It sets Fiero as quickwitted and kind. He never never sees Elphaba as different. (Other than his charms did not work on her… First time for everything) He takes everyone at face value. When he first meets Boc in the library, he is immediately “oh my I knocked you down are you OK? Hello Nice to meet you “ And obviously could not care less that Boc is shorter, from munchkinland or anything else. Fiero takes everyone as they are.
I think a VERY important change is that instead of the nurse saying "it's atrocious" she says "It's uncanny" making her father the first and only person in the room refusing to accept Elphaba's skin, rather than just be surprised by it. It's an important distinction. It tells the audience maybe people would be okay with her skin color, but if one loud person in the room isn't, it can overrule everyone else. It felt...timely.
i don't know if anyone has mentioned it but fiyero does make a comment about elphie's skin color! he says something about her 'blending in with the foliage' but he never brings it up again after that
The way he delivered it I thought the implication was that he was going to say that anyway before he saw her properly and then sort of regretted it when he saw her skin colour lol
In the scene where Elphaba magics Nessa into the air one the side effects was that a portion of the wall is knocked off and you can see a mural portraying Animals underneath.
My biggest qualm with the movie is that they cut the fact that everyone’s wearing the green glasses in the emerald city so they don’t notice Elphie. There’s a moment in the stage show before Wizomania where Elphie stops to take it in and says, “I want to remember this moment. Always. Nobody’s staring. Nobody’s pointing. For the first time, I’m somewhere… where I belong.” That’s what makes it make sense that Elphie feels so comfortable in Oz. And as someone who relates to Elphie bc of her physical differences, I wish they had kept that in.
It's an interesting metaphor. I remember visiting NYC and despite how crowded it was I felt so much less self-conscious because because everyone has to maintain mental separation despite being close to other people. You can walk down the street having a personal conversation at regular volume and *nobody cares* unless you stop walking and block their path! Another parallel is like how everyone favors green in the EC, most everyone in NYC wears black outerwear and the only time I felt like I stuck out was in Grand Central Station as the only person wearing a blue coat.
Yes, I missed that line too. I think the main dialog cuts/changes had to do with the fourth wall breaking element of theater being gone in a movie. That line is said to Glinda, but it's really for the audience. Movies don't do that kind of interaction often because it feels weird. This feeling really played out for me with the "I'm Not That Girl" sequence. I felt that whole scene was boring in the movie because it missed the isolation and singing to the audience onstage. Elphie off in the corner watching Fiyero and Glinda have a cute couple moment, all the while expressing her heartache and low self esteem to the audience as the rain comes in felt intimate in a way the movie scene just doesn't. It isn't poorly done in the movie by any stretch, but I didn't get that "I'm crying because the girl of literal color knows that fairytalres don't end with the witch and the handsome prince running off together" feels.
37:14 One of the things Ariana said that about was, "The Wizard will see you now." That line was replaced in the first film script she read with, "Who rung that bell?" She immediately texted Jon to call her because she felt so strongly, and then contacted Cynthia and they both talked with Jon about getting the line back in.
The changes to Madame Morrible’s character and writing are setting up more malicious implications regarding her part in the Wizard’s agenda. She is essentially tenured in a prestigious position at a learning institution in which she can single-handedly control the access to the knowledge and harnessing of magical power in Oz. And what does she do? She doesn’t teach - she gatekeeps that knowledge. She is a looming shadow in the campus reporting back to the Wizard of her observations. She’s a spy and has probably been for a while. I feel the omission of her promotion as Press Secretary is hinting that she had already been in an established working relationship with the Wizard, perhaps his second-in-command. And the increased importance placed on the Grimmerie in the movie, particularly that only one is prophesied to be fluent in its lost language, could potentially hint that the Wizard executed the same deception scheme on Morrible to prove her worth to him. She must have caught on but was swayed into silence and compliance through nepotism and bribery. This could explain why Morrible is so adamant about Elphaba having the potential of being his “Magic Grand Vizier,” a real position of power that feeds on Elphaba’s desire to be respected while holding off her suspicions that the Wizard is powerless until she herself became complicit within his system.
Okay, that's brilliant. I'm certain that the way in which Morrible "proved herself" was by creating the Great Drought (weather is her specialty!) and so, she's been the Wizard's partner in crime for a minute. But I hadn't considered that she may have been initially deceived into it, as Elphaba was with the winged monkeys. And I hadn't thought about the way her "I don't teach every semester" sinecure is a method of gatekeeping talented youth! That makes so much sense out of something that seems ridiculous on its face, with her administrative duties reassigned to the new Mistress Coddle character.
35:27 Ethan Slater (Boq) mentioned in a recent interview that the line "lemons, apples, and pears--oh my!" was in the film script and even filmed but didn't make the final cut. I hope we get some deleted or extended scenes.
Well yeah because this is a movie and not a musical. Believe it or not with movies there has to be more visual and even pace out scenes to make it an enjoyable movie 😂 like... Duh?@@kawaii33366
Hold on... I was sure he was just mistaken at that point, because I remember that line being in it, and I don't know the show well enough to know the line from it (I've only heard the cast recording before this). They haven't edited it back in, have they? I remember the line! I remember doing the DiCaprio point when it happened!
@15:58 ! THANK! YOU! I have been saying this since I saw the movie, and you're the first person to bring it up.They split Morrible's role up BECAUSE Yeoh's Morrible is way more stern and has a different sort of charisma than the stage version did. Personally i LOVE the change. I always felt like it was weird for Morrible to just leave Shiz with the girls, whereas in the Movie it 100% makes sense.
Regarding "what does Mme. Morrible do when she's not teaching sorcery?" I've heard several reviewers bring this up. In the US at least where I went to school, we had college professors who would teach "specialty" classes usually based on their PhD, but that's not all they did. There might be a biology professor with a specialty in marine biology. They'll teach a full slate of general studies and adjacent classes such as basic college biology and even English Composition (they're all qualified teachers) and fewer specified Marine Biology courses so they can work full time. But for a specialty class "underwater basket weaving" there might not be enough students interested in that class to fully fill it if it were offered every semester or every year, so the Marine Biology professor teaches their normal classes year round, and then may only be scheduled to teach their unique specialty class in Underwater Basket Weaving once a year or every other year (with the assumption that the students are there for a couple years at least so they won't miss it when it is offered and fill the class.) This basically jibes - Dillamond says "true sorcerers are rare" so Morrible doesn't need to teach Sorcery as an open-enrollment class unless they discover one or more students with talent who can take advantage of it. It'd be like a school not bothering to sponsor a track and field team until they get enough students who are interested and are capable of competing in track events.
I also think that there's something to be said about how the university places her on such a pedestal, as shown when she's introduced in the movie. It boosts how prestigious the university is because they have THE Mme. Morrible on staff. So even if she isn't teaching much, it's worth keeping her around. Plays into the theme of how you're perceived is more important than the actual work you may or may not be doing.
@@user-ft3pj1nr6c And i was also assuming she would teach the history and theories of sorcery maybe? And not actually teaching magic which is a seminar
I’m about to graduate college and still don’t know how professors work, but I just got the vibe that a renowned professor still being employed but on standby until a student is qualified to take their class would just get to chill because they’re probably doing important research that the University loves or something. But this explanation makes sense.
I had a professor who i adored who only taught for for 10 weeks a year. And it was a single upper division physics class on general relativity where he also didn’t grade us for how correct we were, but just… if we gave it a really good genuine try. The rest of the year he did not teach a single class however. And this was a well-respected tenured professor with multiple accolades under his belt, someone who genuinely was good at what he did, had multiple grad students, led a lab, all of it… but he also only had to teach 10 weeks a year to 30 students who really wanted to be in his class w/ an easy grading scheme. And he was 100% getting away with it on the fact that he was a well respected physicist.
Bravo on noticing all the changes between the stage show and the movie!!! I definitely enjoyed the changes made to the movie because it gave more depth to the characters, especially Fiyero. I love that he definitely seems more thoughtful and just chooses to have a superficial persona and Elphaba notices almost immediately. I also love Michelle Yeoh’s more serious take on Madame Morrible as more of a mentor because it makes it all the more heartbreaking and sinister when she turns on Elphaba . I’m so excited to see where part two goes!
As a blind person I love that Nessarose has more agency and that the changed intro between Galinda and Elphaba makes the latter even more of a disability icon. I was surprised but happy with the changes to Fiyero because we are actually seeing the pretense that she speaks of in the show. We know what she's talking about in the film because this is an act he can play incredibly well and for some reason is choosing to hide the fact that he has more depth so she does change him but it's not as dramatic a change and depending on how part two goes this could have much greater resonance than what we have to go on from the musical. It's also a bit more fitting with the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz film who constantly claims that he doesn't have a brain and isn't smart but is always the person to get Dorothy and Co out of trouble with some quick thinking.
I really love the Fiyero change. It feels so much better that he becomes an ally she didn't realize she had, rather than a smarmy doofus who got to use her as a stepping stone in his own character arc. It uplifts both characters, and makes for such a sweet moment. He becomes an excellent contrast to Galinda as well.
@kawaii33366 I meant Elphaba to Galinda, with her line chastising Galinda's comment about fixing her. Nessarose is no one's disability icon by the end; she's not written to be.
When you talked about the train and the impression that travelling around Oz isn't easy, it reminded me of a video on the Architechtural Digest channel where the production designer Nathan Crowley talks through some of the sets - it's absolutely fascinating! So much thought and detail goes into it. He mentioned transport in their decision to have the students arrive by boat.
37:07 ariana confirmed on a podcast that the line was “the wizard will see you now,” which is nuts to try and change!!! some people have then drawn the connection to the video of her and cynthia rehearsing one short day, when ariana reaches over and marks cynthia’s score - it’s likely that she crosses out the once-changed, now-restored line
with regards to the discussion of the different productions: I saw the Swedish production earlier this year, and at the end of Defying Gravity Elphaba was pulled up in the air and over the audience and then vanished up into a hole in the ceiling, kind of like a reverse chandelier from Phantom moment 😂 It was super cool.
I've seen the film twice and think the next watch will be once it's available for streaming. So I really love these wicked Wednesdays! Still get to be reminded of the masterpiece ❤️ Great video. Thank you! (loved the monkeys 😁
Edit: Oops! You addressed this in a reply to someone else's comment. Thank you. - - - - One thing that I've noticed being dismissed often is the careful effort not to perpetuate the "angry black woman" stereotype with Elphaba. hence why she gives a speech about why she's green. She's annoyed and hurt by being othered but only becomes enraged by the animal injustice and the Wizard's fraudulence. Cynthia Erivo sort of mentioned it in interviews where she said that Elphaba's been green all her life and people's reactions are nothing new by the time we meet her.
It felt very I’m explaining my disability to strangers with extra sarcasm because Im not explaining my life story To me. (I have done this, because people ask when they notice but I don’t always want to explain autoimmune conditions and their treatment to folks at work)
@gabriellehitchins9182 Having Spina Bifida myself, I noticed that both Elphaba and Nessa Rose walk through the world with awareness that most people don't care about understanding them. What I loved about Elphaba in particular was that she still found joy. The film needed to portray--and did so quite well in my opinion--black and disabled joy. Albeit more with Elphaba in The Wizard and I than Nessa Rose in Dancing Through Life.
One difference I noticed is at the train station as Elphie is about to leave, Boq doesn't have his moment of snapping at Glinda and storming off and Nessa thereafter snapping at Elphie when she tries to comfort her. Instead, in the movie, after Nessa introduced Boq to her dad, she becomes visibly upset and rolls away when she sees how enamored Boq is with Glinda's proclaimed name change.
I wonder if they're going for Nessa developing a resentment for Glinda and in part 2 its Glinda that enchants the shoes like in the book and since Boq thinks he can leave now thanks to Glinda, that prompts Nessa to attempt the love spell that goes wrong
@@OliveDiamonds they are clearly going for another red definition of wicked. Rose seems to be a perfectly wonderful young woman making her way as best she can in the world. And then, it appears that wickedness is thrust upon her. She is clearly, willfully going to make the choices that lead her to be the wicked witch of East.
In terms of Fiyero, I think maybe he’s more thoughtful in the film so there’s less of a feeling he makes a 180 in his personality for Elphaba. I think it’s to make them more compatible, but also to show the extent to which Fiyero masks his intellect with Galinda and everyone else?
I don’t think the later Fiyero dialogue doesn’t work, just that it paints a completely different picture of him as a character. But I’m biased as a blind movie watcher. It came across to me that being uncaring and vapid is his front, that he doesn’t want to care about things and has this sort of nihilistic hedonistic view because he wants to, not because it’s his natural state to be thoughtless and vapid. He espouses to not care because he doesn’t want to. If I’m psychoanalyzing him, he came across to me as someone who’s been burned before in the past for caring too much, and took on carelessness as a policy because he came to the conclusion that it was the smartest way to live. Glinda and him match up because his front matches with her (and her front? I’m not smart enough to analyze Glinda). She believes in his front that he doesn’t care and doesn’t like to think because he outwardly states it, so is shocked when he starts outwardly being introspective. Elphaba I don’t think cares about believing anything because either way he’s espousing apathy and being annoying, so she doesn’t care if it’s a front or not, she still thinks of him as a guy who doesn’t like to think critically, and may even be even more annoyed if she knows it’s just his personal choice. Either way, it’s still Fiyero portraying himself as one way and then acting different from how he usually does. Just my personal interpretation of him as a movie watcher, nothing came across as odd to me.
So let’s talk pre-this story when the wizard first landed. He clearly did not come in and immediately step into wizard sized shoes… If he had, there would’ve been no shenanigans with Elphaba‘s mother. I propose that he came in a balloon and flim flamed his way around Oz until he encountered Madame M. Then the two of them concocted a plan that led both of them to rise in power. Since Oz does not have an Ozma or any other major magic user from the books, Madame M is the only one who could have “verified“ his use of the Grimorie She has been working this plan from the beginning. Because there is no way no matter how good of a con man the wizard is, that he would know enough about Oz to pull this off by himself.
I'm not sure whether they do this in the stage musical or if something they added for the movie - either way, it certainly isn't in the original Broadway cast recording. In Dancing Through Life, after Nessa sings "and you felt sorry for me, well, isn't that right?" Ethan Slater as Boq says "oh no no, I don't feel sorry for you, you're great!" I'd like to imagine that was added at the behest of Marissa Bode, like as affirmation that disabled people don't need to be pitied
I really liked his performance there, the way the editing really emphasizes his crush on Galinda gives the implication that he's genuinely mortified to have come off as ableist because his actual ulterior motive was something else He feels more sincere in genuinely wanting to reassure her and I believe that he *wants* to be in love with Nessa at that moment
37:10 i saw an interview where ariana stated that the thing that almost made her quit was that they had replaced the line "the wizard will see you now!" with "who rang that bell???" she called the director and had him change it back. It would had been a nod to the 1939 movie, but ariana said it was an iconic line that could not be replaced. So I think that's the line she's referencing
20:44 he does kind of comment on her complexion, something along the lines of “sorry we didn’t see you *pauses and notices her complexion* must have blended in with the foliage”
I think Fiyero is so much better in the film. In the stage production, their romance comes out of nowhere. In the film, they begin laying little breadcrumbs and hints right from that first meeting just by making him less of an asshole. Elphaba points out later how he’s pretending to be self absorbed so it makes sense for him to not be as vacuous and obnoxious as onstage.
I read the book of Wicked and it was dark. I saw the wicked the musical in Seattle, at paramount theater. The musical is really good and I enjoyed with it. I saw part one of Wicked and it was really good. Ended the movie, it was epic. I can’t wait for part two.
Thank you for the two monkeys, it's a silly thing but as someone with a poor attention span I often miss when context is given verbally and having the continual visual cue was a really nice bonus
So… the yellow brick Road is not yet built. So we will take an easily multi year jump into the future, that we always assumed happened in the stage version.
Hi! Just saying I think Morrible's entire role at the school is to seek the one who will be able to read the Grimmorie and is purely there for that purpose, not sure how implied that is or if it's just me reading into things, but I think that does reasonably justify her suspiciously lackluster role at the school
I think you're misinterpreting Stage Fiyero a bit. I don't believe he's actually vapid; just nobody's challenged him, particularly intellectually. We know there's more to him than meets the eye because Elphaba already picked up on it and fell in love with him. The difference between the stage and the movie isn't that he was actually brainless, it's that in the movie he doesn't pretend quite as hard.
I think you’re misunderstanding his characterization tbh. He’s not saying Fiyero is genuinely brainless, but rather that he is portrayed as truly vapid, entitled, and careless (which is true if you’ve seen the stage production), but then after Elphaba he does a complete 180 and so his character change is quite sudden and dramatic. In the movie, his characterization has a lot more nuance; you can clearly see remnants of his future evolution, and his carelessness seems more like a performance. I hope what I’m saying makes sense? Thanks!
@evenafrozenheartcanmelt4351 i understand, I just disagree. I don't think he's ever actually careless or vapid, he just pretends to be. Elphaba clearly detects that in him, because she falls in love with him BEFORE any shift in his external character. He's always cared, he's just realized he can stop pretending he doesn't
@ Maybe I’m missing something, but doesn’t she not contextualize her feelings until “I’m not that girl”, which happens AFTER he helps her free the lion cub? Regardless of whether it is genuinely how he is or not, he acts extremely vapid throughout much of the first act and is presented to the audience as being that way fr (he is not in the movie). We, just like Elphaba, do not start seeing hints that there is more depth to his character until he frees the lion cub and elphaba points out that he seems unhappy and so couldn’t possibly be acting true to himself. In the movie, there are specific choices that do make him seem much more “thoughtful” from the get go. You can see his potential and the start of his character arch MUCH earlier, if not from the first scene we meet him, which feels very intentional. The way I think of it is like this: if you had NO idea about the show and you watched it for the first time on the stage, you would think Fiyero was an absolute brainless douche and be pleasantly surprised when he helps Elphaba. In the movie, it does not seem nearly as surprising; it’s fairly clear that Fiyero has depth from the outset. Have you seen the movie? How would you describe the difference in his introduction scene in the movie vs musical? Genuinely, I’m curious, because I think it’s hard to deny that there is a MASSIVE difference.
@evenafrozenheartcanmelt4351 I agree there's a difference, they probably wanted to show more of his inner character than they did in the show specifically to make the shift less surprising. In the stage show, our first sign is when he tells Elphaba she "need to do that", as in, change who she is, or pretend. Then Elphaba casts her spell on the entire class except for him. That's before the scenes you're referring to, and shows that something is happening. I love the choice to make his inner character more apparent, much sooner.
@@mithramusic5909 So I think by your own admission, you agree with MJT MUCH more than you think. Again, I do think there are some misunderstandings and hyper focus on wording, but you generally agree with him tbh… I don’t think that one line is much indication to an unsuspecting audience member seeing the show for the first time… I think you might think oh that’s nice, but I don’t think you would suspect he turns into the character that he does based on that one line. I also think there is a big difference between infatuation/attraction and genuine interest/desire. Before Fiyero helps Elphaba, I think she’s infatuated, but I don’t think she likes him as a person. I think if you asked her, she would categorically deny being attracted to him and call him dumb/shallow etc. She doesn’t explore or reveal her feelings until she realizes there is depth to his character. Us, as the audience, do not know she likes him until “I’m Not That Girl,” which was my point. In the movie, the only time she seems “disgusted” is when Fiyero sings “Dancing Through Life.” To me (and maybe this is because I know they get together so you could absolutely disagree with me), it seems to be clearer that Elphaba likes Fiyero earlier on and spots his potential sooner. From their very first meeting, she seems intrigued rather than just finding him charismatic (as is most likely the case in the stage show).
It's possible that Madam Morrible's position at the university could be a primarily research-based one; she mentions later having spent decades studying the Grimmorie which is the sort of high-profile thing a place like Shiz would be happy to fund, even if she usually doesn't take on students
As in the stage show, there are references to characters in the other Oz books of the series. The Sawhorse and the flat-headed characters (I think they were Quadlings, if I remember correctly) were always part of the Oz stories, but barely appeared in the first book. I believe that the Sawhorse had a book of his own. I thought it was brilliant to see them make an appearance!
I think the stage version Fiyero asks where is the most swankified place in town. Glinda says oz dust ballroom. But in the film its Fiyero that suggests it?
That line is my favorite Fiyero line, just cuz swankified is a fun word. I was sad it wasn't in the movie, though, I get why he had to suggest the oz dust. otherwise it wouldn't make sense in the movie for him to be kicked out of schools and be responsible for the corruption of his fellow students.
Honestly, that Fiyero scene in the classroom confused the heck out of me. I would never thought I would hear him say "Let's get to class" after singing Dancing through Life. I audibly said 'what?'; given I haven't seen the Wicked stage musical before.
Bear who raise Elphaba is actually based on the nanny character from the book But she was human who helped raise Elphaba with Both of Elphaba’s parents and Ozdust Ballroom is partially based on Actually, the infamous philosopher club which is a sex club that have the infamous scene in it but in the musical and Movie they cut that out for obvious reasons And Ozdust (souls of the people of oz) in the book
The only reason that the slippers are not ruby red is because no one wants to pay the royalties to Warner Brothers which owns the rights to MGM’s catalog. It will be interesting to see if the musical has any productions in 2038, when the copyright for the ruby slippers expires, if they are changed to ruby slippers, especially if it’s a revival. The musical even has a nod to the ruby slippers by turning them red when Elphaba enchant them. In some trailer scenes, we see Dorothy wearing Silver slippers, so I doubt they will turn red when Elphaba enchants them, but maybe briefly. Since the musical and now the film are so successful, if Warner Brothers was smart they’d just let the musical use the ruby slippers since it is a great advertisement for the original film.
@@heidifedor in the stage musical they briefly glow red during the incantation, but remain silver thereafter. I remember being convinced after seeing it as a child they fully turned red but it doesn't happen!
I wish I could have seen the stage version. I did not like it in the movie. Tragic? It was cringe and uncomfortable. Maybe that’s what they wanted? Funny would have worked better but I don’t think Cynthia can do funny.
@ There are clips of the stage version on RUclips. No matter how good of a job that a movie’s adaptation is, it can’t replace the experience of seeing it live.
My biggest question with this movie is the gremory is said to only have one person to be able to read the book and it was alphabet in the movie so in the second half is Nessa going to turn back into the tin Man because how would she if she doesn't have power?
Should be noted I definitely have a "Chistery" but ... his name is Nikko Lol . Have seen the movie twice so far .Almost went again yesterday but sleepiness (work overnights) . Definitely am wanting to go again, especially to a sing a long, but will see when I'm actually awake enough to do it. irony because the first two times were also on solo nights off, but ... I was damned determined the first time to go ASAP (went 21st) and second time I went with my sister. The movie did a FABULOUS job of translating the show to the screen.
In the movie, during Galinda's "Celebrated heads of state or especially great communicators" line, does she do the iconic pose from "Evita"? In the stage show, Glinda does this pose during "Thank Goodness", doesn't she?
Okay so here’s the thing about home being like “let’s get to class” that happens right after she’s doing toss-toss right next to him. He sees her trying to replicate Galinda and it’s not working out super well because she’s not galinda, and he likes her because she’s not galinda, she’s elphaba. I think it’s just another sign of his understanding and seeing her that’s has him being like “let’s go to class, stop worrying about being her when you can be you” which I still think fits into the dancing through life mentality
I wonder how part 2 is going to show the (spoilers) transformation of Boq and Fiyero. There’s a production in (I think) Brazil that shows Boq becoming the Tin Man instead of the transformation happening behind Nessa’s armoire. It’s chilling! Imagine if during No Good Deed, when Elphaba cries, “Fiyero, FIYERO!”, they cut to Fiyero becoming The Scarecrow to save his life.
I did see an interview where Ariana said she specifically recalled there being no "the wizard will see you now!" line and it being replaced with something like "ring the doorbell" or the doorbell ringing (I can't remember), and she called Jon M. Chu and was like "this line absolutely has to be in the movie!"
I thought that the Emerald City train conductor was going to be a cameo for Joel Gray. That would’ve made more sense about why Galinda/Glinda made such a fuss about him.
A lot of these changes I can get behind, as either positive or net neutral changes. There are, however, three changes I can't get behind at all and think made the movie worse: - Splitting Madame Morrible's character was a terrible change, and it really needed to be Morrible who dragged Dr. Dillamond out of the classroom. - The lack of green glasses in Oz! The fact everyone has to wear these glasses is integral to the political commentary of the musical and book, so it is a really serious change, in my opinion. - The changes to the end of Defying Gravity. Specifically, I didn't like the fact they had Glinda detained during Elphaba's escape, as it made it more unclear whether or not Glinda chose to leave Elphaba or was unable to leave. The additional scenes in the middle also made what should be the most powerful song in the musical unnecessarily drag.
Morrible being a professor in the university system and "hidden away" is very reminiscent of Angela Davis and her almost "leftover" status after the black panther movement.
One of the changes that is kind of giving me anxiety is that I don't think we heard "the Wizard's unexpected departure." Am I misremembering? Do we have confirmation that the Wizard is gone?? Or does Glinda still need to go and kick him out???
she did say it right before "if there are no further questions i'm gonna go". she does kinda just mumble it to herself which is probably why you missed it!
She does say it! "as you can imagine I have much to attend to, what with the wizard's unexpected departure" - it's said quite quickly as she's already preparing herself to leave though!
it’s because the nanny sings that line and she actually likes elphaba and raises her so she wouldn’t call her ‘atrocious’ but it’s still a strange green baby. also i guess ‘how can it be’ and ‘uncanny’ sorta rhyme?
@16:30 I'm preeeeeetty sure Morrible is announced as the Press Secretary in the movie, I remember that being said around when she says that line about the green skin being but an outward manifestorium??
No she never holds that position in the movie, or at least in Part 1. She just walks into the Wizard’s summoning room saying she didn’t want to miss Elphaba’s big moment, and when she warns the citizens on radio she never introduces herself. It’s hinted she’d already been working closely with the Wizard so she doesn’t need to be promoted to anything
I’ve seen the movie three times now and the way he says the line, he was already going to say foliage before he sees that she’s green. If it had been Galinda, he would’ve said the same thing, except Galinda would not be walking in a forest in black clothing with one tiny lantern. 🤷♀️
Will you go and watch the new non-replica production that's premiering in Madrid next October? It's the first time the musical is going to be done in the country and the tickets are already for sale, which is very unusual for a Spanish production.
While I applaud representation and I am sure they will figure something out in the movie, I can't see how they can have an actually wheelchair bound person in the stage play where she also needs to walk.
@@knighthawk3749 not every wheelchair user is full time (depending on their condition some can walk for short distances/ stand or transfer from chair to chair by themselves) it’s obviously not super practical for an actor on a stage for 6 performances a week, for weeks at a time but this is a movie 🎥 accommodations will be made.
I can't remember exactly how it plays on stage so correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought another Fiyero difference is during I'm Not That Girl where (in the film) he arrives back to Shiz after Elphaba and is obviously looking for her while she sings from a corner. On stage I feel it's more he flees from the release of the lion cub back to the "safety" of Galinda and throws himself into their relationship to avoid the confusing thoughts his moment with Elphaba has thrown up.
There's definitely still a moment with Glinda on the bridge where he's looking for Elphaba - and though we see him go back to her, Glinda expresses in the next scene that he's been distant.
@MickeyJoTheatre Thank you, I thought there was something I'd forgotten. Yes, next scene he's been "thinking" but I'm in a muddle at the moment over the timeline. If day1 is when he first meets Elphaba, day2 is his arrival at shiz and "dancing through life", is dillamonds last class day3, seeing as Fiyero points out Elphaba has been "Galindafied"? Then what is the time gap between I'm Not That Girl and One Short Day? Galinda saying Fiyero has been different after Dillamond's sacking sounds odd if she only knew him for one day before.
the thing that bothers me the most is the change of Something Bad. He needed to repeat the line one more time, where he mispronounces "bad", and then Elphaba sings, "It couldn't happen here, in Oz". that feels way too important to cut.
I figured they cut Elphaba's last line because in the movie context, she's seen enough that saying it couldn't happen in Oz wouldn't fit as well as a reaction.
16:55 is there any reason to think that the wizard was a student at shiz? i might just be lacking in the lore, which you obviously know, but i don't recall that being a thing
I… really hated the grammar corrections in the film! Considering all these weird Ozisms, you’d imagine the grammar would be weird in Oz too! Just made me rather not like Elphaba in those moments 🤷♀️
I absolutely missed the line from the stage play, “You’re positively phosphorescent!” I also missed the iconic green glasses from the stage play. Those glasses felt like looking at things the same way. Everything.very symbolic! I thought Defying gravity missed the mark of building up the tentative bravery of Elphaba. The stage play did that perfectly. The defying gravity in the movie was on a long time before the iconic… ahhhhhhhahahahhhhhhha.
As someone who is physically disabled Do we not have a problem with wicked and casting a wheelchair user as there are two different types of wheelchair users and without wanting to go into spoilers you would need one particular type of wheelchair user and then you’ve would have to be able to cast one particular type wheelchair user for the role. Although there’s not enough of us mobility challenged performers around when it comes to wheelchair users are there enough of the particular type of wheelchair user required available for these productions? Wouldn’t you need cover performance as well?
This is what I've always wondered regarding this conversation. Surely the things required of the Nessarose performer in the second act would require someone who can do a certain amount of standing and walking? And they would need to reliably do that 8 shows a week, taking into account the fact that mobility and flare ups etc. are not always predictable. I'm not saying there's no one who could do that - ambulatory wheelchair users absolutely exist - but it seems a very tall order to consistently find someone who would check all those boxes *and* perform the part well.
@ although it will be good to see I know the reactions I get if someone sees me walking 2 m outside my front door without my walking stick they immediately think I’m magically cured.
@ this is what I wonder if Micky Jo takes this into consideration… there were different types of wheelchair users as he said in a previous reply but this is one of the few roles where it is going to be very tricky to find performers and yes being an eight week you will need cover performance as well that are able walk for that scene and personally I think any one thing changes to that scene should happen it would be detrimental to disabled people.
Don't forget that this actor also needs to be a great singer. I am glad they found someone like that for the movie, but it's not realistic to expect that for the stage. BTW no one mentions how difficult the role is because it's much harder to sing while sitting down.
I find it strange that The Wizard’s lines in No One Mourns The Wicked are in a slightly higher key than in the stage production. “Have a little drink, my…” that part.
I think they did that on purpose to throw people off. They probably failed with some people because some recognized it’s Jeff and he is listed on the track.
I don't like how the film has Elphaba calling out to Dr Dillamond when she starts following him: "Dr Dillamond, did you find out who wrote..." or words to that effect. It seems like an inappropriate thing to shout out/draw attention to in front of other students, and even if he had discovered the culprit, is he going to want to reveal this fact publicly? The scriptwriter should've come up with a less improbable line... As for Madame Morrible, as much as I love Michelle Yeoh (did someone correct your previous mispronunciation, MickeyJo?) ;) I think she's miscast - she's too regal an actress for this role that, as you point out, has a more maternal and endearing (initial) characterisation on the stage - perhaps that's why they created the Coddle character and reworked the role, to accommodate Yeoh's naturally imperious manner?
I've heard Cynthia talk about her lack of anger as Elphaba on the Sentimental Men podcast and it made *perfect* sense to me! I also don't think she's any more feminine in the film than the stage musical?
@@MickeyJoTheatre As much as I adore Cynthia and have been blessed to see her perform in person this year, I don’t care for her somber, humourless take because I wonder how she’s going to dip into the humour when Elphaba confronts Dorothy. No one is going to want to see Dorothy bullied without humour. I do miss the fire of stage Elphaba. One of my few complaints.
I may be in the minority but I didn’t like the Kristen and Idina cameo. It went on too long and felt gratuitous. We love them but the movie stopped dead to give them a moment and it could have been better incorporated.
E: "No, I did not eat grass as a child."
F: "I did."
it killed me
That was the line that got me on board with the slightly different Fiyero in the movie. He had me at "I did!" 😂
It sets Fiero as quickwitted and kind. He never never sees Elphaba as different. (Other than his charms did not work on her… First time for everything)
He takes everyone at face value. When he first meets Boc in the library, he is immediately “oh my I knocked you down are you OK? Hello Nice to meet you “ And obviously could not care less that Boc is shorter, from munchkinland or anything else.
Fiero takes everyone as they are.
Well done. Thank you
I think a VERY important change is that instead of the nurse saying "it's atrocious" she says "It's uncanny" making her father the first and only person in the room refusing to accept Elphaba's skin, rather than just be surprised by it. It's an important distinction. It tells the audience maybe people would be okay with her skin color, but if one loud person in the room isn't, it can overrule everyone else. It felt...timely.
i don't know if anyone has mentioned it but fiyero does make a comment about elphie's skin color! he says something about her 'blending in with the foliage' but he never brings it up again after that
I was about to comment this.
The way he delivered it I thought the implication was that he was going to say that anyway before he saw her properly and then sort of regretted it when he saw her skin colour lol
@@wrigglebyI saw it a few hours ago and this is exactly the way it’s portrayed.
In the scene where Elphaba magics Nessa into the air one the side effects was that a portion of the wall is knocked off and you can see a mural portraying Animals underneath.
A mural of the wizard no less
@booksvsmovies *in the voice of Glinda in "Popular"*: "Right!".
The visual aid of using the monkeys was actually very helpful 😅 Thank you! ❤
My biggest qualm with the movie is that they cut the fact that everyone’s wearing the green glasses in the emerald city so they don’t notice Elphie. There’s a moment in the stage show before Wizomania where Elphie stops to take it in and says, “I want to remember this moment. Always. Nobody’s staring. Nobody’s pointing. For the first time, I’m somewhere… where I belong.” That’s what makes it make sense that Elphie feels so comfortable in Oz. And as someone who relates to Elphie bc of her physical differences, I wish they had kept that in.
YES
THIS!
“You look positively emerald” is my favorite line and I was so sad it was cut
It's an interesting metaphor. I remember visiting NYC and despite how crowded it was I felt so much less self-conscious because because everyone has to maintain mental separation despite being close to other people. You can walk down the street having a personal conversation at regular volume and *nobody cares* unless you stop walking and block their path! Another parallel is like how everyone favors green in the EC, most everyone in NYC wears black outerwear and the only time I felt like I stuck out was in Grand Central Station as the only person wearing a blue coat.
Yes, I missed that line too. I think the main dialog cuts/changes had to do with the fourth wall breaking element of theater being gone in a movie. That line is said to Glinda, but it's really for the audience. Movies don't do that kind of interaction often because it feels weird.
This feeling really played out for me with the "I'm Not That Girl" sequence. I felt that whole scene was boring in the movie because it missed the isolation and singing to the audience onstage. Elphie off in the corner watching Fiyero and Glinda have a cute couple moment, all the while expressing her heartache and low self esteem to the audience as the rain comes in felt intimate in a way the movie scene just doesn't. It isn't poorly done in the movie by any stretch, but I didn't get that "I'm crying because the girl of literal color knows that fairytalres don't end with the witch and the handsome prince running off together" feels.
37:14 One of the things Ariana said that about was, "The Wizard will see you now." That line was replaced in the first film script she read with, "Who rung that bell?"
She immediately texted Jon to call her because she felt so strongly, and then contacted Cynthia and they both talked with Jon about getting the line back in.
Interesting. "Who rung that bell" would also have worked and been a reference to the MGM move... but I don't think it would have fit in the song.
The changes to Madame Morrible’s character and writing are setting up more malicious implications regarding her part in the Wizard’s agenda. She is essentially tenured in a prestigious position at a learning institution in which she can single-handedly control the access to the knowledge and harnessing of magical power in Oz. And what does she do? She doesn’t teach - she gatekeeps that knowledge. She is a looming shadow in the campus reporting back to the Wizard of her observations. She’s a spy and has probably been for a while. I feel the omission of her promotion as Press Secretary is hinting that she had already been in an established working relationship with the Wizard, perhaps his second-in-command. And the increased importance placed on the Grimmerie in the movie, particularly that only one is prophesied to be fluent in its lost language, could potentially hint that the Wizard executed the same deception scheme on Morrible to prove her worth to him. She must have caught on but was swayed into silence and compliance through nepotism and bribery. This could explain why Morrible is so adamant about Elphaba having the potential of being his “Magic Grand Vizier,” a real position of power that feeds on Elphaba’s desire to be respected while holding off her suspicions that the Wizard is powerless until she herself became complicit within his system.
Okay, that's brilliant. I'm certain that the way in which Morrible "proved herself" was by creating the Great Drought (weather is her specialty!) and so, she's been the Wizard's partner in crime for a minute. But I hadn't considered that she may have been initially deceived into it, as Elphaba was with the winged monkeys. And I hadn't thought about the way her "I don't teach every semester" sinecure is a method of gatekeeping talented youth! That makes so much sense out of something that seems ridiculous on its face, with her administrative duties reassigned to the new Mistress Coddle character.
35:27 Ethan Slater (Boq) mentioned in a recent interview that the line "lemons, apples, and pears--oh my!" was in the film script and even filmed but didn't make the final cut. I hope we get some deleted or extended scenes.
They lengthened the film to almost be as long as the musical but somehow had to cut iconic lines?
Well yeah because this is a movie and not a musical. Believe it or not with movies there has to be more visual and even pace out scenes to make it an enjoyable movie 😂 like... Duh?@@kawaii33366
Hold on... I was sure he was just mistaken at that point, because I remember that line being in it, and I don't know the show well enough to know the line from it (I've only heard the cast recording before this). They haven't edited it back in, have they? I remember the line! I remember doing the DiCaprio point when it happened!
@@kawaii33366he said it didn’t land well. Also I like how the movie doesn’t have all the funny lines. It saves some things for the show
@15:58 ! THANK! YOU! I have been saying this since I saw the movie, and you're the first person to bring it up.They split Morrible's role up BECAUSE Yeoh's Morrible is way more stern and has a different sort of charisma than the stage version did.
Personally i LOVE the change. I always felt like it was weird for Morrible to just leave Shiz with the girls, whereas in the Movie it 100% makes sense.
Another excellent video from the WICKEDLY talented Marty John
This took me a minute 🤣
Regarding "what does Mme. Morrible do when she's not teaching sorcery?" I've heard several reviewers bring this up. In the US at least where I went to school, we had college professors who would teach "specialty" classes usually based on their PhD, but that's not all they did. There might be a biology professor with a specialty in marine biology. They'll teach a full slate of general studies and adjacent classes such as basic college biology and even English Composition (they're all qualified teachers) and fewer specified Marine Biology courses so they can work full time. But for a specialty class "underwater basket weaving" there might not be enough students interested in that class to fully fill it if it were offered every semester or every year, so the Marine Biology professor teaches their normal classes year round, and then may only be scheduled to teach their unique specialty class in Underwater Basket Weaving once a year or every other year (with the assumption that the students are there for a couple years at least so they won't miss it when it is offered and fill the class.)
This basically jibes - Dillamond says "true sorcerers are rare" so Morrible doesn't need to teach Sorcery as an open-enrollment class unless they discover one or more students with talent who can take advantage of it. It'd be like a school not bothering to sponsor a track and field team until they get enough students who are interested and are capable of competing in track events.
I also think that there's something to be said about how the university places her on such a pedestal, as shown when she's introduced in the movie. It boosts how prestigious the university is because they have THE Mme. Morrible on staff. So even if she isn't teaching much, it's worth keeping her around. Plays into the theme of how you're perceived is more important than the actual work you may or may not be doing.
I think it makes sense to believe that she was doing research when she wasn’t teaching.
@@user-ft3pj1nr6c And i was also assuming she would teach the history and theories of sorcery maybe? And not actually teaching magic which is a seminar
I’m about to graduate college and still don’t know how professors work, but I just got the vibe that a renowned professor still being employed but on standby until a student is qualified to take their class would just get to chill because they’re probably doing important research that the University loves or something.
But this explanation makes sense.
I had a professor who i adored who only taught for for 10 weeks a year. And it was a single upper division physics class on general relativity where he also didn’t grade us for how correct we were, but just… if we gave it a really good genuine try. The rest of the year he did not teach a single class however. And this was a well-respected tenured professor with multiple accolades under his belt, someone who genuinely was good at what he did, had multiple grad students, led a lab, all of it… but he also only had to teach 10 weeks a year to 30 students who really wanted to be in his class w/ an easy grading scheme. And he was 100% getting away with it on the fact that he was a well respected physicist.
Glinda's mum was played by Alice Fearn!! She played Elphaba when I saw it in the West End
Bravo on noticing all the changes between the stage show and the movie!!! I definitely enjoyed the changes made to the movie because it gave more depth to the characters, especially Fiyero. I love that he definitely seems more thoughtful and just chooses to have a superficial persona and Elphaba notices almost immediately. I also love Michelle Yeoh’s more serious take on Madame Morrible as more of a mentor because it makes it all the more heartbreaking and sinister when she turns on Elphaba . I’m so excited to see where part two goes!
I’m sad they missed out the line
‘What’s in the punch’
‘Lemons and melons and pears’
‘Oh my’
That line always makes me smile
As a blind person I love that Nessarose has more agency and that the changed intro between Galinda and Elphaba makes the latter even more of a disability icon. I was surprised but happy with the changes to Fiyero because we are actually seeing the pretense that she speaks of in the show. We know what she's talking about in the film because this is an act he can play incredibly well and for some reason is choosing to hide the fact that he has more depth so she does change him but it's not as dramatic a change and depending on how part two goes this could have much greater resonance than what we have to go on from the musical. It's also a bit more fitting with the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz film who constantly claims that he doesn't have a brain and isn't smart but is always the person to get Dorothy and Co out of trouble with some quick thinking.
I really love the Fiyero change. It feels so much better that he becomes an ally she didn't realize she had, rather than a smarmy doofus who got to use her as a stepping stone in his own character arc. It uplifts both characters, and makes for such a sweet moment. He becomes an excellent contrast to Galinda as well.
Disability icon... She becomes an evil witch who enslaved a group of people.
@kawaii33366 I meant Elphaba to Galinda, with her line chastising Galinda's comment about fixing her. Nessarose is no one's disability icon by the end; she's not written to be.
This may be odd feedback, but I really enjoy the audio quality of your videos! It’s practically perfect!
Must admit - never saw the stage play but the movie knocked my jeggings off.
When you talked about the train and the impression that travelling around Oz isn't easy, it reminded me of a video on the Architechtural Digest channel where the production designer Nathan Crowley talks through some of the sets - it's absolutely fascinating! So much thought and detail goes into it. He mentioned transport in their decision to have the students arrive by boat.
34:43 I adore this moment because it _is_ funny, but it can also be interpreted as Glinda buying time to compose herself and don her mask again.
37:07 ariana confirmed on a podcast that the line was “the wizard will see you now,” which is nuts to try and change!!! some people have then drawn the connection to the video of her and cynthia rehearsing one short day, when ariana reaches over and marks cynthia’s score - it’s likely that she crosses out the once-changed, now-restored line
with regards to the discussion of the different productions: I saw the Swedish production earlier this year, and at the end of Defying Gravity Elphaba was pulled up in the air and over the audience and then vanished up into a hole in the ceiling, kind of like a reverse chandelier from Phantom moment 😂 It was super cool.
I've seen the film twice and think the next watch will be once it's available for streaming. So I really love these wicked Wednesdays! Still get to be reminded of the masterpiece ❤️ Great video. Thank you! (loved the monkeys 😁
Edit: Oops! You addressed this in a reply to someone else's comment. Thank you.
- - - -
One thing that I've noticed being dismissed often is the careful effort not to perpetuate the "angry black woman" stereotype with Elphaba. hence why she gives a speech about why she's green. She's annoyed and hurt by being othered but only becomes enraged by the animal injustice and the Wizard's fraudulence.
Cynthia Erivo sort of mentioned it in interviews where she said that Elphaba's been green all her life and people's reactions are nothing new by the time we meet her.
It felt very I’m explaining my disability to strangers with extra sarcasm because Im not explaining my life story To me. (I have done this, because people ask when they notice but I don’t always want to explain autoimmune conditions and their treatment to folks at work)
@gabriellehitchins9182 Having Spina Bifida myself, I noticed that both Elphaba and Nessa Rose walk through the world with awareness that most people don't care about understanding them. What I loved about Elphaba in particular was that she still found joy. The film needed to portray--and did so quite well in my opinion--black and disabled joy. Albeit more with Elphaba in The Wizard and I than Nessa Rose in Dancing Through Life.
i’ll always be bitter that “no need to respond, that was rhetorical” was cut :((
The fact that line is actually in one of the trailers confuses me. Why did they cut it?
And I missed innuendo....outuendo
@@abbeyBominable123if that video is still up, could someone send me the link pls?? :))
One difference I noticed is at the train station as Elphie is about to leave, Boq doesn't have his moment of snapping at Glinda and storming off and Nessa thereafter snapping at Elphie when she tries to comfort her. Instead, in the movie, after Nessa introduced Boq to her dad, she becomes visibly upset and rolls away when she sees how enamored Boq is with Glinda's proclaimed name change.
I wonder if they're going for Nessa developing a resentment for Glinda and in part 2 its Glinda that enchants the shoes like in the book and since Boq thinks he can leave now thanks to Glinda, that prompts Nessa to attempt the love spell that goes wrong
@@OliveDiamonds they are clearly going for another red definition of wicked. Rose seems to be a perfectly wonderful young woman making her way as best she can in the world. And then, it appears that wickedness is thrust upon her. She is clearly, willfully going to make the choices that lead her to be the wicked witch of East.
In terms of Fiyero, I think maybe he’s more thoughtful in the film so there’s less of a feeling he makes a 180 in his personality for Elphaba. I think it’s to make them more compatible, but also to show the extent to which Fiyero masks his intellect with Galinda and everyone else?
0:40 - 0:52
I'm rewatching and cackling at this comedy gold. Perfect reel material.
I am...not at all surprised that Mickey-Jo would use plushies to demonstrate the differences between the stage version and the film version.
I don’t think the later Fiyero dialogue doesn’t work, just that it paints a completely different picture of him as a character. But I’m biased as a blind movie watcher.
It came across to me that being uncaring and vapid is his front, that he doesn’t want to care about things and has this sort of nihilistic hedonistic view because he wants to, not because it’s his natural state to be thoughtless and vapid. He espouses to not care because he doesn’t want to. If I’m psychoanalyzing him, he came across to me as someone who’s been burned before in the past for caring too much, and took on carelessness as a policy because he came to the conclusion that it was the smartest way to live.
Glinda and him match up because his front matches with her (and her front? I’m not smart enough to analyze Glinda). She believes in his front that he doesn’t care and doesn’t like to think because he outwardly states it, so is shocked when he starts outwardly being introspective. Elphaba I don’t think cares about believing anything because either way he’s espousing apathy and being annoying, so she doesn’t care if it’s a front or not, she still thinks of him as a guy who doesn’t like to think critically, and may even be even more annoyed if she knows it’s just his personal choice.
Either way, it’s still Fiyero portraying himself as one way and then acting different from how he usually does.
Just my personal interpretation of him as a movie watcher, nothing came across as odd to me.
So let’s talk pre-this story when the wizard first landed. He clearly did not come in and immediately step into wizard sized shoes… If he had, there would’ve been no shenanigans with Elphaba‘s mother.
I propose that he came in a balloon and flim flamed his way around Oz until he encountered Madame M. Then the two of them concocted a plan that led both of them to rise in power. Since Oz does not have an Ozma or any other major magic user from the books, Madame M is the only one who could have “verified“ his use of the Grimorie
She has been working this plan from the beginning. Because there is no way no matter how good of a con man the wizard is, that he would know enough about Oz to pull this off by himself.
I'm not sure whether they do this in the stage musical or if something they added for the movie - either way, it certainly isn't in the original Broadway cast recording. In Dancing Through Life, after Nessa sings "and you felt sorry for me, well, isn't that right?" Ethan Slater as Boq says "oh no no, I don't feel sorry for you, you're great!" I'd like to imagine that was added at the behest of Marissa Bode, like as affirmation that disabled people don't need to be pitied
I really liked his performance there, the way the editing really emphasizes his crush on Galinda gives the implication that he's genuinely mortified to have come off as ableist because his actual ulterior motive was something else
He feels more sincere in genuinely wanting to reassure her and I believe that he *wants* to be in love with Nessa at that moment
37:10 i saw an interview where ariana stated that the thing that almost made her quit was that they had replaced the line "the wizard will see you now!" with "who rang that bell???" she called the director and had him change it back. It would had been a nod to the 1939 movie, but ariana said it was an iconic line that could not be replaced. So I think that's the line she's referencing
I was today years old when I realized the Chistery plush is inaccurate: where is his heterochromia???
I MENTIONED THIS TODAY while filming a different video! 😂
20:44 he does kind of comment on her complexion, something along the lines of “sorry we didn’t see you *pauses and notices her complexion* must have blended in with the foliage”
I think Fiyero is so much better in the film. In the stage production, their romance comes out of nowhere. In the film, they begin laying little breadcrumbs and hints right from that first meeting just by making him less of an asshole. Elphaba points out later how he’s pretending to be self absorbed so it makes sense for him to not be as vacuous and obnoxious as onstage.
Glinda pointing out the man driving the train is so reminiscent of Cat pointing out the man that Robbie hired to make her cotton candy
I read the book of Wicked and it was dark. I saw the wicked the musical in Seattle, at paramount theater. The musical is really good and I enjoyed with it. I saw part one of Wicked and it was really good. Ended the movie, it was epic. I can’t wait for part two.
Thank you for the two monkeys, it's a silly thing but as someone with a poor attention span I often miss when context is given verbally and having the continual visual cue was a really nice bonus
The blue Flying Monkey merch is so cute
So… the yellow brick Road is not yet built. So we will take an easily multi year jump into the future, that we always assumed happened in the stage version.
6:25 - I love the idea of Oz having a shoe store that consists entirely of silver shoes- 🤣
Thank you Chisterys for helping keep Mickey sane in explaining it :)
Hi! Just saying I think Morrible's entire role at the school is to seek the one who will be able to read the Grimmorie and is purely there for that purpose, not sure how implied that is or if it's just me reading into things, but I think that does reasonably justify her suspiciously lackluster role at the school
That tracks! I'm just being silly / facetious!
I love wicked so much both the musical and the film 🎞
Those monkey plushies are thoroughly entertaining 😂
I think you're misinterpreting Stage Fiyero a bit. I don't believe he's actually vapid; just nobody's challenged him, particularly intellectually. We know there's more to him than meets the eye because Elphaba already picked up on it and fell in love with him. The difference between the stage and the movie isn't that he was actually brainless, it's that in the movie he doesn't pretend quite as hard.
I think you’re misunderstanding his characterization tbh. He’s not saying Fiyero is genuinely brainless, but rather that he is portrayed as truly vapid, entitled, and careless (which is true if you’ve seen the stage production), but then after Elphaba he does a complete 180 and so his character change is quite sudden and dramatic. In the movie, his characterization has a lot more nuance; you can clearly see remnants of his future evolution, and his carelessness seems more like a performance. I hope what I’m saying makes sense? Thanks!
@evenafrozenheartcanmelt4351 i understand, I just disagree. I don't think he's ever actually careless or vapid, he just pretends to be. Elphaba clearly detects that in him, because she falls in love with him BEFORE any shift in his external character. He's always cared, he's just realized he can stop pretending he doesn't
@ Maybe I’m missing something, but doesn’t she not contextualize her feelings until “I’m not that girl”, which happens AFTER he helps her free the lion cub?
Regardless of whether it is genuinely how he is or not, he acts extremely vapid throughout much of the first act and is presented to the audience as being that way fr (he is not in the movie). We, just like Elphaba, do not start seeing hints that there is more depth to his character until he frees the lion cub and elphaba points out that he seems unhappy and so couldn’t possibly be acting true to himself. In the movie, there are specific choices that do make him seem much more “thoughtful” from the get go. You can see his potential and the start of his character arch MUCH earlier, if not from the first scene we meet him, which feels very intentional.
The way I think of it is like this: if you had NO idea about the show and you watched it for the first time on the stage, you would think Fiyero was an absolute brainless douche and be pleasantly surprised when he helps Elphaba. In the movie, it does not seem nearly as surprising; it’s fairly clear that Fiyero has depth from the outset.
Have you seen the movie? How would you describe the difference in his introduction scene in the movie vs musical? Genuinely, I’m curious, because I think it’s hard to deny that there is a MASSIVE difference.
@evenafrozenheartcanmelt4351 I agree there's a difference, they probably wanted to show more of his inner character than they did in the show specifically to make the shift less surprising. In the stage show, our first sign is when he tells Elphaba she "need to do that", as in, change who she is, or pretend. Then Elphaba casts her spell on the entire class except for him. That's before the scenes you're referring to, and shows that something is happening. I love the choice to make his inner character more apparent, much sooner.
@@mithramusic5909 So I think by your own admission, you agree with MJT MUCH more than you think. Again, I do think there are some misunderstandings and hyper focus on wording, but you generally agree with him tbh…
I don’t think that one line is much indication to an unsuspecting audience member seeing the show for the first time… I think you might think oh that’s nice, but I don’t think you would suspect he turns into the character that he does based on that one line.
I also think there is a big difference between infatuation/attraction and genuine interest/desire. Before Fiyero helps Elphaba, I think she’s infatuated, but I don’t think she likes him as a person. I think if you asked her, she would categorically deny being attracted to him and call him dumb/shallow etc. She doesn’t explore or reveal her feelings until she realizes there is depth to his character. Us, as the audience, do not know she likes him until “I’m Not That Girl,” which was my point. In the movie, the only time she seems “disgusted” is when Fiyero sings “Dancing Through Life.” To me (and maybe this is because I know they get together so you could absolutely disagree with me), it seems to be clearer that Elphaba likes Fiyero earlier on and spots his potential sooner. From their very first meeting, she seems intrigued rather than just finding him charismatic (as is most likely the case in the stage show).
It's possible that Madam Morrible's position at the university could be a primarily research-based one; she mentions later having spent decades studying the Grimmorie which is the sort of high-profile thing a place like Shiz would be happy to fund, even if she usually doesn't take on students
As in the stage show, there are references to characters in the other Oz books of the series. The Sawhorse and the flat-headed characters (I think they were Quadlings, if I remember correctly) were always part of the Oz stories, but barely appeared in the first book. I believe that the Sawhorse had a book of his own. I thought it was brilliant to see them make an appearance!
Apparently they wanted to cut "the wizard will see you now" & Ariana called Jon saying you can't get rid of that
I think the stage version Fiyero asks where is the most swankified place in town. Glinda says oz dust ballroom. But in the film its Fiyero that suggests it?
Correct, well remembered! And the suggestion that it's a scandalous location is also new.
That line is my favorite Fiyero line, just cuz swankified is a fun word. I was sad it wasn't in the movie, though, I get why he had to suggest the oz dust. otherwise it wouldn't make sense in the movie for him to be kicked out of schools and be responsible for the corruption of his fellow students.
that one bugged me because i was looking forward to hearing jonathan say the word swankafied! lol
Honestly, that Fiyero scene in the classroom confused the heck out of me. I would never thought I would hear him say "Let's get to class" after singing Dancing through Life. I audibly said 'what?'; given I haven't seen the Wicked stage musical before.
Bear who raise Elphaba is actually based on the nanny character from the book But she was human who helped raise Elphaba with Both of Elphaba’s parents and Ozdust Ballroom is partially based on Actually, the infamous philosopher club which is a sex club that have the infamous scene in it but in the musical and Movie they cut that out for obvious reasons And Ozdust (souls of the people of oz) in the book
The “lemons and melons and pears” “oh my!” Is between Nessa and Boq
The only reason that the slippers are not ruby red is because no one wants to pay the royalties to Warner Brothers which owns the rights to MGM’s catalog. It will be interesting to see if the musical has any productions in 2038, when the copyright for the ruby slippers expires, if they are changed to ruby slippers, especially if it’s a revival. The musical even has a nod to the ruby slippers by turning them red when Elphaba enchant them. In some trailer scenes, we see Dorothy wearing Silver slippers, so I doubt they will turn red when Elphaba enchants them, but maybe briefly. Since the musical and now the film are so successful, if Warner Brothers was smart they’d just let the musical use the ruby slippers since it is a great advertisement for the original film.
@@heidifedor in the stage musical they briefly glow red during the incantation, but remain silver thereafter. I remember being convinced after seeing it as a child they fully turned red but it doesn't happen!
In the stage musical Elphaba dancing by herself is played for laughs, in the movie it’s tragic.
I wish I could have seen the stage version. I did not like it in the movie. Tragic? It was cringe and uncomfortable. Maybe that’s what they wanted? Funny would have worked better but I don’t think Cynthia can do funny.
@ There are clips of the stage version on RUclips. No matter how good of a job that a movie’s adaptation is, it can’t replace the experience of seeing it live.
My biggest question with this movie is the gremory is said to only have one person to be able to read the book and it was alphabet in the movie so in the second half is Nessa going to turn back into the tin Man because how would she if she doesn't have power?
Should be noted I definitely have a "Chistery" but ... his name is Nikko Lol . Have seen the movie twice so far .Almost went again yesterday but sleepiness (work overnights) . Definitely am wanting to go again, especially to a sing a long, but will see when I'm actually awake enough to do it. irony because the first two times were also on solo nights off, but ... I was damned determined the first time to go ASAP (went 21st) and second time I went with my sister. The movie did a FABULOUS job of translating the show to the screen.
In the movie, during Galinda's "Celebrated heads of state or especially great communicators" line, does she do the iconic pose from "Evita"? In the stage show, Glinda does this pose during "Thank Goodness", doesn't she?
Okay so here’s the thing about home being like “let’s get to class” that happens right after she’s doing toss-toss right next to him. He sees her trying to replicate Galinda and it’s not working out super well because she’s not galinda, and he likes her because she’s not galinda, she’s elphaba. I think it’s just another sign of his understanding and seeing her that’s has him being like “let’s go to class, stop worrying about being her when you can be you” which I still think fits into the dancing through life mentality
I wonder how part 2 is going to show the (spoilers) transformation of Boq and Fiyero.
There’s a production in (I think) Brazil that shows Boq becoming the Tin Man instead of the transformation happening behind Nessa’s armoire. It’s chilling!
Imagine if during No Good Deed, when Elphaba cries, “Fiyero, FIYERO!”, they cut to Fiyero becoming The Scarecrow to save his life.
I saw that production, and talked about that moment in my review, it was terrific!
I could listen to you say “cinema” all day!
I did see an interview where Ariana said she specifically recalled there being no "the wizard will see you now!" line and it being replaced with something like "ring the doorbell" or the doorbell ringing (I can't remember), and she called Jon M. Chu and was like "this line absolutely has to be in the movie!"
I thought that the Emerald City train conductor was going to be a cameo for Joel Gray. That would’ve made more sense about why Galinda/Glinda made such a fuss about him.
The mention to Omaha Nebraska now just reminds me of how Andrew rannells figures out a way to mention it in most of his interviews 💀
A lot of these changes I can get behind, as either positive or net neutral changes. There are, however, three changes I can't get behind at all and think made the movie worse:
- Splitting Madame Morrible's character was a terrible change, and it really needed to be Morrible who dragged Dr. Dillamond out of the classroom.
- The lack of green glasses in Oz! The fact everyone has to wear these glasses is integral to the political commentary of the musical and book, so it is a really serious change, in my opinion.
- The changes to the end of Defying Gravity. Specifically, I didn't like the fact they had Glinda detained during Elphaba's escape, as it made it more unclear whether or not Glinda chose to leave Elphaba or was unable to leave. The additional scenes in the middle also made what should be the most powerful song in the musical unnecessarily drag.
Morrible being a professor in the university system and "hidden away" is very reminiscent of Angela Davis and her almost "leftover" status after the black panther movement.
You look like a young Michael Yagoobian. 😊
I can't wait for the next Wicked Wednesday!
I'm just glad they took those creepy-ass neck extended puppets out of One Short Day, god I hate that part so much 😅
Stephen wants to refresh the musical, I get the sense.
Question, there is a lot of balcony imagery. Am I just imagining this or is it symbolic? If so what is your opinion of the symbol?
Maybe it’s planting visual seeds for when she flies off of the balcony looking area in defying gravity?
I’m amazed Eddie redemayne didn’t steal the roles of the gay chickens
Thanks, Mickey Jo! 🌈
Was Ms. Coddle created for the film or was it from the book?
Not from the book
One of the changes that is kind of giving me anxiety is that I don't think we heard "the Wizard's unexpected departure." Am I misremembering? Do we have confirmation that the Wizard is gone?? Or does Glinda still need to go and kick him out???
I feel like I did catch that line or something related when I saw it the second time... but now I'm second-guessing! It could be done out-of-order...
she did say it right before "if there are no further questions i'm gonna go". she does kinda just mumble it to herself which is probably why you missed it!
She does say it! "as you can imagine I have much to attend to, what with the wizard's unexpected departure" - it's said quite quickly as she's already preparing herself to leave though!
THANK GOODNESS
My one noted lyric change that bugs me is changing “atrocious” for “uncanny”
it’s because the nanny sings that line and she actually likes elphaba and raises her so she wouldn’t call her ‘atrocious’ but it’s still a strange green baby. also i guess ‘how can it be’ and ‘uncanny’ sorta rhyme?
It bothered me too, but I guess they changed it out of politically correctness as the word “atrocious” is too harsh to say on somebody’s skin color.
@ but uncanny still makes no sense…. Never mind it was my opinion and once again it was wrong
@@yanivk18 definitely not political correctness because they still call her a BUNCH of other words. The reason is explained above (and in the video).
🤦♀️ no, it's changed because of WHO is singing it, someone who doesn't see it as atrocious, one of the animals in the room says the line. @@yanivk18
youre great
@16:30 I'm preeeeeetty sure Morrible is announced as the Press Secretary in the movie, I remember that being said around when she says that line about the green skin being but an outward manifestorium??
No she never holds that position in the movie, or at least in Part 1. She just walks into the Wizard’s summoning room saying she didn’t want to miss Elphaba’s big moment, and when she warns the citizens on radio she never introduces herself. It’s hinted she’d already been working closely with the Wizard so she doesn’t need to be promoted to anything
Fiyero said that Elphaba must have “blended into the foliage” so although he’s kinder, he still made a joke about her being green
I’ve seen the movie three times now and the way he says the line, he was already going to say foliage before he sees that she’s green. If it had been Galinda, he would’ve said the same thing, except Galinda would not be walking in a forest in black clothing with one tiny lantern. 🤷♀️
Will you go and watch the new non-replica production that's premiering in Madrid next October? It's the first time the musical is going to be done in the country and the tickets are already for sale, which is very unusual for a Spanish production.
If nessa is played by an actual disabled actress how are they gonna do the part in part two where she starts walking?
They can use CGI but it might not look organic. I’m just afraid of it looking strange.
I heard a rumour that they plan on changing that. (The spell on the shoes isn’t going to be a walking/balance aide)
While I applaud representation and I am sure they will figure something out in the movie, I can't see how they can have an actually wheelchair bound person in the stage play where she also needs to walk.
@@knighthawk3749 not every wheelchair user is full time (depending on their condition some can walk for short distances/ stand or transfer from chair to chair by themselves) it’s obviously not super practical for an actor on a stage for 6 performances a week, for weeks at a time but this is a movie 🎥 accommodations will be made.
@@gabriellehitchins9182 Duh! I know that. The point is that it's nearly impossible to find a trained performer like that for a live show.
Yayayayay
I can't remember exactly how it plays on stage so correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought another Fiyero difference is during I'm Not That Girl where (in the film) he arrives back to Shiz after Elphaba and is obviously looking for her while she sings from a corner. On stage I feel it's more he flees from the release of the lion cub back to the "safety" of Galinda and throws himself into their relationship to avoid the confusing thoughts his moment with Elphaba has thrown up.
There's definitely still a moment with Glinda on the bridge where he's looking for Elphaba - and though we see him go back to her, Glinda expresses in the next scene that he's been distant.
@MickeyJoTheatre Thank you, I thought there was something I'd forgotten. Yes, next scene he's been "thinking" but I'm in a muddle at the moment over the timeline. If day1 is when he first meets Elphaba, day2 is his arrival at shiz and "dancing through life", is dillamonds last class day3, seeing as Fiyero points out Elphaba has been "Galindafied"? Then what is the time gap between I'm Not That Girl and One Short Day? Galinda saying Fiyero has been different after Dillamond's sacking sounds odd if she only knew him for one day before.
the thing that bothers me the most is the change of Something Bad. He needed to repeat the line one more time, where he mispronounces "bad", and then Elphaba sings, "It couldn't happen here, in Oz". that feels way too important to cut.
I figured they cut Elphaba's last line because in the movie context, she's seen enough that saying it couldn't happen in Oz wouldn't fit as well as a reaction.
For what it's worth, it is included in the soundtrack!
13:43 "Racist"?! That's colourist, dude.
@@Antonioplus I mean yes.
16:55 is there any reason to think that the wizard was a student at shiz? i might just be lacking in the lore, which you obviously know, but i don't recall that being a thing
@@stilelits not what I was meaning to imply!
@@MickeyJoTheatre ohh my bad i misunderstood
I… really hated the grammar corrections in the film! Considering all these weird Ozisms, you’d imagine the grammar would be weird in Oz too! Just made me rather not like Elphaba in those moments 🤷♀️
Elphaba is the only character who doesn't use the weird Ozisms in the play, and Glinda stops using them in private in the second act. It fits.
Hi 😅
I absolutely missed the line from the stage play, “You’re positively phosphorescent!” I also missed the iconic green glasses from the stage play. Those glasses felt like looking at things the same way. Everything.very symbolic! I thought Defying gravity missed the mark of building up the tentative bravery of Elphaba. The stage play did that perfectly. The defying gravity in the movie was on a long time before the iconic… ahhhhhhhahahahhhhhhha.
Bright? She’s phosphorescent!
As someone who is physically disabled Do we not have a problem with wicked and casting a wheelchair user as there are two different types of wheelchair users and without wanting to go into spoilers you would need one particular type of wheelchair user and then you’ve would have to be able to cast one particular type wheelchair user for the role. Although there’s not enough of us mobility challenged performers around when it comes to wheelchair users are there enough of the particular type of wheelchair user required available for these productions? Wouldn’t you need cover performance as well?
This is what I've always wondered regarding this conversation. Surely the things required of the Nessarose performer in the second act would require someone who can do a certain amount of standing and walking? And they would need to reliably do that 8 shows a week, taking into account the fact that mobility and flare ups etc. are not always predictable. I'm not saying there's no one who could do that - ambulatory wheelchair users absolutely exist - but it seems a very tall order to consistently find someone who would check all those boxes *and* perform the part well.
@ although it will be good to see I know the reactions I get if someone sees me walking 2 m outside my front door without my walking stick they immediately think I’m magically cured.
@ this is what I wonder if Micky Jo takes this into consideration… there were different types of wheelchair users as he said in a previous reply but this is one of the few roles where it is going to be very tricky to find performers and yes being an eight week you will need cover performance as well that are able walk for that scene and personally I think any one thing changes to that scene should happen it would be detrimental to disabled people.
Don't forget that this actor also needs to be a great singer. I am glad they found someone like that for the movie, but it's not realistic to expect that for the stage. BTW no one mentions how difficult the role is because it's much harder to sing while sitting down.
I find it strange that The Wizard’s lines in No One Mourns The Wicked are in a slightly higher key than in the stage production. “Have a little drink, my…” that part.
I think they did that on purpose to throw people off. They probably failed with some people because some recognized it’s Jeff and he is listed on the track.
I don't like how the film has Elphaba calling out to Dr Dillamond when she starts following him: "Dr Dillamond, did you find out who wrote..." or words to that effect. It seems like an inappropriate thing to shout out/draw attention to in front of other students, and even if he had discovered the culprit, is he going to want to reveal this fact publicly? The scriptwriter should've come up with a less improbable line... As for Madame Morrible, as much as I love Michelle Yeoh (did someone correct your previous mispronunciation, MickeyJo?) ;) I think she's miscast - she's too regal an actress for this role that, as you point out, has a more maternal and endearing (initial) characterisation on the stage - perhaps that's why they created the Coddle character and reworked the role, to accommodate Yeoh's naturally imperious manner?
Agreed. She is miscast. I love the stage confrontation between an empowered Glenda and a ferocious Madame Morrible.
the biggest change: elphaba's entirely new personality for whatever reason (misogyny? make her more feminine and comfortable?)
I've heard Cynthia talk about her lack of anger as Elphaba on the Sentimental Men podcast and it made *perfect* sense to me! I also don't think she's any more feminine in the film than the stage musical?
@@MickeyJoTheatre As much as I adore Cynthia and have been blessed to see her perform in person this year, I don’t care for her somber, humourless take because I wonder how she’s going to dip into the humour when Elphaba confronts Dorothy. No one is going to want to see Dorothy bullied without humour. I do miss the fire of stage Elphaba. One of my few complaints.
I enjoyed this video more than either the movie or the stage version
I may be in the minority but I didn’t like the Kristen and Idina cameo. It went on too long and felt gratuitous. We love them but the movie stopped dead to give them a moment and it could have been better incorporated.
Why have the gays claimed the theatre! 😭
@@talibhussain5357 what did I say?
Because the straights have claimed everything else.
Fieryo is so worthless in this entire production, only reason he is there because of love interest. Rewrite the entire musical and take him out
You'd be missing a major, necessary character in Act 2 if you take him out!
Get to the point
youre great