It’s a quiet Sunday afternoon in December. You sit in a darkened theater with only a vague idea of what you are about to witness. The feature begins, your heart races, and you feel the exhilaration only a movie can give you. The film enthralls you, even bringing you to tears — a rarity for you. This is what the Wicked cinematic experience offers, and it’s returning to a local theater just for you, for good!
Wicked (Part One) became an instant global phenomenon in 2024, capturing green and pink hearted fans everywhere with its enticing story and impressively accurate attention to detail. Both fans of the original stage musical and newcomers to the film adaptation were blown away in a cyclone of excitement with staggering visuals, excellent casting, wonderful music, and many other Oscar-worthy elements.
The film took home “Best Production Design” with Lee Sandeles and Nathan Crowley, and “Best Costume Design” with Paul Tazewell, who broke racial barriers at the 97th Academy Awards Ceremony as the first black man to win an Oscar for this category. The practical flower field showcased in the opening moments of Wicked during the “No One Mourns the Wicked” sequence, as well as the many elaborate and beautifully decorated costumes, certainly give both parts of the production team a well-earned win. With the incredible success of the first film, Wicked: For Good has some extra-large silver slippers to fit into. So, let’s discoverate what this franchise means to its fans and why Wicked has become so popular!
SPOILERS FROM WICKED: FOR GOOD WILL FOLLOW
Story and Cast
The story of Wicked follows the wicked witch of the west before she became the villain of Oz. It highlights her tumultuous relationship with Galinda, soon to be Glinda the good, showing the world through wonderfully catchy songs what it means to be good, and what it means to be a friend. Wicked: For Good shows what happens at the end of their journey, dragging our hearts through the mud as Glinda and Elphaba part ways. While the film already had a script to work with, the writers of both these films and the original musical were fantastic. With beautifully developed dialogue, and quizzically charming fictional Ozian words, these screenwriters don’t miss a beat. The cast gives an excellent delivery of this script, enriching the Ozian world and giving us goosebumps as we watch in the theater.
The Wicked Witch of the West
Elphaba Thropp is the main character in Wicked: For Good. By the start of this sequel, she has officially become the Wicked Witch of the West, embracing the title and continuing her quest to save animals and unite all inhabitants of Oz. Her name comes from the original author of The Wizard of Oz novel, L. Frank Baum (El–pha–ba), and her green skin continues to repulse everyone over the rainbow.
Cynthia Erivo, who plays the Wicked Witch in this two-part film adaptation, continues to send our jaws straight to the floor with her incredible performance. Her stunning voice is allowed to shine in songs like “No Good Deed”, obviously “For Good”, and even the film’s new song, “No Place Like Home”. Her best performance is definitely “No Good Deed”, where Erivo particularly emphasizes the raw and emotional parts of her voice. To me, this solidifies her as the superior actress and should easily propel her to EGOT status with a well-earned Oscar at next year’s Academy Award Ceremony.
Granted, I’m a little biased having never seen the musical performed on Broadway, but apparently Harrison students agree with me! In a poll conducted by The Harrison Paw Print, four of the six student respondents chose Erivo as the superior Elphaba, while only two voted for Idina Menzel, who shared a cameo in the first film adaptation with Kristen Chenoweth as the Wise Ones. Cynthia Erivo’s smooth and elastic vocal capabilities elevate this film to new heights, her talent continuing to be a highlight of the franchise.
Glinda the Good
Despite the focus on Erivo’s Elphaba in the first Wicked movie, For Good most definitely puts the spotlight on Ariana Grande’s Glinda. Grande has had an interesting relationship with society, known as a stellar pop icon by some, and a donut-licker by others. This refers to an incident where Grande made a controversial statement regarding America and child obesity after appearing to lick multiple items in a donut shop on camera. She has since apologized for the incident, which occurred nearly ten years ago, regaining her well-deserved popularity and rebuilding her public image. For anyone who doubted her talent, Wicked: For Good will prove Grande’s singing and, surprisingly, her acting capabilities!
Based on the previously mentioned poll, Harrison students came to a similar consensus on the new actress taking over the role of Glinda the good. Four out of six respondents once again selected the film’s cast over the original Broadway musical’s, nominating Ariana Grande as the superior version of the character. While the competition for best actress will certainly be high this year with so many incredible 2025 films like Superman and Sinners, her performance in Wicked: For Good gives Grande a fighting chance for her first ever Oscar.
I’m not inherently a huge fan of the 32-year-old singer, but holy shiz!! Ariana Grande hits notes that you would expect to hear from a fairy in both of these films, cutting through vocal runs like butter. The character of Glinda just naturally fits the popstar, allowing her to fully embody the figure and demeanor of Glinda throughout the film. Her tear jerking performances in “The Girl in the Bubble” and “For Good” solidify the quality this actress brings to the table. “Thank Goodness / I Couldn’t Be Happier” is another great example of Grande’s acting abilities, as she seamlessly toggles between the two personalities of Glinda; the first being the higher pitched public Glinda, and the second being her hidden true self with a much lower vocal register. This subtle difference in vocal tone is hard to catch, but it adds a lot of feeling into the character, something the new actress should rejoicify (2) over for years to come. Well done, Ariana!
Visual Effect
Just like the 2024 film, For Good is beautifully shot, with amazing costumes, cinematography, and overall visuals. The complexity of the story in coordination with the appealing visuals is particularly impressive, as the movie wasn’t shot congruently, meaning that both movies were filmed simultaneously. As first reported by Vanity Fair, director Jon Chu stated, “We all had to be in complete cohesion and understanding of where we were in the story emotionally.” It appears that the filming process was rather confusifying (3) for many of the cast and crew members, but clearly the end result made the hard work well worth their time. The beauty of these final visuals even inspired me to go on a bit of a drawing spree. How many Wicked posters is too many? You can never have enough!
This film has many incredible scenes, and one that stands out in particular is “No Good Deed” at Kiomo Ko Castle. The scene shows Elphaba using the magical spellbook called the Grimmerie as she scrambles to save Fiyero, her primary love interest. The awesome setting of Kiomo Ko enhances the fury and terror Elphaba feels in the moment with bursts of fire and gravity defying walkways. Her flight and the rather dramatic leaps the character takes also look wonderful, making for perfect effects.
My personal favorite visual of the movie comes just after the “For Good” duet between Glinda and Elphaba when the latter sacrifices herself and allows Dorothy to escape with the flying broom. Unlike the original Wizard of Oz, the film adaptation of Wicked depicts the melting of the wicked witch from Glinda’s point of view, who scurries into a closet before the city of Oz can find out she was there. We see from her point of view, watching through the cracked door as the shadows of Dorothy and the witch frantically collide, ending with a slowly sinking Elphaba. The choice to only show brief glimpses of these characters in this scene adds to the intensity of both the sadness and the fear each character feels.
Additionally, shooting at angles that obstruct most of Dorothy’s face allows the original film to respect the casting of Judy Garland, honoring her memory and allowing the audience to paint their own picture of the character. Clearly, this film has it all when it comes to cinematography and special effects, and I would be truly disgustified (4) if it didn’t win that Oscar! Click to learn more about the cinematography of Wicked: For Good from Alice Brooks, the director of photography for the film, or watch this clip for more behind the scenes special looks.
Score and Soundtrack
Before diving into the classic songs from the second half of this iconic musical, let’s take some time to marvel at this film’s beautiful original score created by John Powell. Powell has maintained a well developed reputation with several iconic film scores that include Solo: A Star Wars Story, X-Men: The Last Stand, and the How to Train Your Dragon films, as well as the 2025 live action remake. Powell has worked with fellow composer Hanz Zimmer on projects like Kung Fu Panda, and has developed a similar style of heavy percussive compositions through tracks like “Meet Han” and “Test Drive” that pound into the listener’s soul.
Powell composed the score for the first Wicked film last year as well, working closely with Stephen Schwartz to develop tracks that surround iconic songs like “Defying Gravity” in “all around” compositions. Personally, some of these filler tracks that encompass Schwartz’s original songs hit home more than the actual songs do! The musician returned this year for the sequel film, coming back to pull on our heartstrings with tracks like “The Melting” that melt our hearts. “Wicked: For Good Suite” is his most impressive composition from the new soundtrack. It begins with an upbeat fanfare of “Defying Gravity”, the suite’s strongest section. Then it moves into the “For Good” and “Unlimited” themes with a similar orchestration to the track “Arrival at Shiz University” from the first film. All around, it’s a great score and yet another success for John Powell!
Everybody knows the songs of Wicked. From “Defying Gravity” to “For Good”, each of these songs rock in their own ways. According to our survey from earlier, Harrison students would agree with me when I nominate “No Good Deed” as the best song from the sequel. Cynthia Erivo’s raw and emotional performance is unlike any other song from Wicked, and even includes some unique callbacks to “Defying Gravity” in her not-so-subtle “Fiyero” scream. I think there are still better songs overall than this, particularly “Defying Gravity”, “Popular”, “For Good”, and one of my new favorites, “The Girl in the Bubble”, but it’s still a fantastic track! Other students’ favorites included “For Good”, “Wonderful”, and from the first film, “Dancing Through Life”, which as Nora Wallace astutely commented, “I wish I LIVED in that library.” Visit the official soundtrack and the original motion picture score of Wicked: For Good now!
Comparing Past Media and the Pop Culture Impact
We are all clearly obsessulated (5) with Wicked, but was this two part film adaptation better than the original musical? Between the two films, Wicked: Part One from 2024 seems to be Harrison’s favorite, which is understandable given that the first part was so whimsical, charming, and colorful. According to senior Madison McIntyre, “Wicked [from 2024] just pulled us in and their marketing was above and beyond.” The trailers really leaned into the spectacle of the first film, while still showing us the movie’s substance with the dramatic trailer cuts of “Popular” and “Defying Gravity”.
Like the film adaptations, most people tend to favor the first half of the Broadway show as it contains generally catchier songs than the second portion. This isn’t to say that the sequel film is boring or any less enthralling than the first. Personally, while I prefer Part One over For Good, the latter’s twist ending was the highest point of the series, teasing a possible return to the world of Oz in future sequel films. Even though this could pose a threat to the substance of future Wicked cinematic stories — we all know the dangers of franchising (cough*avatar*cough) — it’s still exciting to think about where this franchise could go next!
Comparing the film series as a whole with the original musical, it’s clear that Jon Chu, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, and the entire cast and crew wanted both movies to feel authentic. If the films didn’t live up to the original, the point in making them would have been defeated. “It feels really special to finally be able to share this with the world, because for us it was simultaneous,” Grande exclaimed in the previous Vanity Fair interview, proving the devotion this team carries when it comes to the accuracy and the integrity of the films.
The importance of meticulous planning and unlimited effort is evident when you think of the people affected by this franchise and its story. One anonymous Harrison student described the films as equally comparable to the musical, explaining that the films were really their “first introduction to Wicked and that world besides The Wizard of Oz.” This is something I can relate to, as I still have not seen the Broadway stage performance at the time of writing this review.
The magic of Wicked is unparalleled by any other musical, but as someone who often prefers cinema to theater, these films deliver on both! Movies provide us with different points of view that simply aren’t possible with a live stage performance. It’s always fun to see a show using entirely practical effects, but sometimes seeing everything on one platform isn’t enough to pull you into a story, and may be too overwhelming. Excellent cinematography allows another angle of art to enhance what may have been missing before. Wicked: For Good expands the original musical into something everyone can appreciate, but it still keeps the focus on theater lovers familiar with the original musical. Another Harrison student stated, “While the original is near perfect, this adaption just pushes it even farther for me,” showing the impact on musical theater lovers more targeted by the feature.
Ultimately, these films have generated feelings of warmth, comfort, and pure joy for many viewers, emotions that any critic would agree are extremely crucial to the success of a motion picture film. The unlimited excitement can be summed up in one simple quote from Glinda actress Ariana Grande, “We’ve had so many secrets for such a long time—to finally be able to share the full story with everyone is so exciting.” If another sequel is in store, we could be in for a rough broom ride. What Hollywood could benefit from the most right now are more live action musical adaptations like Hadestown, Six the Musical, and Epic the Musical. As long as Jon Chu stays in control, I have a good feeling about the future of this franchise. So, hop into your bubble, hit the yellow brick road, or take the Emerald City Express. Just make sure to watch this movie now, before it leaves theaters for good!
Ozian Glossary (We bet you won’t learn these from Membean!)
1. Discoverate
- To reveal something in a highly dramatic fashion.
2. Rejoicify
- To celebrate something more than once.
3. Confusifying
- From ‘conphew’, the term for the sound of a head being scratched; being so perplexing and unfathomable.
4. Disgustified
- The act of being disgusted.
5. Obsessulated
- A state of total exuberant infatuation.
*The Paw Print would like to clarify that these are fictional words, and may not receive extra credit from your English teachers. Enjoy them at your own discretion!
