Part One of Wicked hit the theaters on November 22, 2024. Originally a novel published in 1995, Wicked spins off the story of The Wizard of Oz and tells the tale of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West on her journey to meet the Wizard. After being a successful novel, Wicked was adapted into one of the highest-grossing, longest-running, and most beloved Broadway musicals to date. The Wicked musical premiered in October 2003 and has been performed around 8,200 times since. Part One of the Wicked movie covers Act One of the musical and includes the music and many elements from the stage production. The film was directed by Jon M. Chu, with the screenplay written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, and music by Stephen Schwartz.

The cast also includes some well known actors along with some new faces:

• Glinda, the Good Witch, is played by Ariana Grande. She’s best known for her music career, as well as her roles on Disney Channel in Victorious and Sam & Cat. At first, many people were unsure about her taking on this role, but now that the movie’s been out for two weeks, viewers seem to agree that she was born for it. 
• Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, is portrayed by Cynthia Erivo. Erivo is known for her performance in the 2015-2017 revival of The Color Purple. Because of the success of Wicked, it is likely that she may become an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) winner—she’s just missing an Oscar for film roles.
• Prince Fiyero is played by Jonathan Bailey, who many know from his role in Bridgerton. While Fiyero’s role isn’t huge in Part One, he becomes a much bigger player in Part Two. Bailey also helps bring some extra energy to the film, especially with his memorable dance number, Dancing Through Life.
• Other key characters in Wicked Part One include Boq, played by Ethan Slater; Madame Morrible, portrayed by Michelle Yeoh; Dr. Dillamond, played by Peter Dinklage; and the Wizard of Oz, played by Jeff Goldblum.

Given the legacy of the stage production, Wicked was expected to do well—and it definitely has. According to Out Magazine, “Wicked is currently the 7th highest-grossing film of 2024 (domestic), earning $214 million in domestic box office sales.” 

It’s clear that a lot of effort went into making this movie. The sets were stunning, with realistic designs and a strong use of color, reminding me a bit of Greta Gerwig’s films. The costumes were also very high quality and eye catching as to how well they fit each of the character personas. 

Considering the film runs for 2 hours and 40 minutes, it goes into a lot of detail, making it easier for people new to the story to understand—unlike the musical, where Act One usually clocks in around 90 minutes. However given the length of the film some viewers have complained that it was simply too long. Could they not shorten the film to be closer in length to the stage adaptation?

The film is also packed with Easter eggs, including subtle nods to the original Broadway production and even the original Wizard of Oz movie, which makes watching it a lot of fun for watchers who love spotting hidden details. A few Easter eggs to watch out for are the title card referencing the Wizard of Oz movie, familiar characters walking through emerald city, and some costume pieces foreshadowing part 2 of the film. The movie also included a cameo from the original broadway stars; Kristen Chenoweth (Glinda), and Idina Menzel (Elphaba) in the musical number One Short Day in the Emerald City,  which made for much excitement for fans of the stage adaptation.

The movie was well made with attention to detail, but there were some areas that weren’t as strong. At times, the music sounded a bit too autotuned, which was surprising given that the producers said all the vocals were recorded live. For example, in “Popular” and “What Is This Feeling,” it had more of a pop, autotuned vibe than expected. Additionally, some of the musical numbers felt like they dragged on a bit too long, which made the movie feel longer than it needed to be. A good example is the closing scene, “Defying Gravity,” where the constant interruptions for dialogue kind of took away from the song. It ended up lasting around 20 minutes, while the original version in the stage show is only about 7 minutes. Other songs had similar dialogue breaks, but this one really stood out as long. Overall, shortening some of these dialogues parts throughout the songs could really help keep the energy up and make the movie flow better.

Part two of the Wicked movie, containing Act Two of the stage adaptation, is scheduled to be released November 21, 2025, a year after the first movie’s release. Although it’s a year long intermission, many fans are already getting excited for what’s to come.