"Wicked"

By Winston Chu Dec. 11, 2024

While I was traveling in New York this summer, green posters advertising for “Wicked the Musical” on Broadway seemed to dominate the city. Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to watch the Broadway show, so when the “Wicked” movie came out on Nov. 22, I knew not to miss it again.

Capitalizing on the musical’s success, producers of the “Wicked” movie sought to bring the production to the big screen. Starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh and other talented cast members, the movie explores the origins of the Wicked Witch of the West from “The Wizard of Oz.” Elphaba, born with green skin, attends Shiz University, where she finds herself rooming with the popular Glinda. Their initial hostility towards each other shifts into a genuine friendship, leading them to embark on a journey to meet the Wizard of Oz together.

Everyone at Shiz ridicules Elphaba because of her green skin, viewing her as bizarre. Initially, Glinda also shares these prejudices, but she is eventually able to value character over superficial differences like appearance—something we should all keep in mind when meeting those who are different from us. Once the other students see Glinda supporting Elphaba, they quickly drop their prejudices and flock to copy Glinda, illustrating the shallow nature of conformity and the importance of individuality. 

"Wicked" seamlessly blends the world of cinema and musicals together. The vibrant hand-crafted set and coordinated choreography work harmoniously to bring the story to life. And of course, Erivo and Grande’s powerful voices singing live during the movie production—whether it be in the midst of dancing, running or even flying stunts—made the music memorable and was sure to get the audience grooving. 

However, the film was on the longer side, with a runtime of two hours and forty minutes. Instead of concluding the story, “Wicked” ends on a cliffhanger with “Wicked Part Two” releasing in November 2025. It feels unnecessary to release the story in two separate parts, especially because certain plot points were stretched out due to various irrelevant subplots.

Despite this, the second part should resolve these subplots and provide a gripping conclusion to Elphaba and Glinda’s story. I, for one, am excited to see if it will be just as thrilling as “Wicked.”

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 About the Contributors

Winston Chu is a junior at Leland High. This is his second year in Journalism, and his first year as a movie columnist. He enjoys speech and debate, watching television series, and sleeping.