John M. Chu’s cinematic adaptation ofWickedadheres closely to the story of the musical, though marketing materials showed early on that the filmmaker had taken some creative liberties with design details.Wickedis the hugely popular Broadway musical prequel toThe Wizard of Oz, exploring the lives of well-known characters years before the classic story takes place. The narrative centers around young witches Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande), who travel to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) — but along the way, discover a sprawling conspiracy that’s eating their society from the inside.
Thestory ofWickedis a moving and emotional one, adapted from Gregory Maguire’s vastly different novel of the same name.The characters of Elphaba and Glinda are younger versions of the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch fromThe Wizard of Oz,andWickedexplains exactly how and why they were given these titles. However, one major detail that’sdifferent in theWickedmovie from the Broadway showis Glinda’s wardrobe, which is hugely important to her character arc.
The Wicked Movie Is Returning To Glinda’s Wizard Of Oz Look
Glinda’s Pink Dresses Are Reminiscent Of The Classic Good Witch
Instead of the varied colors that Glinda wears in the Broadway production ofWicked, the movie adaptation seems to be returning to her pink-stained wardrobe from the originalWizard of Ozmovie. This decision makes sense given the audience’s existing knowledge of that character:associating her with the color pink will maintain that connection in the viewer’s mind, keeping them subconsciously aware thatGlinda will eventually become the Good WitchDorothy someday meets.
I Will Never Look At Flying Monkeys The Same After Wicked
The flying monkeys play a huge role in The Wizard of Oz, but Wicked gives them a tragic backstory that totally changes their purpose in the story.
At least during the first act ofWicked, Glinda is also presented as stereotypically feminine with her conservative values of women in society, romantic ideals of love, and expectations of those around her.Glinda is young inWicked, and her youthful naivety often manifests in an exaggerated sense of girliness and bright colors. Giving her a typically pink wardrobe could be the movie’s way of conveying this through her clothes, helping the audience build this preconceived notion of who Glinda is — before knocking it down in the second half.
Glinda’s Wicked Musical Wardrobe Shows More Variety
In The Broadway Production, Glinda Wears Many More Colors
In the original musical, Glinda’s wardrobe isn’t as restricted to pink as it seems to be in the movie. Instead, her character would often be seen in other bright colors, such as blues and greens, to convey her state of mind and emotional loyalties at that point in the narrative.The diversity of color is among the most interesting features ofWicked, and each character has their own shades to convey certain feelings or concerns.
The colors have real implications inWicked, and reducing Glinda’s wardrobe to one single color is, at least on the surface, fairly reductive.
The colors have real implications inWicked, and reducing Glinda’s wardrobe to one single color is, at least on the surface, fairly reductive. She’s a very complex character, and her conflicting emotions are best represented by a range of colors in her costumes. It reflects an emotional maturity that’s not always obvious when she’s only wearing pink. However,Glinda’s iconic pink costumedoes easily draw connections toThe Wizard of Oz, potentially setting up her transformation into the Good Witch and using this as the crux of her character arc.
This Is Ariana Grande’s Version Of Glinda The Good
Grande Is Clearly Delivering A New Version Of Glinda’s Character
Ultimately,theWickedmovie is presenting its own take on the story, and slight changes like these are necessaryto give the project its own identity.Wickedis already a narrative that comes in many forms: there are countless differences between Maguire’s original novel and Winnie Holzman’s Broadway musical, so it makes sense that Chu’s movie should carve some space for itself too. Ariana Grande has always been vocal about her desire to play Glinda on-screen, so the actress has every right to make the character her own and adopt a few changes along the way.
Perhaps Grande is attempting to make her version of Glinda more similar to the Good Witch fromThe Wizard of Oz,which could explain the film’s excessively pink wardrobe. If this is the case, it could have serious implications for the character’s journey throughout the two films — or perhapsWickedis merely letting Grande embrace the pink costuming for the first movie, before updating the colors to reflect Glinda’s growing complexity in the second half.
Wicked
Cast
Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
