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LOS ANGELES, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Wicked Part 1, in theaters Friday, is a rousing, feel-good yet provocative adaptation of the stage musical. Director Jon M. Chu honors the stage production, but adds magic only cinema can produce. Wicked is the story of the witches of Oz. After the melting of the Witch of the West by Dorothy, Glinda (Ariana Grande) reflects on her friendship with Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) before she was dubbed Wicked.
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Elphaba was always ostracized for being green. Glinda even played mean girl at Shiz University, but Glinda also was the first one to reconsider and befriend Elphaba.
The Wicked movie embraces the artifice of theater on an epic scale. Sets still look artificial, not like a "realistic" recreation of Oz combining the joys of both theater and cinema.
A film set can be much more massive than even the biggest stage on the planet. And they are built 360 degrees around, so the camera can point in every direction.
A few scenes look like the more common, modern use of video screens as background, but at least those aren't where any of the dance numbers occur. In the mix of styles, the practical constructions, ahem, defy gravity.
A rotating wall of library shelves is particularly impressive. And yes, they dance on it.
Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox adapted Holzman's musical rendition of the novel by Gregory Maguire. The language of the play maintains the film's sense of whimsy.
Peppering, made-up words like "gratitution" and "braverism" highlight the whimsical realm, but still make sense to native English speakers.
Grande is quite a good singer of Stephen Schwartz's songs in this wide octaval range, but also masters the delicate balance so that the audience doesn't hate Glinda.
Glinda is a privileged narcissist but Grande, like her stage predecessors, makes her adorable.
Glinda vamps and poses for attention, which would be obnoxious of anyone other than a paid performer, and literally slithers around the floor during her song "Popular." Glinda comes across as more parody than actual mean girl.
And yet, Glinda becomes empathetic when her classmates are content just to laugh at Elphaba. It is not an instant transformation though, because when Elphaba remains rebellious, Glinda falls back on people pleasing.
Elphaba is, of course, sympathetic as an outcast who hasn't done anything negative yet. Her song "The Wizard and I" establishes early on that Erivo will have the pipes for the show's highlight "Defying Gravity."
The movie, like the show, conveys how challenging it is for a person to be individual. Elphaba literally has to fly to escape the pressures of society, authority and her best friend.
The broad message of Wicked is don't judge people on appearances, but there are several even deeper themes in between songs.
At Shiz, some of the teachers are animals. However, some Ozians feel animals should not speak at all, let alone teach.
This leads to a subplot in which Elphaba questions imposing rules against animals teaching and rendering them speechless. The administration claims it's for the best, but Elphaba trusts her animal teacher.
This is a very apt metaphor for speaking up against propaganda. The entire premise of Wicked is that it was propaganda that turned an innocent magic student into "the wicked witch."
Elphaba also looks up to her sorcery teacher, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), and the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum). She also has an awakening of realizing people in power can use others for their own ends, which is an important lesson.
At 2 hours and 40 minutes, the first half of Wicked runs almost as long as the entire Broadway show, but the embellishment rarely lags. Part Two is coming next year.
Only the third act climax leaves viewers waiting for "Defying Gravity." A hot air balloon set piece can't compete with other blockbusters, but Wicked's secret weapon is its music. Erivo does indeed deliver on "Defying Gravity."
Wicked is definitely a musical from the director of the two best Step Up sequels, exploring cinematic corners beyond the stage. It is what an Oz movie musical can be in 2024, nearly a century after the 1939 classic.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
