Wicked, the movie based on the popular Broadway musical and the book, the Wizard of Oz, was released on Nov. 22, 2024. The story follows one of the main characters Elphaba Thropp (played by Cynthia Erivo), later known as the Wicked Witch of the West, showing viewers her backstory as well as her experience in college at Shiz Academy. While at the academy, Elphaba meets Glinda (also known as Galinda, played by Ariana Grande), who later becomes the Good Witch.
Glinda is the co-lead in the movie, and wants to become popular and liked by everyone. She aims to become a witch and hoped to study witchcraft at college. Elphaba is the main lead in the movie, and while she may seem rough on the outside, she is kind hearted and caring, and is passionate about helping animals, as in their world, animals aren’t treated as equally as the others.
Wicked has many themes that the audience can relate to, such as unfairness and inequality, but also friendship and trust. These themes are conveyed through the different moments in the storyline.
For example, when Elphaba is in class one day, her teacher, Dr. Dillamond, a goat, is removed from his teaching position at the college, because in Oz, the animals are being forced to stop communicating and speaking. This represents unfairness and inequality, as the animals are being treated unfairly and forced to change because of who they are.
Moreover, the important message of friendship and trust is also shown through Elphaba and Glinda’s friendship. Since their very first interaction with each other, Elphaba and Glinda hated each other, which is explained in the song “What is this feeling?” At a school party, Glinda convinces Elphaba to wear a witch hat out of spite. However, during the event, Glinda is told that Elphaba convinced her professor to let Glinda into her lessons of witchcraft. Everyone starts to laugh at Elphaba, causing Glinda to feel guilty about what she had done, and ends up dancing with Elphaba, to try and apologize. The two realize that they actually did care about each other, and doing so, the moment formed a bond between them.
Furthermore, one of the main elements of the movie that helps to entertain the audience is the music. There are many popular songs sung throughout the movie, from the opening song, “No One Mourns The Wicked” to “Popular” and “Defying Gravity” which the characters use to express themselves and allows the audience to understand what the characters are thinking and feeling. For example, in “Popular” we can see how much Glinda cares about how others think of her. To add on, “Defying Gravity” is at the turning point of the plot. Elphaba was offered the chance to work with the Wizard of Oz, and the song shows us more about what Elphaba is feeling after finding out he was the one who manipulated everyone to view the animals as threats, causing their unfair treatment. Instead, Elphaba decides to follow her passion of helping the animals of Oz. For example, the lyrics “But, I don’t want it. No, I can’t want it anymore. Something has changed within me. Something is not the same,” represent the change in Elphaba, and shows how she goes against what others think to do the right thing and follow her instincts.
Overall, Wicked is a great fantasy musical for everyone, with interesting songs and characters, as well as important themes, allowing the audience to learn more about the world of Oz.
