Wicked review: a spell of new life for a timeless story

Like many of you, I had my reservations about Jon M. Chu’s movie adaptation of the Broadway musical, Wicked. Pre-existing IP for the holiday season? Groundbreaking.

The musical, written by Winnie Holzman and composed by Stephen Schwartz, is itself an adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which is a revisionist take on L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – which of course is best known as that most sacred of cinematic achievements, The Wizard of Oz. Phew.

After being cut and re-sewn into so many different forms – a bit like Marge Simpson’s pink Chanel dress – would the origin story of Dorothy’s green, pointy-fingered arch nemesis still hold up? And would it be enough to warrant a 2-hour-40-minute movie (which is actually just part one)?

Thankfully, my short answer is ‘yes!’ (sung in the key of D-flat major).

The Wizard and I

Full disclosure, I am a theatre kid. I saw the original Melbourne cast of Wicked in 2008, with Rob ‘Millsy‘ Mills as Fiyero. I’m aware that sentence will sound like gibberish to many readers (would it perhaps excite you more to learn that Anthony Callea played Boq? No?). Point is, I’ve been ride-or-die for Elphaba and Glinda since day one. All this means is I’m essentially hardwired to enjoy the Wicked film.

And oh, how I enjoyed it. Admittedly carried by Schwartz’s incredible music and lyrics, Wicked: Part One is such a grand delight it’s hard not to be charmed by it. Distinguishing itself from the stage show right off the bat with a sweeping fly-over shot of Oz in all its wheat-trimmed glory, and coming in to land on the first of many intricate sets – a yellow-brick town square where villagers celebrate the ‘death’ of the wicked witch – it’s clear that director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) understands how to elevate a text that was already great as-is.

The sets are gorgeous, the costumes are divinely detailed, and the camera work looks a helluva lot better than what you see in the trailers. The bigger the screen, the better. The Emerald City deserves to be seen in as many pixels as possible.

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Among the differences that movie magic allows, there are significantly more creatures in this version of Wicked: from bear midwives to sassy snow leopards and drumming sugar gliders. Doctor Dillamond, a man-goat hybrid in the stage play, is now a fully CG goat in a suit, voiced by Peter Dinklage.

It’s so campy that, handled incorrectly, it has the power to make or break a mainstream film like this. But because we know this is the land of Oz, where heartless tin men and cowardly lions jitterbug through the woods, and because Dinklage approaches the voice work with such seriousness, it works.

You’ll be popular

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are having the time of their lives stepping into the striped socks and sparkly slippers (respectively) of two of Broadway’s, and cinema’s, most recognisable icons. I’m no fan of Grande, but her diva status is undeniable, and her ability to hit those crazy whistle notes allows her to slide so easily into the role of the Ga-linda the Good Witch. Erivo, on the other hand, will go down as one of the greatest movie musical leads of all time.

The supporting cast is nothing to click your heels at, either: Bridgerton‘s Jonathan Bailey as the ‘swankified’ Prince Fiyero is an absolute scene-stealer, and his rendition of ‘Dancing Through Life’, complete with spinning set pieces, had me grinning like a loon.

Bowen Yang is hilarious as Glinda’s right-hand-man, Pfannee. Michelle Yeoh sashays and slays through her scenes as Madame Morrible, and Jeff Goldblum as the eponymous Wizard of Oz is inspired casting. Everyone deserves the chance to, ah, fly.

I was, however, disappointed by the obvious use of artificial pitch correction – particularly when it came to Yeoh, Goldblum and Dinklage. A movie musical that goes hard on the ‘musical’ part means that those not known for their singing ability will be left in the dust, and while it’s obvious the three of them are there for their acting power, I do think there would be significant benefits to hiring singers here.

Maybe the words ‘stunt casting’ will come to mind. Or, if they don’t by the midway point, they definitely will when it comes to the ‘One Short Day’ musical number. For what it’s worth, I was amused by what was obvious pandering to the theatre die-hards.

There’s also a good five minutes that could be trimmed off of the ending. At 160 minutes, the editors shouldn’t be worried about losing anything by tightening up the last number. One day, you might see pictures of this film next to the word ‘edging’ in the dictionary. Regardless, I still clapped at the end – I can’t help it, this is like cat nip to me!

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Defying gravity

Releasing Wicked in 2024 is no coincidence: just a few months ago we had the 85th anniversary of Victor Fleming’s The Wizard of Oz (1939). Remaining a stalwart of cinephile’s greatest-of-all-time lists, The Wizard of Oz is one of those great films I believe will last forever.

Wicked is not the first time the land of munchkins and flying monkeys has been revisited, and it won’t be the last – but it is certainly one of the most memorable takes on the story.

One could argue that, having been a popular musical for so long, there was no need to ‘re-invent’ Wicked. But if anything, it proves that we’ll always come back to a good story – and sometimes re-examining an old tale reveals something essential we didn’t catch before.

To me, it makes perfect sense that Wicked would eventually become a film, to close the circle between it and 1939’s technicolour marvel. It remains relevant because, put simply, stories about people in power and how they use and abuse it will always be relevant.

Nowadays, I regularly snark about films that go hard on character origin stories, especially if they devote entire plotlines to how those characters came across their lightsaber/hat/broom – but you must understand, Wicked was one of the foundations for such stories.

It might not have been the first to ever do it, but it is a certifiable touchstone for all prequels in any medium. The fact that it remains good in film format is a testament to the strength of the writing – and Schwartz & Holzman have already earned their laurels for that.

Chu simply takes a guaranteed banger and lovingly renovates it, with a few extra scenes and fancy decorations here and there. It would be interesting to see what he could do with an original movie musical.

If Wicked doesn’t win you over at first, you’ll be completely smitten by the final ‘AAAHHAAAYHUUAAAHAAA!’. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll be counting down the days until part two.

Wicked is out in Australian cinemas from 21 November 2024.