The wickedly good film adaptation of ‘Wicked’

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as Glinda and Elphaba. | “Wicked”

“The best way to bring folks together is to give them a real good enemy,” … or, just a really good movie.

The film adaptation of the “Wicked” musical, which is a story about the witches in “The Wizard of Oz,” was released in the US on Nov. 22. The film is directed by Jon M. Chu (“Crazy Rich Asians”) and the screenplay is by Winnie Holzman (the “Wicked” musical book) and Dana Fox (“Cruella”).

The Broadway musical predecessor to the film was written by Stephen Schwartz, which is a loose adaptation of the book “Wicked” by Gregory Maguire.

This film stars Cynthia Erivo (“The Color Purple,” “Harriet,” and “Genius: Aretha”) as Elphaba, Ariana Grande (pop star and “Victorious”) as Glinda, Jonathan Bailey (“Broadchurch,” “Bridgerton”) as Prince Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) as Madame Morrible and Jeff Goldblum (“Jurassic Park,” “The Fly”) as the Wizard of Oz.

There were also guest appearance cameos from creators of the “Wicked” musical, as well as a song that featured Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoworth who played the original Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, on Broadway.

The film is about the younger versions of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch from “The Wizard of Oz” who meet and form an unlikely friendship as they go to school and try to help Oz.

The plot is overall very interesting to the audience and keeps an entertaining and easy-to-follow pace. The spacing between the large musical numbers and the spoken dialogue elements makes for smooth transitions.

The acting was remarkable in making the audience feel emotionally connected to the characters, and the performances were also highly comedic.

The musical numbers, as expected from the Broadway show, were fun, catchy and did a great job at conveying the emotions of the characters. The dancing was energetic, and the vocals of the songs were incredible and compelling to listen to.

Something else to note about this film is the beautiful set design and color scheme, which was very bright and captured the essence of the musical but made it more cinematic. The colors of green and pink to represent Elphaba and Glinda were also used throughout almost the entire film in the form of different sets and props was a cute way to show the characters’ relationship over time.

For someone who likes musicals, or for fans of the original “Wicked” musical, this is a must-watch. It’s fun and bright mood also makes it a great film to watch during the holiday season.

This film was great, and while it was a faithful adaptation of the musical, there were just enough unique touches to make it stand out as its own film.

Overall, this movie was not only a great adaptation of the beloved musical, but is also just a great, entertaining and fun watch.

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