Movie Review: "Wicked"

I first read Gregory Maguire's book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West around 2002 or so, some time before the musical came out. I've read it several times since then, and I thoroughly enjoy Maguire's revisionist history, his use of language, and his character development. [Side note: As much as I love "Wicked", I prefer Maguire's take on the Cinderella story, entitled "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister". Worth a read if you enjoy his writing.] In addition to reading the novel, I've seen the stage version of the musical twice: once on Broadway and once with the touring company. Of course I've listened to the original cast recording approximately one gazillion times. And finally, I've watched the new Jon Chu film twice, once for pure enjoyment, and once while taking notes for this review. So I feel well qualified to critique the film both on its own independent merits and as a comparison to the stage musical.  

Being a fan of both the original musical and its source material, I had my doubts as to whether I would enjoy the film version. I had my doubts about the length of the film and the decision to divide the two acts into two separate films. I had my doubts about the casting: Cynthia Erivo certainly had the vocal and acting chops and the Broadway pedigree for the role of Elphaba, but at age 37, was she too old? And could Ariana Grande (or Ariana Grande-Butera, as credited in the film) as Glinda, despite having clear vocal and comedic talent, pull off the powerhouse, legit Broadway singing style and dramatic acting required to hold her own against Erivo? The answers to these questions are, happily, no and yes, respectively. 

Fair warning: This writeup will be long. Very long. I have a lot of thoughts, and the best way I could find to organize them is to simply walk you through the entire movie, commenting as I go. So if you haven't seen the movie yet, you might want to wait. Then again, if you've seen the stage version, there won't be any plot spoilers, and if you've read any other reviews or commentary on the film, there probably won't be any type of spoilers. Ready? Here we go!

The film opens with the Broadway overture (with only minor changes) playing quietly in the background as creepy winged monkeys fly through a dark, monochromatic sky, creating a nice nod to the 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz (the first of many) as we approach Munchkinland and the scene bursts into a riot of color and a brief glimpse of the Yellow Brick Road and we hear the ensemble singing "No One Mourns the Wicked". Grande-Butera immediately impressed me with her operatic soprano solo vocals, both in quality and in range. Her vocal and physical mannerisms reflect Kristin Chenoweth's original take on Glinda, but that isn't a bad thing. (Her vocal style definitely becomes more her own as the film progresses.) The Munchkin village, and even the Munchkins themselves, have an almost comic-book artificiality, with overly vivid colors, smooth lines, and physical proportions that feel just a bit off. Chu begins a theme of contrasting light and shadows by giving Glinda what appears to be her own personal sunbeam, as she has hilariously flattering backlighting in every shot, which is lacking in the rest of the scene. The result is a delightful hint at Glinda's self-centeredness. 

This opening segment includes the first of a number of added and expanded scenes and dialogue based on the book which were not included in the musical. Here, we see more of Elphaba's birth (which hints already at her magical powers) and childhood, including her relationships with her sister Nessarose and their abusive (well, to Elphaba, at least) father, as well as cruelty and taunting from the neighborhood children which results in further glimpses of her magical powers. A passing reference to time made me miss the Time Dragon from the stage version, but we do see the steampunk theme throughout, beginning with Nessa's wheelchair. 

The scene ends with the final part of "No One Mourns the Wicked" being sung and danced by the ensemble, and here we come to my first (and really, only) major quibble with the film: Christopher Scott's choreography. It is, in a word, stompy. Or perhaps, jerky. It is sharp and precise and mannered, but when being performed by a huge ensemble in perfect unison, it doesn't work for me. In this case, it doesn't feel celebratory or exuberant, as called for by the song. It reminds me of the scene in A Chorus Line where Zach points out to Cassie how lifeless and bland the chorus line is, and we see the dancers looking like robotic automatons with no sense of emotion or individuality. The style feels out of place for this number, although it does allow for a few cool Busby Berkley-esque overhead shots. The final moment of the framing segment includes a brief but lovely flashback (or would it be a flash-forward?) of Glinda recalling her school friendship with Elphaba. 

We jump back in time to see Galinda (her original name) arriving at Shiz University in an ornate pink boat with plenty of matching pink luggage (and matching pink parents), attracting much attention from the crowd of Shiz students gathering to greet the new arrivals. 

Just behind her, Elphaba arrives, also attracting much attention, but for a very different reason. The visual contrast between Galinda all in stylish pink and Elphaba all in frumpy black, both sticking out from the Shiz students wearing an array of gray-blue pinstriped uniforms, foreshadows their respective places in the students' social hierarchy. 

I love the way Chu uses the closed "ZZZZ" at the end of "Dear Old Shiz" to express the students' horrified reaction to Elphaba's appearance. I was relieved to note that Erivo looks quite young in character as Elphaba, and she and Grande-Butera (who is 31) are both reasonably believable as similarly-aged university students. We see a little more of their initial meeting, as well as Elphaba's warm but at times contentious relationship with her sister, and their father's continued preference for Nessa and cruelty toward Elphaba. There is also another nod to the 1939 movie as her father presents Nessa with a pair of ornate silver shoes in a ruby-lined box. 

Michelle Yeoh enters as Madame Morrible, a deliciously regal and imposing presence, sweeping about in a gorgeous copper robe with a long train and ornate gold embroidery. The inclusion of Keala Settle as Miss Coddle feels unnecessary, but works to establish Nessa's frustrated desire for independence, as does the plot change of having Elphaba not originally enrolled at Shiz, but rather sent by her father to make sure Nessa is taken care of, then being welcomed by Madame Morrible to be a student after unintentionally demonstrating her magical prowess. We also meet Pfannee and Shenshen, two students who immediately become friends with (or perhaps better described as "hangers on of") Galinda. The added scene work here includes dialogue between Madame Morrible and Galinda about Galinda's desire to become a sorceress, as well as a glimpse of Madame Morrible’s duplicity as she claims credit for Elphaba’s magic, and her enviousness of Elphaba’s natural talents. Morrible has a brief song, and although Yeoh sings competently, she lacks the power and technical faculty of many of the other actors. However, her characterization and presence are so strong that it is easy to overlook, especially since her vocals are relatively minimal. 

Elphaba wanders through the campus of Shiz, meditating on her change of fortune in "The Wizard and I". The colorful and detailed visuals of the set are remarkable, and I love the touch of colorful hummingbirds and flower petals floating around her, continuing to subtly hint at her innate magic. Erivo’s delivery definitely has a different sound from Idina Menzel’s original, despite having minimal musical variations in the first section. But I love that she holds back through the first part of the song before really letting loose with a powerful belt that is fully equal to Menzel’s original, adding just a few bits of ornamentation at the end of the song to make it truly her own. We see Elphaba gaining confidence in herself and a growing realization of her own worth over the course of the song. 

Elphaba enters the dorm room she is assigned to share with Galinda (an offer Galinda unintentionally made while sucking up to Madame Morrible), with a music box version of "Popular" playing in the background. This extended scene of the two moving together in leading into the song "What Is This Feeling?" is charming. Galinda insists that in exchange for her leaving Elphaba a tiny corner of the room for herself, she must put in a good word for her with Madame Morrible, and the two quarrel. Elphaba accidentally shatters a window with her magic, a motif we will see again and again. As the two women begin to sing the duet, their voices blend seamlessly, and the way Chu shoots the scene sometimes as a split-screen and sometimes with quick cuts synchronizing with the pulsing chords of the music is perfect. He also makes good use of reflections in the vanity mirror, a technique he continues using for most of the scenes in this room. The song shows the progression over time of the contentious relationship between the two and how they delight in annoying each other, as well as Elphaba beginning to stand up for herself. Galinda's series of stylish outfits, each pinker than the last, serve to show us both the passage of time and the delicious ridiculousness and scope of her wardrobe. We move from the dorm room into the cafeteria and gym class with the other students, and again, I don’t love the pulsing, stompy, jerky choreography of the student ensemble. But the rest of the scene is an absolute delight. 

We now begin a long stretch of added expository scenes. We find ourselves in the classroom of Dr. Dillamond, a talking goat, featuring steampunk details in the window and projector mechanisms. We see a glimpse of poppies (this will also become an important motif) in a vase. Chu continues the theme of light and shadow, with dim lighting that minimizes Elphaba’s skin tone and contrasting bright lighting that emphasizes it. Dillamond begins to tell the students about the oppression of talking Animals, a theme from the book which is merely mentioned in passing in the musical, but which is much expanded here. 

We next see Elphaba with Madame Morrible, struggling to learn to control her magic, and seeing how her strong emotions bring out her magic, as once again she loses control and shatters glass. As she is leaving, Elphaba sees Dr. Dillamond heading somewhere in the darkness and she follows him, stumbling across a meeting of the Animals who are concerned about the current political climate and being treated as second-class citizens. The CGI is quite well done here with a wide array of creatures. Much like Yeoh, Peter Dinklage, who voices Dillamond, has a perfectly serviceable if not particularly trained voice, but it works for the character. As Elphaba is leaving, she runs (literally) into Fiyero, who is riding his talking horse to Shiz. Once again, we see a light-dark contrast as Elphaba meets Fiyero in the half-dark, then we see Galinda primping herself to meet the prince in bright light, including her signature hair "toss-toss", and flirting with him in full sunlight.

We encounter more steampunk details as we see the library (or, as Galinda calls it, “the book place”, followed by an epic eyeroll from Elphaba) and hear the introductory music to "Dancing Through Life". We also learn that Boq, a student who has a huge crush on Galinda, has the last name “Woodsman” (foreshadowing! But remember it well because it won't be important until the next movie).  The introduction to the song is much more conversational than the original, slowly drawing in the other students in addition to Galinda, and firmly establishing Fiyero as the Cool Rebel. Jonathan Bailey has impeccable dance skills which are shown off very well in this number, demonstrating how well Scott's choreography works for a single dancer. With the ensemble broken up into smaller groups doing different choreography, the stompy, pulsing feel of the dance is minimized and it becomes much more effective, also making fun use of a series of spinning cylinders (like giant hamster wheels) to include some parkour and gymnastic moves. There is also some excellent scene work developing the relationship between Fiyero & Galinda. At the end, Fiyero invites everyone to break the rules and join him at the Ozdust Ballroom that evening.

We cut to Galinda's room, where the catty Pfannee and Shenshen are watching her primping to go out. There is more wonderful use of reflections in the mirror throughout this scene. The two friends are poking through Galinda's mountains of (fabulous) clothes and accessories and are aghast to find a hideous pointy black hat, which Galinda explains was a gift from her grandmother, noting that she'd love to give it away, but there's no one she hates that much. The three exchange meaningful looks and Galinda agrees to give the hat to Elphaba and invite her to the Ballroom that evening, which she does, although a moment of doubt or perhaps even guilt passes across Galinda's face afterwards (a beautifully subtle bit of acting on Grande-Butera's part). 

The Ozdust Ballroom features a lot of fanciful animal musicians (I was reminded of the Cantina Band from Star Wars) and yet more stompy choreography. Although it was too much for a whole unison crowd for me, it did feel somewhat more appropriate in this setting. Nessa and Boq (who invited Nessa at Galinda's request) share a charming dance in which Boq spins her around the floor in her wheelchair, much to her delight. Madame Morrible appears and reluctantly offers Galinda a "training wand" and magic lessons, admitting she is only doing so because Elphaba threatened to quit her studies otherwise. Galinda realizes that Elphaba fulfilled the promise she made to her back on their first day, which clearly makes Galinda feel guilty. When Elphaba arrives, dressed in a black frock and the pointy hat, the crowd goes silent and then the room fills with mocking whispers. Elphaba's pain is tangible, and her look of betrayal as she catches Galinda's eye is heartbreaking. Head held high, she begins dancing awkwardly and alone in silence in the center of the room, and as the crowd laughs, Fiyero comments to Galinda that Elphaba never cares what other people think. Galinda responds, "She does care. She only pretends that she doesn't," and steps onto the dance floor to join her. She slowly begins to echo her dance, ignoring her friends' mortified pleas for her to stop. Elphaba joins her dance, the two mirroring each other in a more graceful version that becomes fluid and beautiful as they dance it together. (That transition was a masterful piece of choreography, and a credit to both performers.) At one point Galinda puts her hand on Elphaba’s face, her fair skin contrasting with the dark green, and Elphaba gasps, as a single tear rolls down her cheek, which Galinda gently wipes away. 

The crowd joins in on the dance and Galinda throws her arms around Elphaba, who freezes for a second before accepting the hug. The two look around the crowd in wonder and then run out of the ballroom together as the others continue to dance. The scene is masterfully performed by both actresses, and illustrates the turning point of their relationship much more clearly and believably than came across in the stage show.

Cut back to their dorm room as the two talk like close friends, trading secrets, and Elphaba admits that her father made her mother take potions to avoid having another green baby, resulting in Nessa being born early with a disability, and in her mother's death. The conversation leads into "Popular", in which we see Galinda make over Elphaba (whom she has now dubbed "Elphie") even more completely than in the stage version. This scene is arguably my favorite scene in the entire film. In the stage version, Elphaba seems reluctant throughout, merely being steamrolled by Galinda, but here, she seems to enjoy being pulled into Galinda's world of fripperies and flirtation, if only momentarily. 

There is a true sincerity about both their relationship and Galinda's desire to help that is a bit lacking in the stage version. I particularly love Elphaba's attempts at the hair "toss-toss," and Galinda's hilariously useless and frustrating attempts to transform Elphaba's "frock? coat? froat!" into a gown using magic, which serves to level the playing field a bit in their relationship. The use of mirrors and light to create contrast between the two is done beautifully, especially in the penultimate shot with the two women's faces in the mirror close together with the pink flower in Elphaba's hair joining the two. And in the final line of the song, after Elphaba runs off, Grande plays a bit with the music in a way that suits her voice and truly makes the song - and the character - her own. 

On her way to class, we see Elphaba hilariously (and unsuccessfully) practicing the toss-toss as Fiyero looks on in amusement. The two go to class and Dr. Dillamond shrugs off Elphaba’s gift of poppies, and we see that Nessa is wearing a poppy in her hair. Officers burst in and arrest Dillamond as Elphaba protests and the others look on in silence. Another scene from the book is added here as we meet the lion cub, terrified, in a cage, with the intention of Animals never learning to speak. Elphaba has a vision of  Dillamond in a cage and is horrified and angry, accidently floating the poppies through the air and causing everyone in the room except herself and Fiyero to fall asleep. Fiyero takes the sleeping lion cub out of the cage and the two grab a pair of bicycles with baskets, tucking the cub into Elphaba's basket where he peeks out like Toto and Miss Gulch. Madame Morrible enters the classroom and realizes what must have happened, and immediately writes a letter to the Wizard. 

In the forest, Elphaba sets the cub down at a drinking hole and she and Fiyero argue, with Elphaba challenging Fiyero that he is not shallow, as he claims, which he denies. The two realize how alike they are and a spark clearly flies between them as Elphaba takes his hand. We cut back to the classroom, where the students are gradually waking up and Galinda notices with concern that Fiyero and & Elphaba are both missing. Back in the forest, Fiyero wonders why he didn’t fall asleep, and Elphaba dodges the question, pointing out that Fiyero is bleeding, touching his face. 

Fiyero breaks away after a moment, saying he will take the cub to safety, as Elphaba sings "I’m Not That Girl," once again in the half light. As the song ends, she reaches Shiz only to see Galinda greeting Fiyero affectionately, although Fiyero glances back as he leaves with Galinda. A poignantly touching scene. 

Presumably, the next day, Madame Morrible calls Elphaba to the docks as a hot air balloon containing a tiny mechanical walrus arrives with a green envelope containing a letter for her from the Wizard, summoning her to the Emerald City. Madame Morrible warns her that she will need to prove herself to the Wizard, but Elphaba expresses doubts. Madame Morrible admits that she herself had to prove herself to the Wizard once, and reassures Elphaba as as a storm begins and Madame Morrible demonstrates her own weather-controlling magic. 

We see a sleek green steampunk train approaching as the students look on in wonder and Elphaba stands alone on the platform. Elphaba & Nessa’s father approaches and Nessa introduces Boq to him. He warns Boq to take good care of Nessa as he continues to ignore Elphaba. Galinda comes to say goodbye and expresses concern that Fiyero has grown cooler to her since the day with the lion cub. Fiyero appears on the platform with a poppy in his lapel and greets them both. Having overheard the end of the conversation, he tells Elphaba he thinks about that day a lot and they exchange a meaningful look as Galinda looks confused and worried, and carefully inserts herself between them before announcing to everyone present that she is changing her name to Glinda in honor of Dr. Dillamond. Boq cheers a little too enthusiastically at this and Nessa wheels away in distress. Fiyero gives Elphaba the poppy from his lapel and wishes her good luck before leaving the platform. Glinda frets and the train prepares to leave. Elphaba steps aboard as Glinda claps half-heartedly, looking lost, then repeats their shared dance move. As the train pulls away, Glinda chases after it to hand Elphaba a program for Wiz-O-Mania, and Elphaba calls for her to join her on the train, which she does. Fun side note: Glinda also refers to the train conductor as "Mustache Man," a sly wink to actor Frank Morgan, who played multiple roles in the 1939 film, including Professor Marvel, a gatekeeper, a guard, a coachman, and the Wizard of Oz himself, each sporting a different outrageous mustache. 

“One Short Day” begins to play in the background and we see the train pull in to Emerald City. The two begin to walk through the city. [Fun fact: Winnie Holzman, who wrote the book of the original musical and the screenplay of the film, has a brief cameo at the beginning of this number!] Random fluffy chickens wearing top hats wander the streets, as do other various birds. Various groups of people pass by, singing and dancing. The stompy choreography continues, although again in smaller groups, which helps a bit. A few little people pass by (it's a good thing I didn't make the Wizard of Oz nods a drinking game) and people dancing with miniature hot air balloons. We see Elphaba and Glinda in a hair and nail salon, with hummingbirds drying their nails. Finally, we reach the stage for Wiz-O-Mania, which tells the history of Oz and the Wizard. 

It stars Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel as the “Magical Wise Ones” who sing of the historical magic the book “The Grimmerie,” which has been lost because no one can read it any more. But there was a prophecy that someone would come with the power to read it once again. Kristin sings some glory notes and Idina sings her signature “Defying Gravity” lick, then a huge projection of a man speaking the words “Oh, muh, hah” appears and clearly the Wizard must be the fulfillment of the prophecy. The dance moves into the street and blends with “One Short Day”, and there is more stompy dancing as Glinda and Elphaba look on with awe and delight, touchingly declaring their friendship before presenting themselves at the palace. [Another fun fact: the guard who looks through the peephole before letting them in is Stephen Schwartz, the composer of the musical!]

A monkey wearing armor and carrying a spear greets them with a silent nod and brings them into an imposing entrance hall lined with dozens of other armed monkeys. They pause in fear before a large set of double doors, and Glinda whispers encouragement to Elphaba, then they go through the doors together and approach a curtain of green strips of fabric with thick fog emanating from it. Elphaba starts to turn back in terror but Glinda grabs her arm as a deep, growling voice announces “I AM OZ” and a monstrous face appears as flames flash around the room. 

Elphaba stammers her name and suddenly the voice becomes normal and a man - the true Wizard - comes forward through the curtain acting as if he knows her. He pulls a coin from behind her ear and presents it to her. Glinda introduces herself, and the Wizard calls her Belinda then turns away to focus his attention again on Elphaba. He pulls aside another curtain to reveal a model of Oz showing the palace in Emerald City and a brick road leading to it, asking her to choose a color. (She picks yellow at Glinda's suggestion.) and the Wizard steps forward to open the model of the palace, revealing a tiny figurine of himself, then he pulls out another figurine, this one of Elphaba, and gives it to her, saying that he hopes someday she’ll call Emerald City home and put the figurine back in the model palace. Elphaba notes that the figurine is green, and the Wizard notes that it doesn’t have to be, asking her if that’s her heart’s desire. Elphaba thinks for a moment, then says her heart’s desire is to help the Animals. He says he feels like he already knows her and she’s happy that he understands. He sings “Sentimental Man” while looking through the model, looking meaningfully at Elphaba when he sings the word “Daughter” and telling her that “everyone deserves the chance to fly”. As with Yeoh and Dinklage, Jeff Goldblum is not a trained singer, but his voice is quite pleasant and his acting chops sell the song despite its lack of polish. He puts the figurine of her in the basket of a hot air balloon before slipping behind a scrim, and we see his shadow performing magic with a giant image of the moon. 

Madame Morrible enters and hugs Elphana before looking at Glinda with disdain for tagging along. We go into another room and see the Grimmerie on display. As Elphaba approaches it, it seems to whisper. The Wizard fears she’s not ready to try to read it yet, but Elphaba insists it's time to prove herself. Madame Morrible and the Wizard nods and as Elphaba steps up, the book opens for her and flips its pages faster and faster, finally opening to a page. Madame Morrible tells the Wizard they have been working on a levitation spell, and the Wizard mentions that Chistery, his chief monkey, watches birds all day. The Grimmerie flips to another page and some printed words magically begin to appear. Elphaba starts to chant the words aloud as Chistery begins to groan and twitch. Elphaba repeats the spell faster and louder and suddenly Chistery falls and slides across the floor, grasping his shoulders as a single wing erupts, then a second. Elphaba is distressed that he is clearly in pain, and then they all look on in awe as Chistery begins to fly, still grunting, but suddenly plummets to the floor. Elphaba asks how to reverse the spell, but Madame Morrible tells her spells from the Grimmerie cannot be reversed. Elphaba and Glinda race back into the hallway and see to their horror that all the monkeys now have wings. Madame Morrible and the Wizard are excited about their new spies, which horrifies Elphaba. The Wizard tries to backtrack but accidentally mentions they are spying on the Animals and Elphaba realizes that he’s the one who has been turning everyone against the Animals. Furious and betrayed, Elphaba realizes they were using her all along and storms away. She grabs the Grimmerie and pushes it into the Wizard's hands, insisting he read a spell. He cannot, she Elphaba understands that he has no power of his own. The Wizard tries to convince her that they can be a team, but Elphaba refuses and runs away. Madame Morrible orders Glinda to bring her back and Glinda runs after her as Madame Morrible threatens to harm the monkeys' families unless they also chase after Elphaba. The scene ends with a glorious shot of a smug Madame Morrible with a flock of monkeys flying behind her.

Elphaba runs through a hallway with glass windows and monkeys keep crashing into them, smashing the glass, with Glinda running close behind. The two continue running as the Wizard powers up his machine, demanding in the deep mechanical voice that his guards capture the “intruder”. Elphaba and Glinda find themselves in a tower containing a huge hot air balloon and begin climbing up to it as the guard race into the room. Elphaba jumps in the basket and fires up the burner. Glinda jumps in and the two push off the guards who attempt to climb in behind them, continuing to fire the burner, looking up to see that the top of the tower is closing in points like the petals of a flower. The balloon reaches the top but the points of the roof burst the balloon, sending it plummeting in flames just as the two leap to safety and run into a side room, barring the door handles with a broomstick. 

The two argue in the “I Hope You’re Happy” opening section of "Defying Gravity". They break off as they hear Madame Morrible announce to all of Oz that Elphaba has stolen the Grimmerie and is an evil monster who needs to be captured and brought to justice, calling her a Wicked Witch. Glinda takes Elphaba’s hand and tells her not to be afraid, but Elphaba says the Wizard should be afraid of her. Glinda begs her to apologize and work with the Wizard, but Elphaba gently refuses, realizing it’s no longer what she wants. She sings the main section of “Defying Gravity”, beginning quietly and to herself, then to Glinda as she climbs the steps toward the roof, sounding more and more determined as she goes. She straps on her bag and pulls her hat snug as she walks onto an open balcony. The guards see her and race toward the tower. Elphaba grabs the Grimmerie and repeats the levitation spell as Glinda begs her to stop. She breaks off, and Glinda asks angrily, “Well, where are your wings?” Elphaba droops dejectedly, but suddenly there is a rattling downstairs and the broom pulls itself out from the door handle and slowly rises to present itself in front of Elphaba, who stares at it for a moment, then reaches out and grabs it. As the guards begin to break down the door, she steps back onto the balcony and invites Glinda to come with her as they continue to sing. Glinda looks touched and sings with her, but then looks away without answering when Elphaba asks, “Are you coming?” Instead, she says Elphaba is trembling and grabs a large, dusty cloak, tying it carefully around her neck as she fights back tears. The two laugh for a moment and then Glinda steps back as Elphaba takes a few deep breaths, then spins, tossing her cloak into the wind and taking a tight hold of the broom. They say their tearful goodbyes, once again calling each other “friend”. But the guards break through the door and they race onto the balcony, where more guards storm in and grab Glinda. Elphaba breaks thru a window, at first flying then losing hold of the broom and falling. As she falls, she sees her child self reaching out to her and she reaches to take her hand but grabs the broom instead, soaring back up into the air just before she hits the ground. She zooms back upward and belts the final verse from the air as the guards look on in awe and the flying monkeys chase after her, crashing into the guards as she soars away, unscathed. 

We hear Madame Morrible’s announcement again, ringing throughout Oz, and we see Nessa look on in horror as her father collapses, Fiyero riding his horse away from Shiz, and the Wizard looking up at Elphaba, as all the guards call her wicked and Oz suddenly plunges into darkness.

 

Elphaba soars off into the sunset and we see the words “To Be Continued” in the same font used in the Wizard of Oz title cards. 

And now we wait a year for Wicked: For Good!

Bottom line? The acting and vocals were wonderful; the visuals, including sets, props, and costumes were absolute eye candy; the expanded scenes added useful backstory and character development without making the film feel bloated or unnecessarily long (full disclosure: my husband disagreed); and the overall product was enjoyable and just enough different from the original to be worth doing without going so far astray as to be, ahem, a Horse of a Different Color. 

Tell me what you thought!