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If you haven't seen Wicked: Part 1 yet, I implore that you do soon. As you can tell by my rating, I was absolutely taken aback by it.
Call it cliché, but I can’t help feeling like I’m simply waiting for a tornado to carry me to a far-off world—because that’s exactly the spell Wicked has cast on me. Seeing this story unfold on the big screen transported me back to when I was 13 years old, sitting in the theatre with my besties, utterly enamoured by the stage design and vocals of the broadway show. Back then, I didn't really get it. But as I've grown, so has my understanding, and it resonates so deeply, in ways I can't quite describe. Experiencing the musical in this format felt like coming full circle.
This time, however, I recognised the importance of the undertones in this film. Getting to see Ariana Grande, a pop star who defined so many teenage years, take on the role of Glinda and completely make it her own. Ariana was born to play Glinda—or Galinda, as she so insists early on. Her effortless vocals and endless know-how of the character meant that she paid tribute to the original Glinda of Wicked, but also brought a charm that was refreshingly new. It isn't a new Ariana album, but it feels like one.
Not forgetting Cynthia Erivo, whose performance as Elphaba is stellar. There's smoothness in her voice that quite literally melts in the air, before being rounded out and carried with stunning vibrato. Together, Cynthia and Ariana's voices combine into one so seamlessly in their duets that you almost can’t tell where one ends and the other begins. But when they have their respective solos, it’s something else entirely. Cynthia’s Defying Gravity is transcendent, while Ariana’s Popular is playful and unapologetically fun, both paying homage to the Wicked original cast in their own way. The easter eggs are also incredibly playful, with a few nods to Dorothy's ruby slippers, and—
SPOILER!
Idina Menzel (the "wickedly talented" original Elphaba) and Kristen Chenoweth (Ms Glinda herself) make a surprise appearance, which is really just like Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield showing up in Spiderman: No Way Home, for theatre kids.
Watching these two powerhouses bring Elphaba and Glinda to life with such chemistry and authenticity really reinforced the notion of sisterhood, which is one of those feelings that words can't ever describe.
Wicked: Part 1 also amplifies the themes I mentioned previously, which I watched as a 13-year-old but perhaps didn’t fully grasp at the time. Elphaba’s struggle for acceptance in Shiz is ever relevant, perhaps more than before, what with so much controversy and focus on the words we use regarding others. We watch Erivo take the character to ethereal heights, literally, as she soars above the Emerald City.
The nods to animal rights are handled with the right amount of power, drawing attention to the Animals of Oz who are silenced and forced into cages. It's a mirror, reflective of both the animal and human race, whom seem to lose rights every single day. Layered beneath it all is the message that the labels of “good” and “wicked” aren't really too far apart, and "different" doesn't have to be bad.
As the credits rolled, I found myself overwhelmed by how well this adaptation performed. I've been let down by Jon M. Chu in the past, with his terrible adaptation of Jem and The Holograms; but he seems to have redeemed himself.
With a whole 365 days to wait until Part 2 comes out, I'll be hanging onto the image of Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, and that oh so very rare feeling of loving a movie so much it's all your mind is set on for a while afterward.
Have you seen Wicked yet?
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