I have spoken before about how Hollywood is reluctant to advertise that a movie is a musical. What I find absolutely insane is that "Wicked" was not advertised as a musical when it was based on the most popular (no pun intended) of the last 20 years.

For those living under a rock, "Wicked" is the story of Oz before Dorothy showed up. The future "Wicked Witch of the West," Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), meets Galinda (Ariana Grande), and the two form a friendship that gets challenged when the truth about the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) is revealed.

Let's start here: the length. This movie, which is part one, even though you will not see it in the marketing, is longer than the entire musical. I was most curious about what was added to make it so long. It has been a while since I have seen the musical, but a lot of what I picked up on was added character moments that further deepened the Elphaba and Galinda relationship. There were also multiple songs that were extended. "Dancing Through Life" is the first one that comes to mind. It is about eight minutes long in the musical, but with all the added dancing and dialogue, it takes closer to 15 minutes to finish the song, which allows for more character moments.

These moments, longer songs, and added dialogue allow the movie to build characters in a way the musical couldn't. On the stage, performers have to act for the cheap seats, but they can be more subtle in the movie. In the movie's opening, the Munchkins celebrate the death of "The Wicked Witch of the West," but you can see that Glinda isn't totally on board with how they characterize Elphaba. You can hear what she says/sings on the stage, but here, you can see it on her face. She clearly does not feel the joy the rest of them are experiencing.

Idina Manzel and Kristen Chenoweth have embodied Elphaba and Glinda for 20 years. Erivo and Grande take these two characters and make them their own. Both of them are fantastic. Galinda is the movie's comic relief, and Grande knocks it out of the park. I don't know her music, and I have only seen her on the TV show "Scream Queens," where she is killed off pretty quickly, so I was impressed with her performance. She has an incredible sense of comedic timing but could also handle the dramatic elements. She embodies this character in the same way Chenoweth did for so long.

If you have seen the show, you know the song that ends Act One (and this movie) is "Defying Gravity." It has become the bar by which all Elphabas are judged, and Erivo clears that very high bar. Elphaba is a character who projects confidence but is incredibly insecure. She has been scorned and made fun of for her green skin all her life and doesn't want others to see how they made her feel. You see this most clearly at the end of "Dancing Through Life." She shows up with the iconic hat at this party, and everyone makes fun of her. Refusing to let them see her pain, she dances anyway. This is another moment that benefits from not being on stage. You see the determination on her face, and when Galinda comes to dance with her, we see her break and tears in her eyes. This is the greatest act of kindness she has ever received.

This movie is incredible. It does a great job bringing the musical to life while incorporating more of the book. I love this movie for the reasons above and so many more (the sets, the costumes, Jeff Freakin' Goldblum!). If my movie dance card were not so full, I would easily see it again (Hey, Levy fam, I don't know who is back home over break, but I vote we see it). My one nitpick is that this should have been titled "Wicked: Act One."

Ok. I'll shut up now because I have prattled on long enough, and there is a one-year intermission until part 2.

8/10

Rated PG for some scary action, thematic material and brief suggestive material.

2h 40m