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“Wicked” Review Round-Up: Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande Dazzle in Mesmerizing Musical

November 20, 2024
By The Credits

The reviews for director Jon M. Chu’s Wicked have finally arrived, confirming what was first reported around Halloween—the first big-screen adaptation of the Broadway phenomenon is a dazzling smash. In case you’ve been kept in a chamber deep within the bowels of Emerald City, we’ll lay out the broad strokes—Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star as Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the future Glinda the Good, respectively, in this adaptation of the musical, which itself was an adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel of the same name. Maguire imagined Oz before Dorothy arrived and started mucking about, and he didn’t just give the Wicked Witch of the West a name—she didn’t have one in the film The Wizard of Oz or the book it was based on, L. Frank Baum’s novel, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (her name sounds out the initials of L. Frank Baum)—but he fleshed out a moving backstory for her and connected her to Glinda in a moving epic.

Adapting the mega-popular musical juggernaut for the big screen was simultaneously a no-brainer and a major risk. Some 65 million people saw the show on Broadway, finding resonance and empowerment in Elphaba’s story. It’s been 21 years since “Wicked” first landed on the Great White Way, and the wait appears to have been worth it. Not to make too much of a meal of the timing of Wicked‘s release, but a film about fighting against fascism and female empowerment in the wake of the latest American election hits differently.

Regarding the earworm songs that mesmerized audiences on Broadway, Chu, his crew, and his incredible cast “nails what matters most,” The Hollywood Reporter‘s David Rooney writes. “That would be the shifting affections between two young witches. One is a bubbly blonde princess, vain and entitled and yet to discover her tender heart, and the other a defensive outsider, regarded as a freak because she was born with bright green skin but possessed of formidable powers.”

“Wicked” the musical was big—when Idina Menzel, as Elphaba, belted out the show’s most iconic song, “Defying Gravity,” audiences in the theater were overpowered by the power of the production’s theatrics. Chu delivers that and then some in the adaptation. Variety‘s Peter Debruge writes that Chu “finds the model for the sweeping, CGI-enabled pageant “Wicked” was destined to be. As expanded by the show’s original author, Winnie Holzman (with “Cruella” co-writer Dana Fox also credited), the film is still garishly overstuffed, but gloriously so, as Chu embraces the maximalist style that thrills the younger generation in “live-action” Disney remakes like Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. It’s a great big wedding cake of a movie, garnished with sparklers and tinsel.”

With Wicked arriving in theaters on November 22, the time has come. Let’s have a peek at what the critics are saying.

For more on Wicked, check out these stories:

Prepare to Defy Gravity: “Wicked” Will Have Sing-Along Screenings This Christmas

See the Magic: “Wicked” Unveils Dazzling New Images From Oz and Behind-the-Scenes

Hear the Magic: “Wicked” Debuts Iconic Songs in New Teaser

Featured image: L to R: Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba and Ariana Grande is Glinda in WICKED, directed by Jon M. Chu

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The Credits

The Credits is an online magazine that tells the story behind the story to celebrate our large and diverse creative community. Focusing on profiles of below-the-line filmmakers, The Credits celebrates the often uncelebrated individuals who are indispensable to the films and TV shows we love.