The glow of emerald city, the shine of Dorothy’s silver slippers, and the sound of Elphaba casting a new spell has finally arrived back in theaters. A continuation of the famous, magical, and classic story has been drawing in the crowds, full of excitement and joy from the last movie, although the came in for a surprise when act two takes an unexpected tornado whirl of emotions.
This movie started off with curiosity about Elphaba and a closer look into Glinda’s fame blinded perspective. As the story grew, we started to see Fieryos longing for Elphaba grow and Glinda’s good persona she “had” to keep up. The story is filled with twists and turns as we discover the truth behind the classic characters such as Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion and as we see Fieyro and Elphaba’s relationship blossom. What I really liked about the movie in particular was the Glinda perspective on the situation. I have known the story but never understood the emotional impact that Glinda must be feeling throughout the story. She lost everyone and has to still be Glinda the Good.
As a previous viewer of the musical, I wondered what new perspectives and pictures could be painted within the film. I was pleased to hear they were keeping Dorothy the same as Broadway, a faceless character. Although I believe an in depth weave into Dorothy’s story and Wicked’s story could have been interesting and different, the point of Wicked is to showcase Elphaba and Glinda’s story. I appreciate that Jon M. Chu, the director of the film, stayed true to the meaning of the story.
Even though that important detail was the same as the Broadway version, a new surprise shocked fans as they announced shortly before the movie’s release that two new songs will be added in the movie. After reviewing the movie, I personally feel like adding these songs was unnecessary but interesting. The new songs included an Elphaba solo titled “No Place Like Home” and a Glinda solo titled “Girl in the Bubble.” While I enjoyed both new and fresh deep perspectives on the characters motives, I felt that the songs didn’t move the plot and could have easily not been added.
Another song that disappointed me was “As Long as You’re Mine” sung by Elphaba and Fieyro. I felt that the movie didn’t capture the intimate feelings or romantic tension of the song. Even though those songs were slightly different than I wanted them to be, the movie as a whole was breathtaking and emotion filled. My personal favorite show stopping number was “No Good Deed,” it was sad, action packed, and vocally stunning.
The actors such as Cynthia Ervio, Ariana Grande, Ethan Slater, and Jonathan Bailey really did an amazing job with the shift in motives for all the different characters and made this movie unbelievably bursting with talent. Not to mention the costumes, special effects, and makeup really shined in this movie. Overall, the movie was different from the first, and although I loved it, my personal favorite was Wicked part one.
