Last night, we had the pleasure of attending the premiere of the movie Wicked; Part One, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Based on "The Wizard of Oz," it's a spin-off that takes us on the path of discovering the villain origin of the Wicked Witch of the West. This is a path that many other movies have taken, having discovered that villains matter too or something... Viewers are primed by the question,
"Are people born evil, or is evil thrust upon them?"
The Setup
We walked into the lobby to a green and pink setup, which was in line with the movie's theme. Green for the wicked witch, Elphaba, and pink for the benevolent witch, Glinda. We had a brief session to appreciate all who made an effort to attend in theme, and it was delightful. Winners were picked from the green group and from the pink group, taking home fun gifts.
There was also a photo session and everyone got a chance to mingle and share some expectations about the movie. Some had read the Wizard of Oz and so they had an idea of what to expect. Others had read comics or watched a movie or animation. Others yet had never interacted in any way with the Wonderful Wizard, but generally, there was a lot of anticipation.
The Movie
The movie is based on a screenplay by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox; directed by Jon M. Chu. It's a musical as well, and the lead characters don't hold back from blowing us all away with impressive vocals. If you enjoy musicals, this is one that will leave you wowed for sure and have a few tunes stuck in your head for a minute because they're actually really good. It's family-friendly, so you can enjoy it with family and friends of all ages.
Cynthia stars as Elphaba; a child born into the world as an outcast and forced to make peace with the fact that she will never fit in. Ariana is Glinda; a girly girl who's used to always getting her way and won't stop at anything to become the most popular. These two characters from extremely different backgrounds cross paths in an unlikely way and go on to have some adventures (please keep your imagination pure y'all!)
I can't say I had a problem with the casting, although the WiCkeD wiTcH iS bLacK... I guess I'm being overpowered by an agenda here, and I'd love to know what you think about that because maybe it will help set my mind straight. They gave her green skin to maybe take the edge off? Fit the storyline where the witch is green? Make her easily identifiable? Honestly, I don't know, but there's a lot that I don't know.
On a light note, like in the OG book, they speak Ozian at Shiz University, which is where our two characters meet for the very first time. They get on each other's nerves for a while, but fate sees them stuck together in several ways. If you enjoy quirkiness in language, you'll have fun watching this one. Otherwise, the Ozian language may leave you a little disgusticified hehe.
As the movie progresses, I suppose my age shows when I get a little uncomfortable with how modernized the storyline has become, something that I think not too many people will mind anyway. It's going to be something new whether you care about that or not, and that's what matters. The graphics are clean and there's an overall amazing flow to the movie if you don't distract yourself.
In the books, the flying monkeys scared the life out of me, so you can imagine my dismay when they made more than a cameo. It might be an irrational fear that I have, but some kids were motivated to take a short break outside the auditorium when the chaos erupted (in the movie). I don't know what I was expecting, but the realism and jumpscares were not on my cards. The funny thing is that I enjoy horror a lot, but my mind was in a different space so this got me. Also, for a fantasy magic-themed movie, I thought there was really limited use of magic. I mean, it's witches having turf wars after all.
Watch It
If you love musicals, this is a must-watch like I said. The same goes if you want a movie that you can enjoy in mixed settings although, the monkeys... It was the right length to not be too much or leave you unfulfilled, and it's a worthwhile watch if you like anything to do with magic, but make sure you can appreciate other themes and details otherwise, you may get a bit bored. Get ready to watch it on the big screen at Century Cinemax on the 22nd of November 2024 to have the best experience!
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