On November 22, 2024 Wicked was released in US theaters starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Galinda. Wicked is a retelling of “The Wizard of Oz” focusing on the Wicked Witch of the West’s story and is based on the Wicked musical.

The story plot focuses on the Wicked Witch of the West, who is called Elphaba Thropp and before the events of the Wizard of Oz she attends Shiz University, where she meets Galinda. Galinda at the beginning of the movie is a superficial woman, who only cares about appearing “kind” and popular to the other students in Shiz University. At first Galinda dislikes Elphaba, however she eventually warms up to Elphaba and they become friends. That is the most of what can be said without spoiling the story of Wicked too much.

First impressions of the movie were incredibly strong, as the movie began with an incredibly strong song, “No One Mourns The Wicked.” Ariana’s performance was the highlight of that song, with her high register shining through the beginning part of the song. The rest of the music definitely lived up to the standard set by this song. My favorites being “Dancing Through Life” which is an energetic song sung by Jonathan Bailey, “Defying Gravity” which begins with a duet with Ariana Grande and eventually focuses, and “Popular” the most iconic song from the Wicked musical.

Moving on to the set, I found it very visually appealing. One complaint is that the movie, in comparison to the original “Wizard of Oz”, was not as bright, and to an extent yes. The Wicked movie is not nearly as bright as the original Wizard of Oz movie, however that does not mean that the Wicked movie is dull and lifeless. The movie has its beautiful moments, such as the scene where Fiyero and Elphaba are in the forest, the Emerald city, and the library.

Next, the acting in Wicked was great. I found Cynthia Erivo to be an incredible and compelling actress while playing Elphaba, and Ariana Grande was great as Galinda and was really able to capture that “superficial” energy, while also being able to transition into the nicer character well. The supporting cast was also great, Jonathan Bailey’s character of Fiyero was good, Galinda’s friends were funny and overall the whole cast was great.

Lastly, there weren’t any particularly bad aspects to the film. The only oddities that come to mind are the odd names everyone has and the character of Boq, however those aspects don’t take away from the film.

Overall Wicked is a great film with great music, phenomenal characters, and beautiful sets. I found myself incredibly immersed with the movie, so much so that I didn’t feel much boredom with its two hour and forty minute length. Wicked is a great movie to watch with friends and I give it an excellent rating.