The new movie adaptation of the Broadway hit Wicked has been quite the buzz ever since it came out. A question that many viewers had was: how could it possibly live up to the musical? As someone who has seen the production on stage, I can tell you that it was everything and more.
The costumes, director choices and casting decisions were incredible. With Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, the musical was brought to life. I will tell you now that I have heard of all the concerns over having a pop star like Grande play such a significant role in such a classic piece. I thought that I would not be able to separate the two, but I was proven very wrong.
Grande portrayed Glinda perfectly, making her seem as if she had become the character herself. Her vocal talents were brought to a next level, furthering the soundtrack and the movie’s overall success. However, Grande was just a partial part in the music of the film. The casting for the entire movie was fantastic.
The emotion and dedication was felt through the screen and truly made this movie special. In songs such as “Defying Gravity,” Erivo and Grande sang it live. I was extremely impressed with this, because with many musical-made-movies that I have seen, the singing often feels very studio-like.
What really got to me with the singing was seeing the original Broadway Elphaba and Glinda themselves singing in the movie. At one point they went to stand by their past characters, creating an extremely moving moment as they joined in their song. It offered a chance for the audience to experience generations of this fantastic tale, and the love that is poured into it.
In total, this movie was two hours and 41 minutes long, with no intermission (unlike the play). I would definitely recommend watching this movie at home if you are unable to sit still like me. At some parts of the film I wanted to walk out to use the bathroom, but I was glued to my seat because every second there was something new and interesting going on that I knew I just couldn’t miss.
However, if you have the time and patience to see the movie in theaters, I would highly recommend seeing it there instead. I loved the opportunity to see it up close, however, the Wizard of Oz’s flying monkey guards later in the movie were quite the jumpscare, so be warned and don’t spill your popcorn like I did.
