Jon Chu’s Wicked features a wonderful cast, especially Cythia Erivo as Elphaba (aka, The Wicked Witch of the West). I liked Ariana Grande (aka, Glinda the Good Witch) and Michelle Yeoh (aka, Madame Morrible). The story of a misunderstood green girl who becomes a powerful witch takes a path to a school of magic where Elphaba and Glinda meet. They are hostile to each other in the beginning. My favorite scene in this version of Wicked is the song and dance extravaganza in the school Library. Elphaba and Glinda travel to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard of Oz…and defy gravity!
I haven’t seen many movies in a movie theater in 2024, but clearly Wicked is the best of the bunch–even though it’s only Part One. I’ll have to wait a year until Part Two comes out. Are you a fan of The Wizard of Oz? GRADE: Incomplete but trending toward an A.
Check out the “Dancing Through Life” choreography:
My appreciation of TWoO begins and ends with Judy Garland! Trivium: L. Frank Baum attended Peekskill Military Academy, which used to exist in Peekskill, NY, where I endured most of my teen years! Maybe my grandkids will share your appreciation of this version!
Bob, I think WICKED will be the top Box Office movie of 2024.
Yes, I am a fan of THE WIZARD OF OZ, but WICKED, not so much. We saw it in London on our last (ever? probably) trip, in 2011, and as Marv Lachman so often said, I thought it was good but not great. But maybe that was just me. We’ll definitely wait until part II is out to see both.
Jeff, I’m curious to see what happens in WICKED, PART TWO too.
How could people, especially fans of the show, not be aware that this was two movies? It certainly has been talked about as such for years. Nonetheless, on Amazon several people are bitching that the movie soundtrack only has half the songs.
Thanks for the video; that was great.
Jeff, glad you enjoyed the video. That dance sequence was the highlight of WICKED for me! I got faked out by the first DUNE movie a few years ago. After two hours of watching it, I thought, “How can they wrap this up in the next 20 minutes?” Then the TO BE CONTINUED screen came on and I was groaning like many in the audience. I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know DUNE was a 2-part movie. Obviously, the same thing happened with WICKED audiences.
Seeing it on Thanksgiving. Nothing could beat THE WIZARD OF OZ for me though.
Patti, THE WIZARD OF OZ was a ground-breaking movie. I’ll never forget the way the movie went from Black & White…to color! It was mind-blowing!