Photo by Universal Pictures

By Petra Tsakopoulos

The well-known and beloved Broadway show, Wicked, has recently been brought to screens as a film directed by Jon. M Chu, and has been a major trending topic in the media. As a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, this movie essentially tells the origin story of how the main characters, Elphaba and Glinda, become the famous Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch, respectively. As an audience, we embark on a journey of unexpected friendship that develops between these polar opposite characters, eventually leading them to their fates that we are all aware of from the Wizard of Oz movie.

Starring in this movie are Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who have been widely recognized and praised for their remarkable performances ever since the release. They did a phenomenal job at bringing the characters of Elphaba and Glinda to life. It both met the expectations of all the musical theatre fans anticipating the film’s release, and also attracted even more new fans. The talent of these two actresses is reflected in the film and has contributed to its overall success. 

Furthermore, the story was captured in filmography in a way that live theatre has not been able to do. To give one example, there is much more focus on smaller details, which largely accounts for the lengthy duration of 2 hours and 40 minutes. This came as a surprise to many viewers, as it is also important to note that in the movie only half of the story is being told. However, many viewers also came to the realization that this was absolutely necessary to evoke a better emotional reaction from the audience. Nonetheless, the Broadway show remains a singular iconic production, worthy of accolades in its own right, and is what brought attention and excitement to the movie adaptation of the story in the first place. Overall, in consideration of the emotional journey the audience goes on, as well as the visual and musical aspects of the film, this movie is a very enjoyable watch. I highly recommend this to all readers of this review.