Growing up a theater kid, I have seen Wicked on stage. It was a broadway tour a decade ago. I still remember the whole show because it blew me away, so I was so excited when Universal announced the movie remake. However, I did not watch the Wicked film until April 2025 – five months after the film’s release.
My expectations were very much middle ground because even though everyone loved the movie, I find it hard to connect with the story’s ending, being a Wizard of Oz fan since I was born. I remember getting to the end of the musical and being devastated that the Wicked witch won again.
Nonetheless, I watched the Oscar-nominated film and can honestly say that it was fantastic. From the start of the movie, I was enraptured.
I’ve seen some clips on Instagram and Tiktok so I was quite disconnected from those parts, including the scene of Elphaba falling during “Defying Gravity” and Ariana Grande’s high kick in “Popular.” The scenes I hadn’t already viewed impressed me fully.
After watching the movie, I understand the Jonathan Bailey hype from every girl and guy across the country. I found myself screaming at little character choices highlighting his love for Elphaba or his fate as the scarecrow.
Grande stole the show away. Although Zoe Saldana deserved her award, I kept screaming that Grande was snubbed at the Oscars this year for her category of Best Supporting Actress. Grande was able to captivate me in every scene, whether she was upset, happy or furious.
When the cast was first announced, I was nervous because I had grown up watching Victorious, so I have always seen Grande as the overly expressive “Nickelodeon actor.” Her true skills were beautifully showcased in this film. Glinda has expressive characteristics but Grande was able to take those actions and make it look purposeful and professional.
Cynthia Erivo was a good cast pick, but I found myself not believing her character and just laughing. The scene where Elphaba turns the monkeys from guards to flying monkeys felt unreal. I wanted to make a mockery of the situation rather than gasp over her power.
I also found myself laughing at Ethan Slater the whole time. When he sang, all I heard was Spongebob Squarepants. When he walked, all I saw was Spongebob Squarepants. With all of the Grande-Slater drama as well, I could not take him seriously which was slightly disappointing.
Overall, Wicked was a beautiful movie and deserved more recognition from the Academy Awards. I wish I saw the movie back in November on opening night. I would have definitely taken it more seriously after not being subjected to edits and memes by the internet for five months before. I will definitely be tuning into Wicked: For Good at the end of the year but I probably won’t be in a rush for that either, and only because I hate the ending of this musical.