Convert me to Wicked

[IceIceSlippyIce]

I missed the whole Wicked craze when it first came out, but found it last night, and watched the first film.
It as fine i didn't fall asleep but, what's all the hype about? What am i missing? And is the second film any better?

Honestly, I don't know. I thought the first one was shite and haven't bothered with the second. My sister saw it the other week and said it was crap.
I assumed it was popular with children? Or Ariana fans?

It’s better in a theatre.

The book explains it all much better but yes it’s better in a theatre

If you didn't love the first, I doubt you will like the second any better to be honest.
Personally I love it, but I loved it from the theatre so the film is an extention of that for me.
Why do you think you need to be converted? Could it just be not your cup of tea?

I loved the theatre show. The films are well acted and good. But not sure why such the hype? And the fixated on arianna and Cynthia

I watched it last week with my daughter, thought it was mid and that’s about it! I know we’ll end up watching the second one at some point but I won’t be rushing!

Well it's the good old surprise of having a story you think you know turned on its head, plus great songs, costumes and set design. Also smashing the patriarchy is always good. And Jonathan bailey is hot.

I thought the first one was dire but my daughter loved it so I booked theatre tickets. The show was actually brilliant and I have no idea how they made the first film so awful. I have no intention of seeing the second one but would happily see the show again.

I loved it! I haven’t watched the theatre show and I hadn’t (at the time) watched The Wizard of Oz so I was going in totally blind. I cried like a baby at both parts

I have never walked out of the cinema before half way through a film because it was so shit until I watched Wicked.
I was utterly utterly disappointed.

I’ve seen it in the theatre and was still bored to death. It has three good songs, but otherwise it’s basically home high school rivalry/friendship stuff in a world with magic and talking animals.

The book was an incisive reworking of the mgm movie that retained the naivety of Judy Garland’s 1939 portrayal of Dorothy, but overlaid that with a political realism, and the terrible knowledge that a post-Holocaust society cannot unknow. It is brilliant because it’s positioned in that tension between two versions of the world - the 1930s that seemed harmless and innocent but was seething with racism and evil, and the 1990s which didn’t try to be nice, but was the beginning of an era of critical self reflection. It’s sad, depressing and deeply poignant.

The musical confusingly has the same name, and characters with the same names, but has a very trite storyline that sidesteps all the big issues of the book, and some songs about popularity and magical power which are entirely antithetical to the character development in the book.

The film is very, very long. Well done for staying awake.

I suspect I would have struggled with the film in isolation, I loved the stage show and soundtrack so enjoyed the film. But the film is very long!

I hardly knew anything about it before watching the first film a few weeks ago. I didn’t get it either. I ended up half watching and half on my phone towards the last third of it and can’t remember exactly what happened now. No recollection of why the green one is now hated. Not sure I will bother with the second one.

I really loved the first film, was looking forward to the second, which I’ve now watched and was thoroughly disappointed!!!

I have seen many, many musicals in the theatre, and usually love them, but Wicked was absolutely awful. The songs are just so dreary, usually sung by women with screechy voices.
For this reason, I have completely avoided the films!

Loved the show, first film ok (only saw it cos of DD) , second was dire.

The films were made on the back of the success of the stage show. I've seen the show a number of times and really liked it. The films are very good but my issue is that it takes hours and hours to see what you can see on the stage in much less time. From Wicked 1 to Wicked 2 is whole year in between release times. Therefore, the plot loses momentum.

I didn’t like the first film at all but loved the second one.

It’s ok not to like it, you understand? No need to come on social media and act all daft about it 🙄

I mean it’s been successful at the West End for decades so clearly the story and songs are proven to be enjoyable for most people….

I much prefer the films to the shows. Unless you have £££ the shows are hard to watch from most vantage points at the theatre

I usually get why something is generally popular even if I don’t personally like it (and I love musicals), but Wicked just seemed thin and uninvolving to me.

An allegory for fascism and Nazi rule/propaganda seemed ‘thin’? Ok you’re entitled to your opinion

I liked the first film but I thought the second one was weak. There was no big show-stopping number like Defying Gravity and the soundtrack was much more forgettable in the second one.