By AJ Mun
Staff Writer
Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked: For Good” is a spellbinding film that takes everything you know from the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz” and turns it oz-side out.
“Wicked: For Good” is the second half of the movie franchise based off of the 2003 Broadway musical. The first movie follows the origin stories of the witches of Oz, Glinda the Good and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, as they grow from enemies to best friends at Shiz University.
The first film concludes with the beloved ballad “Defying Gravity” as Elphaba renounces the Wizard of Oz in an act of protest against his mistreatment of the animal race. As she flies into the distance, unsure of what her future holds, Glinda is taken deeper into the heart of the emerald city by their professor of sorcery, Madam Morrible.
In the franchise’s newest release, Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo, has gone full vigilante and been named the Wicked Witch of the West. Meanwhile, Glinda, played by Ariana Grande, has become Glinda the Good, a public figure whose job is to uplift the people of Oz and give them hope for the future.
It’s been years since either one has seen the other and a lot has changed. Glinda is to be married to Fiyero, who is now the captain of the Wizards guards known as “The Gale Force” a clever nod back to the it girl in gingham, Dorothy Gale.
Simultaneously, Elphaba is working hard to enforce any help available to stop the Wizard’s regime. But best friends can’t stay away for too long, as Elphaba pays her most popular, and only, friend a visit on her wedding night before confronting the Wizard.
However, things cannot go back to the way they were. Try as she might, Glinda cannot get Elphaba to come back “home.” As the story unfolds, each character gets put to the test all the while one farm girl from Kansas is on her own journey, unknowing of the true story behind her emerald skinned foe.
What’s interesting about “Wicked: For Good” is the role that Dorothy plays in the story. We’ve seen the series of events through her eyes in the 1939 MGM film “The Wizard of Oz,” but now we pull back the curtain even more and see how in the story of “Wicked” she is merely a pawn in the game of feuding friends and Ozian politics.
After being away from acting for around three years, if you count her minor role in "Don't Look Up,” Grande had finally returned to the screen as Glinda in 2024 with the debut of “Wicked.”
Nominated for an Oscar for her work in the first film, Glinda’s arc in “Wicked: For Good” is not an easy one to portray, but Grande did it with as much dedication and care that the role called for. Her dynamics and depth in both singing and acting performances throughout the film are something to be marveled at — especially when remembering this is her first major movie role.
Erivo is known as a powerhouse amongst theatregoers and the Broadway community. Notably, her work as “Celie” in “The Color Purple” musical earned her a Tony Award, so it was no surprise that she had the chops to bring one of Broadway’s most beloved leading ladies to the silver screen.
Needless to say, Erivo’s work in both films truly prove to audiences that she was an irreplaceable casting choice, who delivers a performance filled to the brim with nuance, craftsmanship and pure talent.
Based off of the line that the movie title is sourced from “...I have been changed for good.” from the title song “For Good,” the movie is all about change, consequences and reflection. As each character is propelled further into their story, they are forced to look at themselves in ways like never before.
“Wicked: For Good” shows audiences that love can be lost and found in different ways — that there’s more to people than “goodness” or “wickedness,” and that your choices and experiences can shape who you are, but do not define you.
Most of all, “Wicked: For Good” is a film about connection. It expands upon the themes that the stage play doesn’t have the time to elaborate on. These themes consist of Elphaba's activism for the animals and Glinda’s internal struggles with the true meaning of happiness.
For reference, Act 2 of the stage play has a runtime of about one hour, whereas “Wicked: For Good” has a runtime of about two hours and 17 minutes. With added dialogue and songs, Chu was able to bring us further into the land of Oz and provide necessary additions that pushed the story even further than we could have imagined. All in all, “Wicked: For Good” will have audiences even more “obsessulated” with Oz.
