News3 Things Parents Should Know about ‘Wicked’

3 Things Parents Should Know about ‘Wicked’

  • Michael Foust
    Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
  • Updated
    Nov 22, 2024

3 Things Parents Should Know about ‘Wicked’

Elphaba is a shy, gifted girl with a unique talent and a distinctive complexion.

She’s green from head to toe. She’s been that way since birth, and well, nobody knows why. 

It’s the reason her father ostracized her. It’s why the neighborhood kids bullied her. It’s why she’s timid and reserved and deeply insecure. 

But that’s okay because Elphaba has an other-worldly power that sets her apart: She can perform magic. Well, sort of. 

Elphaba’s skills only surface when irritated, angry, or emotionally overwhelmed. When that happens, vases shatter, chairs float to the ceiling, and objects inexplicably move. 

Maybe a little education will help. 

So Elphaba enrolls at Shiz University in the Land of Oz, where she falls under the guidance of the headmistress, Madame Morrible, who promises to teach her how to control her powers. She also meets a bubbly new friend, Galinda.

Will Elphaba learn to harness her powers for good?

The new Universal musical Wicked (PG) follows the story of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Galinda (Ariana Grande), two unlikely roommates who must learn to navigate their differences.

Here are three things parents should know about the film Wicked.

Photo Credit: ©Universal Pictures/Wicked

  • Wicked

    1. It’s the Backstory to the Wizard of Oz

    Slide 1 of 3

    The film is an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name and tells the backstory of the two witches in the classic story The Wizard of Oz — the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) and the Good Witch (Galinda). In the film, they’re mirror opposites who become close friends.  

    The film’s opening scenes, in fact, are essentially a continuation of the classic story, with villagers in the land of Oz celebrating the Wicked Witch’s death as they sing and dance to a toe-tapping tune, No One Mourns the Wicked. (We briefly see, from behind, Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Lion, on the yellow brick road.)

    “Yes, the Wicked Witch of the West is dead,” the Good Witch, Galinda, announces to shouts of joy.

    But before Galinda can fly back to her peaceful home, a villager asks, “Is it true that you were her friend?”

    Galinda acknowledges they were, indeed, companions at school.

    In Wicked, we embark on another journey to the Wizard (who was, if you forgot, a man behind a curtain). Along the way, we uncover the origins of the yellow brick road, the mysterious winged monkeys, and the untold backstory of Oz’s other strange characters.

    The film is Part 1 in a two-part series. (When the film ends, we read the words “to be continued” on the screen.)

    Photo Credit: ©Universal Pictures/Wicked

  • Wicked

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