Wicked (2024 film)

It stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp and Ariana Grande[b] as Galinda Upland, with Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum in supporting roles.Set in the Land of Oz, before Dorothy Gale's arrival from Kansas, its plot follows Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, and her friendship with her classmate Galinda, who becomes Glinda the Good.A child asks Glinda why wickedness happens, and she reflects on the question by discussing the Witch's backstory: born from an affair between the wife of then-Governor Thropp and a traveling salesman, she was ostracized from birth due to her unnaturally green skin and uncontrollable magical abilities ("No One Mourns the Wicked").His replacement, the unscrupulous Professor Nikidik, demonstrates a new contraption – a cage – with a frightened lion cub enclosed within, designed to prevent animals from learning to speak.As Morrible warns Oz that Elphaba is a "wicked witch," Fiyero leaves Shiz on horseback amidst a mass evacuation, and Governor Thropp suffers a heart attack after he and Nessarose receive the news.Dorothy Gale, a Kansas farm girl who is transported to the Land of Oz by a tornado with her dog Toto, is featured alongside the Scarecrow, Tin Man and an adult version of the Cowardly Lion in a brief cameo early in the film.[28] On January 9, 2011, it was reported by Entertainment Weekly that ABC would be teaming up with Salma Hayek and her production company to create a TV miniseries of Wicked based solely on Maguire's novel.[37] In August 2024, it was determined by the Writers Guild of America that Dana Fox collaborated with Holzman on the screenplay and that Craig Mazin contributed additional literary material.[54] Goldblum completed talks by December,[17] when Ethan Slater, Michelle Yeoh, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, Aaron Teoh and Colin Michael Carmichael were added to the cast.Her request to him for Elphaba's costume when she becomes the Wicked Witch of the West involved "a Jean Paul Gaultier collection with a 'new world, kind of gilded age' feeling".[citation needed] The production team worked under the constraint of abiding by the stipulations set forth by Warner Bros., the legal owner of the rights to iconic elements of the 1939 film, including the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland.[86] Additionally, the studio was unable to use Margaret Hamilton's signature chin mole of the Wicked Witch of the West nor could they imploy the yellow brick road's swirl design for Munchkinland.The sexual content of the novel and the musical, particularly the affair between Mrs. Thropp, Elphaba's mother, and the traveling salesman was toned down for both films to reach a wider audience and attain a PG rating from the Motion Picture Association (MPA).[109] The song "One Short Day" is significantly expanded in the movie to include the Emerald City Players' production of "Wiz-O-Mania," which lays out more of the backstory for the Wizard and the Grimmerie.[114][115] Work-in-process footage, featuring first listens to Grande and Erivo's renditions of "Popular" and "Defying Gravity", was presented at CinemaCon on April 26, 2023, introduced on stage by Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley.[122] The network also hosted a promotional tie-in for the film during its coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris throughout the summer, with Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and Michelle Yeoh attending the opening ceremony, a viral video of the Emerald City's "Unlimited One" train cruising down tracks in front of the Eiffel Tower and extensive advertising during primetime coverage of the Women's Gymnastics event, with John M. Chu and the cast in attendance at the Qualifying round.[123][124][125] On September 4, 2024, character posters were revealed ahead of the release of a new trailer the next day, which remixed "Defying Gravity" with Herbert Stothart's iconic "Wicked Witch/Miss Gulch" motif from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's now-Warner Bros.-owned 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz.[149][150][151][152] On October 19, during the 4th Academy Museum Gala red carpet arrivals, Grande responded to the controversy, saying, "I think it's very complicated because I find AI so conflicting and troublesome sometimes, but I think it's just kind of such a massive adjustment period ..."[154][155] Mattel has produced a series of dolls for the film portraying main characters Glinda, Elphaba, Fiyero, Madame Morrible, as well as Nessarose in a wheelchair.[186] Following its release in the United States, right-wing conservative Christian group One Million Moms called for a boycott on the film, claiming that it "promotes witchcraft and pushes the LGBTQ agenda on families, particularly children."Danna Paola and Ceci de la Cueva in Latin American Spanish,[189] Myra Ruiz and Fabi Bang in Brazilian Portuguese,[190] and Park Hye-na and Jeong Sunah in Korean[192][193][194] all performed as Elphaba and Glinda in the original local productions of the musical.[217][218] Opposite to other localizations, which were based on previously existing theatrical versions of the show, two days ahead of the film's release, a first-time Norwegian production of the musical was announced to be in the making, and scheduled to premiere in 2025.[238] In the first week of its release on video-on-demand (VOD) services, Wicked topped the charts on every platform, including iTunes Movies, Google Play, Fandango at Home and Amazon Prime Video.The website's consensus reads: "Defying gravity with its magical pairing of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Wicked's sheer bravura and charm make for an irresistible invitation to Oz.[244] Antonia Blyth of Deadline Hollywood called it "a blast from start to finish" and "a delicious, hilarious romp that shows off Erivo and Grande's next-level talent and laugh-out-loud comedy chops.[252][253] Filmmakers Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Oliver Stone, Joe Dante, Adam McKay, Drew Goddard, William Goldenberg, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Laurel Parmet, Nicholas Stoller and Juel Taylor praised the film."[259] Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com said that "When it's all about the spectacle of big, splashy production numbers, this prequel to The Wizard of Oz is thrilling" but that "far less effective is the way Chu ... wedges in the movie's heavier themes of authoritarianism"."[268][269][270][271] Elle UK's Panashe Nyadundu wrote that the film was a "much-needed escape" with a powerful message of kindness, friendship, representation and acceptance that was warmly welcomed by audiences in the wake of the 2024 United States presidential election."[272] On November 21, 2024, a clip from the press tour interview in which the journalist Tracy E. Gilchrist told Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande that viewers were "holding space" for the lyrics of "Defying Gravity" went viral, creating multiple memes."[275] It also ranked number 3 on the site's list of the "12 Best Movie Musicals of the Last 25 Years," with Andrea Ciriaco writing "Director Jon M. Chu brings the beloved Broadway show to life with admirable precision and heartfelt passion and a fantastic cast of stars who channel their character's originality while still adding their own spin on the role, satisfying fans across the board.