Commentary: ‘Wicked’ Could Have Easily Been One Movie With A Big Change
by Frank Martin
With a long history of stage to film adaptations, Wicked is certainly not the first musical to become a movie. Many have come before it. This adaptation is unique as the musical was split into two different films rather than just one theatrical release. There may have been monetary reasons for doing this as the producers thought two films would certainly make more money than just one. But there is also a practical reason, as well, seeing as how musicals themselves are broken up into two acts by an intermission. However, the film could have easily have just been one installment if only they decided not to make it a musical at all.
The musical and film duology is an alternate twist on the classic Wizard of Oz tale audiences are familiar with. It features the Good Witch Glinda (Ariana Grande) as school roommates with the eventual Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo). They form a friendship that is fractured once Elphaba decides not to join the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) in expelling the animals from Oz. Wicked: For Good continues the story as Elphaba steps into her role as the Wicked Witch, scapegoated into being a terrorist by the Wizard’s propaganda. Ultimately, Elphaba uses the role to expose the Wizard’s lie and place Glinda in determining Oz’s future.
It obviously makes sense for the film adaptation to be a musical, considering that’s what it was on stage. But a large portion of both films’ runtime is taken up by song. Some of the numbers exist within the action and don’t slow down the pacing. A lot of the songs do, though. The overall story is a compelling one with plenty of action, drama, fantasy, and romance. If the songs were removed entirely and the film wasn’t a music at all, it would still wow and entertain audiences. In fact, so much runtime would be saved by taking the songs out, or cutting the vast majority of them, than it could have been a single film. That’s obviously not what the filmmakers chose, but it is an interesting notion, and a single cut of the film with a lot of the slower songs removed might be an interesting thing to see.
Wicked: For Good is now in theaters.
