In 2023, the Barbie movie took over theaters all around the world as the new cultural phenomenon among entertainment. This year, history seems to be repeating itself as, on November 22, the film adaptation of the Tony award–winning broadway musical Wicked was released.
The long-awaited movie has been in the works for over three years, and fans were so happy to finally be able to watch it. However, in April 2022, director Jon M. Chu revealed that he made the decision to divide the musical into two separate films. As of right now, we only have Wicked: Part One, which clocks in at a whopping two hours and forty minutes. Part two is set to premiere on November 21, 2025.
The movie musical follows future wicked witch of the west Elphaba Thropp, played by actress Cynthia Erivo, and future good witch, Glinda Upland, played by singer-songwriter Ariana Grande. Set in the Land of Oz before the events of the film The Wizard of Oz, the two women navigate rivalry and friendship during their time at Shiz University. Elphaba is later granted a trip to the Emerald City for a meeting with the Wizard of Oz, and Glinda tags along. They soon discover that the Wizard’s plans for Oz could be of great danger, and Elphaba flees West. Glinda, however, decides to stay in Oz, and it isn’t exactly clear what happens to her at the end of the film.
The beautiful costumes and impressive special effects make the film well worth the wait. It’s also no surprise that both leading ladies have incredible vocal talent, and I believe that Ariana and Cynthia were excellent choices for the witches. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and would definitely recommend it. There were a few scenes I deemed to be a little slow, but before long there was a new dance number or ballad to peak my interest again.
While the film has gotten a lot of positive reviews, it has also faced its fair share of backlash and hate. Prior to its release, there were rumors of a scandal between Ariana Grande and fellow Wicked castmate Ethan Slater, who plays Boq the munchkin. It was circulated that Slater had left his wife of six years and their newborn to pursue a romantic relationship with Grande. Both Slater and Grande were in long-term relationships before their own began, which caused Grande to be framed as the “home-wrecker.”
This obstructed perception of Ariana impacted viewers’ image of her, which sparked negative press around the film. As time went on, people saw that the two were in a truly happy relationship and began to forget about the disastrous events that had taken place a few months prior.
Right now, a topic that has a few people laughing is Grande and Erivo’s behavior during the press tour for the film. Several memes and jokes have been made about how the two always seem to be in tears in every interview. The women have claimed that finally being able to put out the project that has taken up a big part of their lives is an emotional thing.
“You have to understand, it’s been like, three years, people! There’s a lot going on … Why does emotional availability scare you so? It’s out of happiness and joy,” said Grande in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
Overall, the whole cast of Wicked has worked incredibly hard to take us to this magical world and provide us with enchanting songs, so may it get all the praise it deserves.
