Review by Tim Robins
Now demonised as the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba lives in exile in the Ozian forest, while Glinda resides at the palace in Emerald City, reveling in the perks of fame and popularity. As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, she’ll need to reunite with Glinda to transform herself, and all of Oz, for good.
Ignore reviews claiming Wicked: For Good (2025), the second part of Wicked (2024), is a heap of Shiz. On the contrary, both Wicked films are uplifting and heartbreaking despite their source material, Gregory Maguire’s embittered novel.
Wicked: for Good is carried by the leads Cynthia Erivo, as Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West), and Ariana Grande, as Glinda, (the Good) whose tortured relationship is explored through a 137-minute psycho-drama of song and, occasionally, dance. So, although the Wicked movies touch on the book’s politics, their focus is on the intense on-again, off-again, on-again friendship between Glinda and Elphaba, now further divided by their mutual love of Winkie – that is, Johnathan Bailey as Fiyero Tiglaar, the Winkie Captain of the Gale Force.
All roads may lead to OZ, but Wicked: For Good is an entire yellow brick, spaghetti junction of plot threads. One thread tries to segue into the 1939 adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. Along the way, the plot provides new origins for Dorothy’s friends: The Cowardly Lion, The Tin Man and The Scarecrow. So, back for part two is the voice of Colman Domingo (the Cowardly Lion), Bailey (The Scarecrow) and Ethan Slater (Boq Woodsman), the unwilling love interest of Marissa Bode’s Witch of the East, Nessarose Thropp.
Does the film entirely make any sense? To be honest, that’s probably not the best question to ask. For example, Elphaba’s campaign against the Wizard, through a combination of vandalism and sky-writing, also involves her embracing her “Wicked” identity. No wonder the Ozians are confused. Needless to say, her strategy doesn’t go well. The witch frequently exits, pursued by angry flying monkeys.
A lot more fun is had with the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), particularly when he imitates Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator by playing with an inflatable globe of Oz. Meanwhile, Michelle Yeoh as Madam Morrible wrestles with weather magic and singing.
This is probably sacrilege, but I think the story of Wicked should have ended before Dorothy landed in Oz. It certainly doesn’t succeed in establishing what surely is intended – that the 1939 movie was a piece of propaganda. Elphaba and Glinda really don’t represent the characters we met in the many TV repeats of the 1939 film.
Dorothy’s arrival house is still dropped on the wicked “witch” of the East. What does Nessarose look like with a chimney on her? There’s too much debris to tell. But the time span between the creation of the Tin Man and the Scarecrow and their meeting with Dorothy barely makes sense.
As for the land of OZ, those animals who can still talk are escaping the country through a tunnel under the Yellow Brick Road. This makes sense, because readers of Baum’s books will know that OZ is surrounded by shifting sands and deadly, impassible deserts. But later, we see characters have no problem fleeing over them. That said, it’s best not to nit-pick, and just go with the musicality of it all.
Speaking of music, “Defying Gravity” was certainly a show stopper at the end of Act One/Part One of Wicked. But the show must go on. On stage, the musical moment seems to have overshadowed the second act. Now, a year later and on film, audiences may enjoy Act 2 more..
Certainly, Wicked: For Good has rousing ensemble pieces, including “Everyday More Wicked” which opens the film and “March of the Witch Hunters”. Of the new songs written for the film, “No Place Like Home” awkwardly takes words associated with Glinda and Dorothy and gives them to Elphaba. “The Girl in the Bubble“, is more on point, exploring the way Glinda has been protected from facing reality.
It’s hard to overestimate the importance of Erivo’s and Grande’s singing and acting talents for the film. Their characters’ tempestuous relationship is resolved through the rousing number “For Good” with Elphaba and Glinda accepting that their friendship has left them changed for the better.
Should you want a more faithful adaptation of the original novel, you can do no better than Scott Hampton’s graphic novel, which uses water colourish washes over photo referenced ‘pencils’ to capture the story’s more morose, political edge.
As far as the musical goes, Wicked: for Good is a fitting end to the story. If negative reviews have deterred you, go see it. Hopefully, your heart and mind will be changed for good.
Tim Robins
Wicked: For Good is in cinemas now | Official Site
Dear reader, a review is an opinion. Other opinions are available, including yours
Head downthetubes for…
Experience the magic of Oz as you’ve never seen it before with this brand-new graphic novel adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s masterpiece Wicked, the inspiration for the Broadway show and major motion picture–the first in a two-part series featuring gorgeous full-color illustrations by Scott Hampton.
Like Dorothy when she crash-landed all those years ago, prepare to be swept into a new and colorful world in this first-ever graphic novel adaptation of Wicked. While the long-running Broadway musical and major motion picture take inspiration from this iconic novel, this is Oz as Gregory Maguire wrote it–a fantastical story with dark edges that explores morality and ambition, love and friendship, and discovering one’s inner power.
Elphaba was born with emerald-green skin–no easy burden in a land as mean and poor as Oz, where superstition and magic are not strong enough to explain or overcome the natural disasters of flood and famine. Still, Elphaba is smart, and by the time she enters Shiz University, she becomes a member of a charmed circle of Oz’s most promising young citizens.
But Elphaba’s Oz is no utopia. The Wizard’s secret police are everywhere. Animals–those creatures with voices, souls, and minds–are threatened with exile. Young Elphaba, green and wild and misunderstood, is determined to protect the Animals–even if it means combating the mysterious Wizard, even if it means risking her single chance at romance. Ever wiser in guilt and sorrow, she can find herself grateful when the world declares her a witch. And she can even make herself glad for that young girl from Kansas.
• International Journal of Comic Art blog: Graphic Novel Review: Wicked: The Graphic Novel Part I
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A freelance journalist and Doctor Who fanzine editor since 1978, Tim Robins has written on comics, films, books and TV programmes for a wide range of publications including Starburst, Interzone, Primetime and TV Guide.
His brief flirtation with comics includes ghost inking a 2000AD strip and co-writing a Doctor Who strip with Mike Collins. Since 1990 he worked at the University of Glamorgan where he was a Senior Lecturer in Cultural and Media Studies and the social sciences. Academically, he has published on the animation industry in Wales and approaches to social memory. He claims to be a card carrying member of the Politically Correct, a secret cadre bent on ruling the entire world and all human thought.
Categories: Features, Film, Other Worlds, Reviews
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