EVEN MORE WICKED
The phenomenon generated by Wicked, the 2003 Broadway musical based on the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which in turn is based on the children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), brought with it a whole generation of fans around the world for the musical comedy genre and created a kind of Ozmania. Twenty-one years later, Universal Studios and director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights) released the film adaptation, which proved to be a complete box office surprise (something we’re not particularly interested in discussing here). This proved that Wicked was here to stay.
Cleverly, the project was divided into two parts, Wicked and Wicked: For Good, without the viewer knowing that they would have to wait a year between each to see the conclusion of the story; something similar to what was done recently with Denis Villeneuve’s Dune.
Another of the many successful decisions made for the Wicked project was the casting of the duo formed by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo; Galinda, the Good Fairy, and Elphaba, or the Wicked Witch of the West, respectively. Both characters are secondary to Dorothy in the original film from which this prequel is derived.
While the first Wicked film introduces the characters, Wicked: For Good benefits from directly addressing the existing conflicts in the plot, making it a more streamlined experience. Some characters are given less importance and only have minor roles here. Wicked: For Good focuses primarily on the love triangle between Elphaba, Galinda, and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey).
As a subplot, and to maintain a certain progressive essence latent in both parts, the forced emigration of all the animals living in Oz alongside humans is presented. This is a clear critique of current immigration policies in North America, disguised as raising awareness about animal care and protection, as well as reflecting the work’s acceptance of the LGBT community, which has embraced everything related to The Wizard of Oz over the years. Wicked shifts from a story of friendship and the importance of being popular, and also, why not, a high school dramedy (like Hogwarts in the Harry Potter saga or the now-new Nevermore Academy in the Wednesday series), to a musical melodrama in which rejection, lies, cruelty, and even betrayal are involved. Galinda is induced to have a vehicle—metaphorically speaking—a bubble, the same one in which she finds herself for much of the story. There is also a marked critique of religion; We will find dialogues in which “For the love of Oz” is stated and other similar phrases in which it is not very difficult to exchange “Oz” for “God”. In fact, in an encounter with the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), he clearly justifies his existence with the following dialogue: “This will last as long as they keep believing. People want to believe in something.” And so the mockery continues, even down to magic, symbolized by the unbearable character Madame Morrible, played by Michelle Yeoh.
Wicked: For Good boasts an impressive level of production, and one thing stands out: in a way, the CGI is friendly. Not intrusive or bombastic, but quite well-balanced. On the other hand, it can be considered not a musical in the strictest sense; Wicked doesn’t have dance scenes, but rather a few movements that appear in certain scenes, such as the one featuring Elphaba, Galinda, and the Wizard, where the skill is more linked to camera movements than physical ones, as if it were a music video.
The appearances of Dorothy and her three companions, including Toto, are well-placed, providing context and connecting the original story to events in the prequel. The success of this product will not be in vain; I suspect we’ll see even more from the Wicked universe soon.
(United States, 2025)
Directed by: Jon M. Chu. Script: Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox. Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater. Produced by: Marc Platt, David Stone. Lenght: 138 minutos.
