Wicked

I'm so glad I did this rewatch before going into the Part 2. Caught so many things I didn't catch the first time because I was so fixated on the music the first go around. Things like the engraving of The Wizard on the school building at Shiz breaking after Elphaba's outburst to reveal busts and engravings of former animal professors in there, foreshadowing reveal of The Wizard masterminding the eradication of talking animals. Or in the number where Elphaba was still pining over the idea of visiting The Wizard and having him grant her wish, after the talk with Madame Morrible...there's a shot where she's under hanging painted glass that basically "de-greenified" her, just as she sings those lines in her lyric. Or, the fact that until the part of the Ozdust party where Elphaba and Glinda finally connect, the presence of Fiyero was song after song, well mashed-together, and even in the talking interludes, all accompanied by a beat or the other, mirroring his intentionally crafted and presented shallow and brash persona - always active, always mischievous. Or the fact that Elphaba's growing affection for Fiyero inadvertently causing the spores of the poppy that caused everyone to sleep to not affect him, being a foreshadow to the eventual story of the scarecrow not being affected by the witch's poppy (from The Wizard of Oz stories). So many subtle things that increased my appreciation for the care and thought put into this movie. And just like the first time, the sheer wonder of the set design, costume design, prop design, musical set pieces (scale, and quality), and special effects still kept me transfixed. The music itself is 100% perfect! No notes. I mean, they are all classics, but the execution for this movie, to make it feel less live theatre and more lived-in, was superb. The way the crown piece, "Defying Gravity" had its lyrics exquisitely accompanying the events of the final act, is all the evidence you need. And it is funny; chiefly, Ariana Grande is funny. I haven't really paid attention to Chenoweth's version of Glinda (or any other, for that matter), but I doubt the comedy was as effortless as Ariana's. Notice how Elphaba's whoosh with her cape in the final act is kind of a mirror to Glinda's hair toss. Elphaba practiced that toss severally before then and just couldn't get it, until Glinda (ironically) hands her her own instrument of pizzaz. A beautifully dramatized story of redefining oneself and developing a sense of self that cannot be pierced by society's opinions or ill desires of one. It is also Glinda's story of becoming human. "Madame Morrible, M M; flip it around, Wicked Witch LMFAO. Sorry, I had to. 5/5 Movies I’ve Reviewed - Ranked