 hour stage musical into nearly 6 hours (assuming Part 2 is as long as Part 1) of movie. But, and I’ll guess that a lot of you are in the same position as I am, having never seen the stage version, I’m not sure what was added or subtracted, so this review is from that standpoint. I know the “headliner” music, and the Wizard of Oz – it turns out there’s SO much more! This was a lavish, luscious, beautiful adaptation, if somewhat confusing in its plot.

The stage musical debuted in 2003, adapted from the 1995 book of the same name by Gregory Maguire. It has toured for years, and has legions of adoring fans. Despite that, themes of racism, autocracy, and blind obedience to a distant ruler feel very current. In the story, animals have been part of society for years, able to speak and working in every job category. But these abilities are now being taken away, and animals are being caged and removed from an equal acceptance. This is one of the conflicts in the story that prompts a character’s transformation.

Quick plot rundown – a girl, Elphaba, is born from an unfaithful Munchkin mother and an unknown lover, and carries the mark of that affair by having green skin. She’s abandoned by her mother’s husband, and forced to care for her doted-upon, disabled younger sister. When the sister goes to Shiz University, their father insists that Elphaba accompany her sister Nessarose to watch over her. Elphaba demonstrates uncontrolled magical ability, which comes to the notice of the school’s professor of magic, Madam Morrible. She meets the “golden girl,” Glinda, a beautiful, spoiled, shallow, but definitely kind student, and eventually the two become friends. When Elphaba is summoned to meet the Wizard of Oz, the reason for Morrible’s attentions becomes clear.

For the most part, this was incredibly fun. All the voices were stunning, and the stars were very well cast. Cynthia Erivo, who plays the green-skinned Elphaba (name taken from the original Oz author’s name – L. Frank Baum), has an amazing voice, and played the conflicted, angry, traumatized young woman perfectly. She is tall, regal, angry, unwilling to show how much the other students’ jibes and dislike hurt her.

Pop star Ariana Grande (Grande-Butera in the movie credits) was a surprise – probably not to those who know this singer/actress better than I do, but her hair-tossing, spoiled, shallow, but deep down kind Glinda (pronounced Ga-linda, as she makes clear) was over the top fabulous. Grande’s speaking voice was a little hard to understand, and some lines ended up being a bit too throwaway. But where she could have played this as a Karen-type of spoiled brat, Glinda was never hurtful, and made sure to include everyone, even her “loathed” roommate Elphaba. Again, not having seen the stage version, I don’t have a handle on how Kristin Chenoweth, the original Glinda, played this character (and I LOVE Kristin Chenoweth), but in an era of a great deal of unkindness in the real world, I can live with sweet but spoiled.

The scenes between Glinda and Elphaba were beautifully shot. The growing friendship between the two girls was, in the way of musicals, rushed, and turned on a dime, but Erivo and Grande’s voices blended well together. I didn’t have any trouble accepting that these two from different backgrounds became each other’s “ride or die” friends.

An early source of irritation turned into a “yeah, ok, love this” moment – Michelle Yeoh, as the sorcery teacher Madam Morrible, seemed at first like she was playing a character that just didn’t suit Yeoh’s long career of action roles, often not terribly likable (as in Star Trek Discovery). Madam Morrible was caring, recognizing Elphaba’s untrained abilities, even if she had no use for Glinda (who wanted nothing more than to study sorcery). But in the last third of the movie, when she teamed up with Oz’s great and powerful Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), the light turned on, and it was very obvious why Yeoh had been cast. Loved that!

One standout for me was Bridgerton‘s Jonathan Bailey as Prince Fiyero. While the Prince felt about 10 years older than the other students at Shiz (including Saturday Night Live’s Bowen Yang), it truly didn’t seem to matter. Bailey’s dancing, especially during a fabulous number set in the school’s library with hamster-wheel bookshelves, makes me want to see that scene a couple of times (and I just might go back more than once…). In interviews with director John M. Chu, he has talked about this scene taking weeks to film, and it shows.

The Emerald City scenes were completely over the top. I haven’t seen anything like this before – it was a glittering, overwhelming place, full of green-clothed happy singing and dancing residents. The story of how Oz and the Emerald City came to be under the direction of the Wizard was one of the most fun pieces of this film, and has a big surprise for fans of the stage production that made our audience gasp and laugh – and I’ve decided not to tell you what that is, you’ll just have to see it for yourself!

There are a few links to the original 1939 Wizard of Oz to pick out – a little Toto callback; Glinda’s Shiz U friend Boq’s last name is (and I didn’t get this until I googled something just now) Woodsman; poppies that make you sleep; and the two girls select the color of the Brick Road. Let’s hope they find some way of explaining the change in Dorothy’s ruby slippers. I’m sure there were more! I guess you have to suspend what you think you know about Wizard of Oz‘s timeline – in the 1939 movie, Dorothy meets the traveling magician who is ultimately revealed to be the Wizard, but here, the Wizard has been in Oz for years before meeting students Glinda and Elphaba.

I don’t personally like “part 1 and part 2” movies – it was tolerable with the most recent and upcoming Mission: Impossible films, because the first one didn’t feel incomplete. But this one definitely does – the animal plot felt like it was given short shrift, and since I don’t know the story of the stage play, I have no idea what I’m missing for part 2, but the ending felt more annoying than cliffhanger. What do you add to a nearly 3-hour musical to make it a more than 5-hour film? Yet I’m not sure what I would have taken out of Part 1, since it was truly a fun watch. Part 2 comes out Nov. 21, 2025.

Here’s the official trailer for Part 1:

I’ll definitely have to see this again – I saw it in 3D on Wednesday night, when AMC theaters offered a public preview showing across the country. The first few minutes of our showing, a scene at the end of Glinda and Elphaba’s story when the Wicked Witch has been killed, was shown in an incorrect format and the 3D didn’t come into focus. This was the only scene for this part in Munchkinland, and it would have been fun to see!

Universal released several beautiful posters for this film – here’s a few!

There’s a ton of merchandise for this film. For the AMC showing, they were giving out a 66-piece Lego set. The concession counters had two different popcorn buckets, one for Glinda and one for Elphaba, and two different (beautiful) water bottles.

There are also POP Funko figures of Glinda (2 versions), Elphaba, Morrible and Fiyero – you can get them here on the Three If By Space shop. I brought mine to the showing, hoping to get a photo with a large cardboard standee (but there weren’t any at our theater).

What did you think of the movie? Have you seen the stage show or read the books? Let me know below!

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