Stephen Schwartz’ musical Wicked, based on the Gregory Maguire novel of the same name, has enjoyed a status as one of the definitive Broadway musicals of the 21st century. Millions of people around the world have seen it, and fallen in love with its creativity, its characters, and some of the most memorable show-stopping tunes Broadway has had to offer in many years. I am one of those people. Full disclosure, there is no way I can be fully objective in my review for Wicked the movie today. But I will admit I had my doubts going in. I wasn’t fully convinced of some of the casting, or the decision to split this Broadway musical into a two-part feature film. Although I had a lot emotionally invested in what I wanted this movie to be, I’ve been let down before by many stage musical adaptations gone awry, so I remained a bit skeptical.

Well, it turns out I had nothing to worry about. I should have known, after seeing director Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of In the Heights, that I had very little to worry about with his version of a Wicked movie. The first part of his Wicked adaptation solidified the fact that I should never have doubted him in the first place. Wicked, as a movie, is full of bold swings, lots of filmmaking choices that feel distinctly cinematic, successfully bringing this entity that previously existed only on the stage, into something that feels rapturous, epic and like something that could only exist on the biggest cinema screen imaginable.

A quasi-prequel to The Wizard of Oz, Wicked follows Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo), the misunderstood young woman born with green skin, who eventually becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. We follow Elphaba as she enters Shiz University, a school for those wanting to learn magic and wizardry in the land of Oz. Elphaba has always felt like an outcast, and a pariah, discriminated her whole life due to the color of her skin. At Shiz, she is paired up to be a roommate to Glinda (Ariana Grande), a very blonde, very shallow and very extroverted young woman who later becomes the Good Witch of the North.

Meanwhile, the dashing, charming and vapid Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) arrives on the scene, immediately romancing Glinda, and just about everyone in his path. Once Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) discovers the capacity of Elphaba’s powers, she aims to pair her up with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum). Along the way, Elphaba discovers a conspiracy that threatens the animal professors at Shiz, including but not limited to Doctor Dillamond (Peter Dinklage), the goat history professor Elphaba bonds with. This sends Elphaba on a journey to fight for what is right as she begins to come into her own power.

I left my screening of Wicked: Part 1 last night feeling euphoric. I left feeling so hopeful about the future of cinema and the future of the movie musical as a whole. The movie musical has been having a rough go of it, as of late, with many films hiding their musical identity in their advertising materials, and some adaptations of Broadway musicals (Dear Evan Hansen, Mean Girls, to name a few) where you can feel an aversion to the musical itself in the way the film is executed. Wicked has no qualms about its musical identity. It is extravagant, it is dramatic, it is embracing everything you can do with the musical movie. These giant, elaborate production numbers explode off the screen in ways I have not seen in a musical movie in quite some time.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande seemed like an odd pairing when I initially heard about their casting. I will never question another casting decision Jon M. Chu makes ever again, because these two ladies are making magic together in every way you could fathom, and it’s very difficult to imagine two more capable actresses taking this on. Cynthia Erivo brings a fiery intensity to her Elphaba that is so compelling to watch as the character evolves, and her singing voice is just spectacular, but you leave with the impression that was the easy part for her. The stunts, the choreography and physicality of this role seems like perhaps more of a challenge, but one Erivo was up for at every point.

Ariana Grande has had this gigantic career as one of the most influential pop stars of this generation. She has a massive following, and I’m a fan. I’ve seen her in concert, I own some of her albums on vinyl, but I had no idea she could do what she does here. She walks a tricky tightrope of playing the mean girl but also the adorably goofy dork, who eventually becomes a character you love and root for. And she has incredibly sharp comedic timing, and absolutely sells Glinda’s emotional evolution as the story progresses. And having been a fan, I knew she was and has always been a remarkable talent vocally, but the way she’s able to channel Kristin Chenoweth’s performance, while singing the operatic parts of the Glinda songs, but leaving her own unmistakable trademark on them, is kind of mind-blowing to me. I feel like whatever awards recognition Grande might receive in the wake of this movie will be well-earned.

Jonathan Bailey, an actor you may know from Bridgerton, or Fellow Travelers, also has quite the musical theatre background it would appear. His Fiyero is perfect in every way – he’s charming, he’s dreamy, he’s arrogant, but has an innocence and a wide-eyedness about him that makes him a compelling figure to follow. And the choreography! Fiyero’s big number is an undeniable highlight, and Bailey is bringing so much energy, verve and enthusiasm to this. And as fans of this musical know, Fiyero’s arc becomes more complex in act 2, so I am very excited to see what Bailey has in store for us moving forward. 

Michelle Yeoh, a recent Oscar winner, has stated in interviews that she would love to do a musical but has never thought herself to be much of a singer. I found the few lines that Madame Morrible has to sing to be pretty well done here. Yeoh is never embarrassing herself vocally, but where she really thrives here is with the stature and presence of this character. She plays the early maternal figure-ness of this character with heart, and once Morrible’s true intentions are uncovered, Yeoh is giving a chilling performance. She’s so exciting to watch. Same goes for Jeff Goldblum, who obviously will have more to do in part two, but he effectively lays that groundwork for it here. He turns my least-liked song from the Wicked stage musical into something I very much enjoyed watching on film, and that’s an achievement in itself.

The technical aspects of everything going on here are also top-notch in every way. The costume design by Paul Tazewell is extraordinary and incredibly detailed and vivid, the cinematography by Alice Brooks (who worked with Chu previously on In the Heights), is stunningly gorgeous in just about every frame. The production design by Nathan Crowley – the choice to build the giant sets of Munchkinland and Shiz University and finally Emerald City, as these enormous sets they constructed where everything feels alive and tangible – it absolutely adds to the film’s sense of wonder and magic. And the way the musical numbers are choreographed feels so energetic and lively. Many of the songs are expanded upon, which is something you can do with a two-parter. I’m used to songs in musical adaptations being trimmed or cut to fit the normal length of a movie, and none of that crap is happening here, which is a relief.

The way this screenplay adds material that did not exist in the Broadway musical, expanding upon what is basically just act one of it, into an almost three hour feature film, should not work as well as it does. For a film this long, it doesn’t feel like there is much padding here. In fact, the film’s signature moment, the moment that hit me the hardest emotionally, is a thing that happens in the middle of a musical number, a moment that solidifies the bond between Elphaba and Glinda. It’s also a thing that does not happen in the stage musical, at least not the same way. There are many newly added scenes here that I could not imagine being cut from the final film.

Jon Chu remarked that the reason he cut this film into two parts, was because he would have to do significant damage to it to make the film fit the traditional length of a movie. And I leave the film with the realization that this decision was entirely justified. At many points, I felt like the mistake here was structuring this as ONLY two movies. And despite this being a part-one that literally ends with a ‘to be continued…’ title card, you really do leave the film feeling as if you’ve seen a complete story, and not half of one. That’s kind of remarkable as well.

There are some darker elements at play here, and I do suspect it might feel a bit jarring to people walking in cold. The film kind of goes back and forth between the awestruck show stopping wonder of the musical numbers and a rather dark story of a marginalized group in the land of Oz that are being silenced by an evil man in power who is using them as a scapegoat to further his own agenda. It all sounds devastatingly familiar and unfortunately relevant to our modern day lives, and if you’re uninitiated, the tonal shifts here might feel abrupt. But considering all of this is here in the source material, both book and Broadway musical, I feel like it would be a mistake for the movie to not include those aspects of the story. I’m actually very impressed with how the film handled the darker elements of this story, and I’m glad all of it is there. Parts of this movie are upsetting, and that’s very much the point. 

I left the screening of Wicked: Part 1 last night with my heart feeling so full. In a time in life where so much has disappointed me, and I haven’t felt intense, palpable joy like this in a while, going into a movie I’ve been eagerly anticipating for so long and having it be this singularly perfect in just about every way…I forgot what this felt like. I don’t know if I ever knew what this felt like. This movie is a gift to the legions of fans across the world who love this musical, and the Gregory Maguire books, and The Wizard of Oz, itself. What Jon M. Chu and his cast and creative team have achieved here is nothing short of extraordinary, and is a breathtaking reminder of the magic of movies. See it on the biggest screen you possibly can with the best sound system. You’d be a fool to wait and watch this at home. Go enjoy the magic of Wicked with a huge crowd. We need this kind of thing now more than ever. It’s one of the best films I’ve seen all year.