On November 22, after years of anticipation, the best-selling Broadway musical, Wicked, finally hits theaters with its new screen adaptation.
It is an undeniable fact that when a project is adapted from one format to another, whether that be a book or play, there is bound to be some differences between each work.
Wicked is a groundbreaking story that discusses themes of friendship, corrupt powers, and the true nature of good and evil.
These themes are communicated by revealing the origins of the iconic characters seen in the Wizard of Oz such as the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Wicked Witch of the West, and the Good Witch of the North.
The protagonist of the story, Elphaba, is an intelligent and kindhearted young woman who possesses a powerful magic, but she struggles with adversity and fear from her peers due to her green skin. Many can’t see the good that lies inside her, because they are blinded by her sinister seeming exterior.
The other main character of this story is Galinda. She is bubbly and popular among her peers, but underneath her sweet smile, she can be cold and selfish. Many idolize her and believe she is “just too good”, because they can’t see past her sweet exterior.
These two become roommates at a school called Shiz, and although they start off as rivals, they eventually become friends.
Wicked shows how someone as good as Elphaba can become the Wicked Witch of the West, and how someone as ignorant as Galinda can become the Good Witch of the North.
Wicked is a classic show that has many loyal fans that are so excited to finally see it come to life on the big screen, but going into the theatre, fans should be aware of some key differences from stage to screen.
Differences
To start, many of the characters in the movie are a lot less bold and comedic than they are in the musical. In order to portray emotions on stage to an audience, you have to exaggerate. Screen, however, allows the actor to have small yet powerful facial expressions that lets the movie be much more intimate. For example, in the movie Elphaba can be noted as being much more shy and soft. This makes the contrast of when she is angry and speaking out for what’s right even more powerful.
Additionally, the costumes from the show to the movie are different. For example, in the movie, Galinda is never seen without one of her iconic pink outfits. While in the musical, in the first half of the play, which is what the movie is portraying, Galinda only wears one pink outfit. Or in the movie Elphaba is always wearing a black outfit, or a Shiz uniform. While in the first half of the musical, she is usually seen wearing something blue. There is a plethora of reasons for this choice. First, it’s a call back to the original Wizard of Oz movie and to their color schemes in that movie. Next, it’s simply to make them stand out from the other Shiz students. This is also true for other characters like Fieyero. Along with this, this is also meant to show the contrast between their characters and personalities.
Another difference in the costumes is Galinda’s gown from the opening number. In the movie, the dress is a light pink similar to all her other outfits, while in the musical the dress is a light blue. The color choice of the musical is because in certain lights the dress looks green. This foreshadows her having some wickedness deep down. The dress is also meant to parallel Elphaba’s blue dress to show that Elphaba isn’t wicked, even if people can’t see it. While in the movie, the dress is pink in order to make it more accurate to the original film.
Another difference is the pace. In the musical, the storytelling is very fast paced with there being maybe three minutes between each song. However, in the movie, there are much longer spaces between each number. This allows the audience to get a deeper understanding of the characters and the world that we’re being introduced to. This allows for a deeper understanding of the story and makes it much more impactful and engaging for the audience.
Next, the way that the animals are portrayed in each project is different. In the movie, the animals are done through CGI. While, in the musical they are portray as people dressing up as animals. This change really helps make the world feel more real.
Similarities
While there are many differences between the two projects, there are also many similarities that fans were very excited to see.
To start, the songs don’t stray far from the original source material of musical. This is much to the joy of fans of the original musical because they get to see some of their favorite songs performed by their favorite artists.
Additionally, in the both projects the music and songs were sung live. This shows the sheer dedication and commitment of the cast, who could have taken the easy way out and sang tracks to lip sync to . Instead, they put in the hard work to simultaneously act their hearts out, and sing with all the passion and soul they could muster. This makes each song more impressive especially when considering all the crazy stunts that they actors did while singing.
Next, each character in the movie is portrayed perfectly. The actors in both projects are brilliant and truly understand the fundamentals that make up who the person for which they are becoming is. They embody the very soul of and essence of the character and share it with the world in such a beautiful way.
Overall, the new Wicked movie is an excellent film with an amazing cast truly captures all the complexities and delicate details that this story requires. It is not an exact replica of the musical, but at the end of the day it was never supposed to be, it is simply and adaptation of the musical, bound to have some difference. However, even though it isn’t a perfect match to the musical in every way, it does perfectly capture the story of Wicked and share its powerful themes in messages in a new way for a whole new demographic to see.
