The Plot

The long awaited big screen adaptation of the iconic musical production that explores the hidden true story of so called Wicked witch Elphaba, classmate Glinda and the infamous Wizard of Oz before Dorothy and Toto ever followed the yellow brick road to the emerald city.

The Good

Fans of Wicked have longed to see the award winning musical, which was itself inspired by one of the most iconic films of all time, take its seemingly rightful place up on the biggest screen possible. After many years it’s safe to say that the musical prowess and lavish production value of the stage show have been successfully adapted for screen, delivering a joyously grand and cinematic musical tale.

Armed with a large array of memorable songs, including the absolutely iconic showstopper Defying Gravity, the musical charms of Wicked carries the film along at an entertaining pace which helps prevent audiences dwelling too often on its lengthy runtime. A well-chosen and reliable cast also does musical justices to all these iconic numbers, sidestepping the usual Hollywood mistake of misguidedly shoehorning Hollywood acting stars into roles clearly well outside their vocal range, such as putting Russell Crowe in Les Miserables.

Beneath green face paint and bleached blonde hair respectively, lead actresses Cynthia Erivo and pop superstar Ariana Grande respectively do fine work in playing complicated frenemies Elphaba and Glinda. Erivo hits the daunting musical heights required in her big moments and also adequately conveys the stoic tragedy of Elphaba as an outcast looking for goodness in a deceptively ugly and cruel world. Ariana Grande likewise approaches Glinda with a suitably silly falsetto charm, allowing her own vulnerable good nature to gradual reveal itself beneath a pretty pink mess of pretty popular girl clichés.

Some fans may legitimately question whether or not the film could have found more convincingly youthful stars for its leading roles rather than continuing the stage production’s custom of employing seasoned veterans in their 30s to play these roles. Erivo in particular is 37 and does often feel a far more mature screen presence when paired with the forever 17 aura of diminutive pop starlet Grande. Clearly the filmmakers felt confident that audiences would be willing to overlook this minor issue in favour of a more convincing vocal gravitas. Honestly it’s also equally hard to imagine how the film would have played out with literal teenagers thrust into such overwhelmingly iconic roles. So perhaps it was the lesser evil to simply deliver audiences what they’re truly used to seeing for these characters on stage.

Speaking of which, for fans of the original stage production the film’s wonderful inclusion of founding Broadway stars Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel is a magnificent crowd pleasing moment. Their involvement helps eases any lingering disappointment fans may have had that they didn’t get to bring the characters they helped originate to the screen themselves.

Casting wise a special mention must also go to Jeff Goldblum as the notoriously not so wondrous Wizard of Oz. His wry charm and perfectly crafted comical smugness is a fantastic fit for the role as the self-aggrandizing showman. He adds just the right splash of flamboyant gravitas to the film, helping to subtly set the stage for what fans know will be a grand and often poignant climax in the now already much awaited second film.

The Bad

Hollywood studios have learnt the painful financial lesson that audiences consistently avoid any film with Part 1 in its title. The reasons for this are fairly obvious as many people are inherently reluctant to invest time and full ticket prices in quite literally half a story. In an age of binge watching and instant gratification a lot of fans would simply prefer to wait until the complete series is released rather than rush to watch the first act a year or more before the concluding sequel finally arrives. This has resulted in repeatedly disappointing box office hauls for seemingly sure-fire hit franchises. Mission Impossible being just one recent example with Dead Reckoning Part 1.

This is why the marketing campaign for Wicked has been so outright fraudulent. All promotional materials for the film, trailer, posters and enthusiastic social media proclamations have exclusively referred to it as Wicked. It’s a pretty shameless lie by omission designed to make sure that for many audiences the first time they learn this is actually only Wicked Part 1 will be when the title card discretely adds a part 1 in the movie theatre.

For hard-core fans of the show the fact that it will be stretched out over 5-6 hours and two theatrical releases for its cinematic adaptations will be welcome news. Unfortunately there will undoubtedly be plenty of casual audiences left a little frustrated that they weren’t suitably warned that despite a 160 minute runtime they were in fact only getting act one of the show, with a now daunting year long wait to return to cinemas to watch the next instalment.

Maybe the many good qualities of this first film will be enough to satisfy audiences. But it honestly feels just a little wrong that they were so deliberately deceived by a calculated marketing machine.

Beyond the film’s mildly misleading marketing, some audiences might also have mixed reactions to the somewhat heaving handed animal allegory for the insidious evils of racism and the film’s occasionally sombre and tragic tone. Though obviously intended as a smartly cynical deconstruction of the simplistic technicolour cinematic joys of The Wizard of Oz, Wicked may feel at times a little too mature for all the younger children inevitably lured into packed cinemas by the promise of magic, music, pretty dresses and a PG rating. Fans of the stage production will already know that the second film due out next year will be even more darkly tragic and heart wrenching in places. Though at least by that point families will have learnt to perhaps leave any sensitive or easily bored young ones at home.

The Ugly Truth

Wicked Part 1 delivers theatre fans with almost three hours of big screen delight that does adequate justice to the first act of a truly beloved and iconic musical landmark. Leaving both them and excited newcomers to the franchise with an agonisingly long wait for the concluding second film releasing in a year’s time. So those lacking patience should be adequately warned that the stories true climax is sold separately. Likewise well intentioned parents with restless toddlers should be aware this will likely prove a far more challenging viewing experience than more conveniently child friendly cartoon musicals.