SPOILERS: Wicked, the movie musical starring Ariana Grande-Butera and Cynthia Erivo playing Galinda Upland who then goes by Glinda Upland and Elphaba Thropp, takes place in the Land of Oz and the University of Shiz. Wicked is it’s own universe but is also tied and correlated in with Wizard of Oz universe.
Everyone knows how the Wizard of Oz goes; Dorothy gets caught up in a storm and her house lands on top of the Wicked Witch of the East. The Wicked Witch takes her ruby slippers, and she has to go through Oz to find the Wizard. There she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and comes across the Wicked Witch of the West. She throws a bucket of water on her and she melts. Dorthy then goes and finds the Wizard, clicks her heels together three times, and off she goes to her happily ever after.
Now for Wicked, the story actually starts from where the Wicked Witch of the West melts. Everybody in Oz is celebrating because she finally died. However, Glinda, the Good Witch retells the story about how the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, came about and how they used to be friends. Elphaba was born because her mom had an affair with this magic guy who gave her a green elixir, which she drank, making Elphaba born with green skin. Elphaba also had a sister named Nessarose, who is in a wheelchair, which is important to the story.
Jumping forward in time, Elphaba is older and she’s at the university. She becomes roommates with Glinda the Good Witch. At first, they hate each other, but then they become best friends. But, there’s a couple of love triangles. Glinda is in love with Fiyero, but Fiyero is actually in love with Elphaba. Nessarose is in love with a munchkin named Boq, but Boq is in love with Glinda.
In the Land of Oz, all of the animals can talk, but the government is trying to stop this. This is where Elphaba sees a little lion cub thats in a cage inside of her classroom. She lets it free, and that lion cub ends up becoming the Cowardly Lion. During this time, Elphaba and Glinda find out that the Wizard of Oz is the reason that all of this is happening. This is where she sings Defying Gravity and act one ends.
During the second act, Elphaba visits her sister Nessarose and brings her a pair of enchanted Ruby slippers to help her walk. Boq ends up breaking up with Nessarose because she doesn’t need him anymore, and she accidently puts a spell on him out of heartbreak to take away his heart, turning him into the Tin Man. While that is happening, the government is trying to capture Elphaba because they think that she’s evil. They use Nessarose as a bit of bait to lure her in. They create a massive tornado that picks up Dorothy’s house. The house lands on top of Nessarose and she dies, and that is how Dorothy gets the ruby slippers. Due to these events, Elphaba wants to protect Fiyero, so she puts a spell on him and he turns into the Scarecrow.
Elphaba, trying to get the shoes back, captures Dorothy and Elphaba melts. Glinda comes to visit where Elphaba has melted and she finds a vial of green liquid in her hat, and Glinda finds out that Elphaba’s real dad has been the Wizard this entire time. In the end, Fiyero ends up knocking on the door of where Elphaba melted and found a trap door; she faked her death the entire time. They run off into the sunset, happily ever after.
Wicked is the highest grossing movie ever based on a Broadway musical at the domestic box office with $214 million and counting as of November 30th. Biggest Global and Domestic Opening for a Movie Based on a Broadway Show, beating the worldwide opening of 2012’s Les Miserables with $103M and the domestic opening of Disney’s 2014 Into the Woods with $31M according to Deadline. According to a report by Variety, the musical adaptation crossed $524 million worldwide after earning $359 million domestically. It is now prepared to pass both Kung Fu Panda 4 and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which each earned $547.6 million and $571.1 million. Wicked was rated 4.1 stars from Google ratings, 87% of Google users, 8/10 from IMDb, and 88% Rotten Tomatoes. Personally, I enjoyed the musical and with the surprise of the Broadway cast who originally played Glinda and Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel.
