Wicked: Part 1 (Cinemas) ★★★½

Directed by Jon M Chu. Screenplay by Winnie Holzman & Dana Fox. Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. In cinemas from Nov 20, 2024.

Let us be glad! Let us be grateful! After what feels like a decade of teasing, the film adaptation of the stage adaptation of the book based on the earlier children’s story has finally premiered in Oz (or Aus if you prefer). Wicked is finally here, well, the first half of it anyway.

Covering the events of the first act of the stage musical Wicked: Part 1 is set years before the events of The Wizard of Oz taking us back to the university days of the popular Galinda Upland (Ariana Grande) and the outcast Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo). When the two young witches are forced to share a room they go from frenemies to besties. Under the tutelage of Doctor Dillamond (voiced by Peter Dinklage), a goat and a History professor at Shiz University and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), the Headmistress of Shiz University, it becomes clear that Elphaba has a natural talent for witchcraft. When Elphaba’s talents get her an audience with the Great & Powerful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) she realises things aren’t what they seem. 

The long gestating film comes to the screen with a pedigree worthy of its enduring stage success. Jon M Chu proved he has the vision and skill to direct musicals after the excellent, and relatively low budget film of In The Heights. Emmy, Grammy & Tony winner Cynthia Erivo steps into the coveted role of Elphaba (let’s face it we’re all crossing our fingers she gets an Oscar soon). Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh fills Madame Morrible with a cutting sense of humour. Olivier Award winner Jonathan Bailey slips into Fiyero’s famously tight trousers with ease. And of course, Grammy Award winning theatre kid Ariana Grande arrives with her hair-flicks perfected to play Galinda/Glinda. This team knows what they’re doing.

While there are no new songs in this half of the story there is substantial rearranging and new elements added to existing numbers that will make fans happy (and helps to plug some narrative holes for the newcomers).

Grande especially shines with excellent comic timing. Her Glinda is brilliant and precise as she literally bounces off the walls with gleeful abandon. Bailey flirts up a storm, his charm knows no bounds. Erivo knows when to take Elphaba from stern to sparkling and gives us the girl beneath the green skin. The relationships between these three core characters are firmly established and the leads have great chemistry. Watching Galinda and Elphaba fight-montage during ‘What Is This Feeling’ is a sheer delight. Fan of the stage show will be elated by moments, and special appearances, in this frothy, Galindafied cinematic version.

But it all threatens to be too, too much. Visually overstuffed and often emotionally overwrought, the film of Wicked is all glitz and kicks trying to outdo itself at every turn. Each song is “enhanced” with new vocal riffs, like everyone is desperate to win their season of ‘The Voice’. The pursuit of jaw-dropping visuals makes some moments nonsensical (Shiz’s pointless turbine-twirling library belongs in Hogwarts, not here).

Maybe it was the running time, or maybe its a reverence for the stage show, but the film struggled to build up to its big moments. Narrative leaps that work fine on stage feel unjustified on screen. We never really see Elphaba transition from hated outsider to welcome class-mate (we get why Glinda is her friend, but the crowds assembled to see her go to the Emerald City seem to come out of nowhere) and those flying monkeys seem to switch allegiance for no reason. It’ll be interesting to see how newcomers go with the film.

Despite my quibbles with the pacing and the gilded delivery there is no denying this is a gorgeous film. From the art nouveau inspired Shiz Univerity to the art deco Emerald City, every element is a flight of fancy that fills the screen. The design play off of the stage show, and you’ll recognise elements of Susan Hilferty’s original costumes and Eugene Lee’s scenic design. While at times it threatens to get lost in the special effects, its saved by the core performances. The orchestrations are rich, and the songs will be on high rotation at home (assuming they stitch them back together for the soundtrack, many of the key tunes are broken up by scenes in the film).

In Wicked: Part 1 everyone may deserve the chance to fly, but I’m left wanting a more solid grounding in Elphaba’s character and story. Ironically, despite splitting the narrative into two the thing the film needs is more time to add the connective tissue between moments. But with this cast, and these songs, I guarantee you’ll I’ll be watching this film on repeat for years.