Ok.. finally, I watched Wicked today. Here’s my Wicked 2024 / 2025 review…. this movie is cinematic genius. It’s perfect. And I thought the musical was top-notch! This was AMAZING! The level of details in the costume..
Elphaba braids, the way they were styled.. and that gospel riff at the end combined with the visuals of her flying near the sun almost took me OUT. An actress of any color can play Elphaba, but watching a woman soar over haters was a revelation. I will add comments from various social media platforms in the last part of the post. (Wicked 2024 / 2025)
One of the Best Movie Musicals
This has to be one of the best movie musicals I have ever seen, and it’s only part one. This truly goes in the same realm of amazing movie musicals (that I think are perfect) like Hairspray, Mamma Mia, Tick Tick Boom, Dreamgirls (just to name a few that come to mind that are also incredibly done).
To begin, opening with the yellow brick road and the waterfall with the rainbow to show we are going “somewhere over the rainbow” was just the perfect touch. And the font alluding to the font that Wizard of Oz opens with… sooooo GOOD. There’s so many little touches like that throughout the entire movie that really add to the plot and I absolutely love it.
Right Side: Ariana Grande as Galinda Upland
(Wicked Movie 2024/2025)
Ariana Grande’s Performance
Ariana Grande had me jaw-dropped impressed the entire time. Her comedic acting was phenomenal, but the emotion she brought to this movie and to Glinda was extremely heartwarming and perfect. She was perfectly cast. No ifs, ands, or buts! And her end of Popular was everything and more. I’ll never get over her acting in the Defying Gravity scene because WOW.
Cynthia Erivo’s Incredible Performance
Cynthia Erivo!!!!! Where do I even begin. She is the absolute QUEEN of musical theatre/BFA programs around the country. Her vocals take the prize for the best voice I have EVER heard. The way she added a quirky/weirdness to Elphaba was perfectly executed. The way she made every song her own and made it look easy was so satisfying. Another perfectly cast part. I’m just really in awe.
Perfection & Director’s Genius
Side note: watching her sing perfectly while doing back flips was incredible and perfectly insane.The director knocked this out the park and left NO crumbs… he deserves his flowers, man.
A Personal Reflection
Full circle moment – for anyone wanting to understand what it’s like to be a black woman.. go watch this movie. We are constantly being used for our talents and then disrespected when we don’t want to conform. We are so tired of being the bad guy in your narrative cause you can’t control or silence us.
Called bullies because we see through your bs (I’ve been called that multiple times in the last year alone, tsk). That angry black woman narrative is old, tired, and stale. We are also tired of being used when you need us and left alone when we need support.
Who’s gonna hop on that broom with us? Most of our “allies” are Glindas or Madame Morribles who have their own agendas. Both women by the way (again, look at those election results).
Broadway to Film Transition
I’ve seen the Broadway musical five times, and it’s one of my absolute favorites. Few movie adaptations are truly worthy of such praise as it’s difficult to translate the magic of a stage performance. But the magic of this movie is like nothing I’ve ever experienced in theaters. Sure, I thought Titanic was life-changing at the ripe ol’ age of 13, but THIS, this was something entirely different.
Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba
Cynthia Erivo took Elphaba to heights I didn’t know she could reach, literally and figuratively. Being able to see facial expressions on screen, as opposed to in an audience far from stage, brought a whole new level to her character. My entire family was moved to tears during Dancing Through Life; the turning point of a complicated and beautiful friendship. This woman better win all the awards for her performance.
Ariana Grande’s Glinda
And can we just talk about Ariana Grande’s high-altitude, perfect vocals as Glinda (the Ga is silent)? I cannot believe there were not glasses shattering in the theater but like in a good way. #speechless.
Glinda is an arguable favorite in the show, making it light and fun and silly even as terrible things are happening. I was thrilled to see Ariana stay true to the character while subtly making it her own. I’d ride a bubble with her any day (not in a weird way).
Part One Only
And if you didn’t know, this movie is only the first half of the Broadway performance. At 2hrs and 40 min, I was skeptical that it could be stretched the same length as the entire original INCLUDING intermission.
But, it was brilliantly written to include so much more backstory, so much more detail that we can surmise from a stage play. We got a glimpse of Elphaba’s childhood, details about how she became enrolled in Shiz University, and several extra performances than the original. These details pulled it together so well, it was like it had always been written that way.
Conclusion: A Must-See Experience
I never thought I could feel this much joy from musical theater again. The magic of Wicked is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. It brought my musical theater heart back to life and left me speechless. Whether you’re a fan of the stage version or new to the story, this movie is an absolute must-see in theaters. Fifty-seven green stars (plus a few more) for this extraordinary masterpiece!
Social Media Comments:
gothichadassah via X (Twitter): Wicked was perfect. the grading & lighting wasn’t as horrendous as expected. Cynthia Erivo was singing her heart out, Ariana’s physical comedy was on point. Johnathan Bailey brought back Zac Efron levels of charm on screen. the writing enriched Elphaba’s background. 1000/10! Wait until you can watch it for free
fruitymonkie via X (Twitter): watched Wicked. Cynthia is a star obviously, loved her previous roles. absolutely delicious chemistry with Bailey. some nice musical numbers here and there. just frustrating how abhorrent the visuals are. along with odd pacing, a great movie just can’t reach its full potential
JeffDLowe via X (Twitter): MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Wicked’ 91/100 – Awesome movie, and a great Broadway adaptation. Musical numbers all showstoppers. Ending a slam dunk. A touch bloated, but whatever. OBVIOUSLY, if you’re anti-musicals, probably not for you.f with some of this movie’s story and action.
LSXYZ9 via X (Twitter): Wicked‘ was quite possibly the worst movie I have ever seen in recent memory. The only thing it has going for it is showing protagonistic qualities. Holy shit how does this movie have the reviews it does.
Stoob_Kidd via X (Twitter): Alright I’m ready to talk about it, wicked was good but it has so many flaws. You need only listen to the sound track for the movie and then compare it to the musical to see the biggest problem with the movie.
falicia_assmanvia X (Twitter): my mom’s original review of wicked: “that really flipped everything from the original movie on it’s head”. she genuinely did not know that wicked the musical existed. she thinks she just cracked the case on the wizard being elphaba’s dad.
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Tips:
You can buy tickets to watch the full movie on the official Wicked movie website here: https://www.wickedmovie.com/home/. Make sure you don’t miss out on this amazing movie!
Also, you can watch the trailer on their official YouTube channel below. It’s a great way to get a preview of the exciting moments and performances in the film before you see it.
