The theater kids in your life have been telling you about it for at least two years. Now Wicked (part one, that is), a colorful, charming, and complex prequel to The Wizard of Oz, has opened as the holiday season’s biggest cinematic event.
But there are things that parents of potential young moviegoers should know.
How Wicked Came to Be
Wicked can be experienced at multiple different levels. Some will be wowed by the spectacle and what comes across as an old-fashioned musical comedy. It even has a laughable premise: what if the two witches in Oz, known as polar-opposite bad and good, were college roommates?
This beloved musical, which has played nonstop on Broadway since 2003, has been adapted with care by director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights). Months into the process, Chu decided to split Wicked into two films to best tell the story.
Composer Stephen Schwartz, known for Enchanted and Godspell, crafted truly iconic songs for Wicked. From lighthearted “Popular” to power ballad “Defying Gravity,” leading ladies Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, Genius: Aretha) and pop star Ariana Grande perfectly hit the high notes in soaring show tunes.
The two witches-in-training, despite getting wrapped up in a love triangle -- as they both have eyes for fellow classmate Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) -- become friends by the film’s climax. Elphaba gets invited to meet the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), and her bestie tags along.
But nothing is as it seems in Oz, especially in this story of reversals and subterfuge.
Are there reasons for families to be concerned about this PG-rated technicolor wonderland, with its girl-power edge? Read on.
Even If You Know The Wizard of Oz, You May Be Confused
Wicked’s influences are so complex, it’s almost impossible to pull apart who originated what.
Starting in 1900, L. Frank Baum wrote his series of novels about the carnival barker from Kansas swept away into another dimension that’s “no place like home.” MGM adapted Baum’s work into the 1939 musical The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, still regarded as a must-see classic.
Hopefully, viewers have seen it, because Wicked opens with that movie’s finale, as ringing bells, a callback to “Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead” from the 1939 film. When Glinda the Good (Grande) appears, a child asks, “Why does wickedness happen?” And another asks if she knew the Wicked Witch (Erivo).
She recounts the untold story — one that composer Schwartz, producer Marc Platt, and writer Winnie Holzman collaborated on 25 years ago, to bring to the stage. They started with a 426-page novel, also titled Wicked, though the trio kept only a few names and plot points.
Stay Far Away From Gregory Maguire's Book Wicked
Film director Jon Chu sums up Maguire’s novel as “Not for kids,” in a recent video interview. He added: “I have questions of why they're putting our poster on those books right now.”
But Maguire's dark adult novel is not for anyone. Years ago, I gifted it to my wife, a huge fan of the musical, who threw the book away after finding explicit material.
The musical story itself, as rewritten by Schwartz and Holzman and interpreted by Chu, is PG-rated. But there are elements of costuming and character that echo some of Maguire's themes regarding sexuality, so parents should be aware.
But ...
Wicked's Themes of Friendship and Anti-Discrimination Are Valuable
An Old Testament passage captures one biblical principle at play in Wicked: “For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7).
Viewers of Wicked meet ditzy, Valley Girl stereotype Galinda (Grande), appalled that she has to be roommates with mysteriously green-skinned Elphaba (Erivo). We briefly glimpse the green girl’s travails as a child, rejected by her father.
Upon Elphaba arriving at Shiz University, headmistress Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) sees her potential and provides private magic lessons.
We also see Elphaba empathize with others. In Oz, once a land where talking animals and humans lived as equals, the animals have been slowly silenced and pushed to the margins. Elphaba befriends their goat professor, Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage), before government figures take him away.
Along the way, Galinda seems to find her heart, sincerely seeking to help Elphaba and even changing her name to Glinda, in solidarity with how Dr. Dillamond pronounced her name.
But the comeuppance for certain selfish choices may be yet to come. For instance, she pushes a potential suitor named Boq (Ethan Slater) to instead pursue Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode).
Playing with people’s affections has a cost, as the musical’s second act (in part two of the film) reveals. While Elphaba is labeled the wicked one, in this version, the power of magic also carries responsibility.
The Peril and Hints of Mature Content Make Wicked Best for Ages 10 and Up
Wicked begins and ends with some intense and suggestive scenes. In the opening, Munchkins celebrating the witch’s demise burn a massive effigy of her.
The opening sequence also implies a affair between a married woman and a fast-talking stranger, whom she invites in when her husband’s away. Naturally, it’s important to the larger plot, as will become obvious in part two, set for release next November.
The finale of part one features an army of chimpanzees transformed into the iconic flying monkeys. To see their pain and anger at this mistreatment is likely too much for many young viewers.
The film is also 2 hours and 40 minutes long, so take that into account.
BONUS: For Someone Who Loves Oz, a Few Books Illuminate the Fantasy Land
Viewers who enjoy genre entertainment will immediately catch that this film has a whole lore behind it –- some of it, from Baum’s original novels but then much more tacked on to it.
If a person in your life is intrigued by Oz, a hardcover set of Baum’s novels will likely be devoured. As tie-ins to the family-friendly movie, two Little Golden Books are out (here and here) and also an illustrated book of the song lyrics.
Lastly, for those eager to know how the musical has developed -– and have the entire musical script at hand -– a book titled Wicked: The Grimmerie gives a behind-the-scenes look at how it came to be.
In that book, writer Winnie Holzman comments on Wicked’s themes, saying: “It’s about how we treat each other. Are we just seeing the outside? Or are we looking at people’s hearts and souls, letting that enter our field of vision? The moment you start to do that, it’s an incredibly freeing, exciting, exhilarating feeling."
Even in this half-told story, viewers will find some truths worth keeping hold of. Admittedly, when the image of Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch has come to embody evil, it’s a stretch to rethink the classic story in a new way.
Somehow, Wicked does it using beautiful melodies and dream-like visuals in service of that journey towards the Emerald City. If families can navigate this fractured fairy tale, they might just find themes of purpose and kindness in Oz.
Image: (L-R) Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Wicked/Universal Pictures
Freelance journalist Josh Shepherd writes on faith and culture for several media outlets. He and his family live in central Florida.
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