Wicked, the highly anticipated movie starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, came out on November 22, 2024. The movie Wicked is an adaptation of both a Broadway musical and a book. Author Gregory Maguire wrote the book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West based off of the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Maguire’s book was published in 1995 and later became a Broadway musical that began performing in 2003. Wicked the musical is only loosely based on the book, and the 2024 movie mainly follows the musical.
All three share the same general story and feature the same two main characters, Galinda and Elphaba. Wicked takes place before the events in The Wizard of Oz. Cynthia Erivo plays Elphaba, a girl with green skin and powerful magic, and Ariana Grande plays Galinda, a pretentious aspiring sorceress. Elphaba and Galinda meet at school and instantly dislike each other. Eventually, Elphaba and Galinda form a deep friendship, and strange occurrences in Oz lead them to meet the famous Wizard of Oz. The movie that just came out is only the first part of a two-part adaptation. The second movie is coming out on November 21, 2025.
Wicked is a musical and features the same songs as the Broadway performance, including “Defying Gravity” and “Popular.” Erivo and Grande’s voices sounded spectacular together. The ending scene where Erivo sings “Defying Gravity” is one of the best parts of the movie. Both actresses were perfect for their roles, and the complicated friendship between their characters seemed genuine.
Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, the original Elphaba and Galinda from the Broadway show, made a surprise appearance in Wicked as well. Although it may not be as good as seeing the show live, the Wicked movie provides a more detailed version of the story. What’s nice about a movie over a play is that the setting looks much better. Oz turned out magical and colorful looking in Wicked and the Emerald City looked beautiful. All in all, Wicked is perfect for music and theater lovers, or really just anyone who appreciates a fun fantasy movie.
