Wicked: The Movie That Truly Defied Gravity

Starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, the new movie Wicked is buzzing across communities.

This movie is a re-making of the original Broadway musical that is still showing in theaters today. In fact, Wicked is known as one of the longest running shows on Broadway and the West End.

The film builds on the background of the Wicked Witch of the West who is the main villain in Dorthy’s story, The Wizard of Oz. Elphaba, who is the Wicked Witch, was born green, which is an important part of her identity and shapes how she lives her life. The prejudice she faces, her deep longing to protect others, and the guilt of affecting her family leads Elphaba to search for justice.

The story begins years in the future, at the end of The Wizard of Oz. Glinda arrives at Munchkinland to confirm the news: yes, the Wicked Witch of the West is dead. As they near the end of the celebration, a citizen asks Glinda if it is true that they were friends. This smooth transition leads us into Elphaba’s story.

Cynthia Erivo is perfectly cast as Elphaba, who also starred in the Broadway musical “The Color Purple”. Erivo’s incredible acting shows how she is passionate and born for the role. So far, Erivo has been awarded a Grammy, an Emmy, and a Tony. If she is awarded one more award (the Oscar), she will win the Egot award, which is one of the highest honors in Hollywood.

By the end of this Hollywood production, Erivo’s voice resonates with emotion and forces you to acknowledge the story’s underlying themes of humanity’s horrible creations. The beautiful, yet true-to-the-story animation brings Oz to life, while still adding an incredible actress who can sing so well.

Erivo was cast opposite Ariana Grande as Glinda. Like Erivo, has also had a successful musical career. She has been awarded two Grammy awards, a Brit award, two Billboard Music awards, three American Music awards, and more.

Grande’s experience and talent shows through her performance in wicked. Though Glinda’s character doesn’t allow for as much emotion and depth as Elphaba’s, Grande did an excellent job working with Erivo. They both played both the loathing and friendship parts in Elphaba and Glinda’s relationship extremely well. Because of that, spectators felt and understood the complexity of their relationship.

However, the switch from the very emotional dancing scene to “Popular”, was a little too fast of a transition in their relationship. The dancing scene makes it appear that Glinda fully understands Elphaba in a way that few others have, but “Popular” is Glinda’s way of saying that she will “fix” Elphaba, suggesting that she does not understand that Elphaba is beautiful, strong, and perfect just the way she is.

Because of how dramatic this shift in their relationship is, it needed more time to develop. The way it happened prevented Glinda from having any real character development. This made her character a little flat, possibly preventing Grande from performing at her best.

Erivo on the other hand, was the perfect match for the role. An amazing actress, working in many different shows, who had never gotten any traction. By being cast for a role that she was born for, Erivo was finally able to show the world what she is capable of.

Wicked has been playing in Broadway theaters since 2003, and now in 2024, the movie has still held true to its magnificent story. The themes of justice, acceptance, and originality still ring true today as people continue to struggle with racism and belonging, while also being themselves.

Overall, though Glinda’s character development was a little flat, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo did a fantastic job working together, and are helping carry the wonderful story of Wicked to a new generation so it stays alive for years to come.