So I've been to see WICKED and .... [Spoiler warning added by MNHQ]

[RobinEllacotStrike]

It's one of the worst films I've ever seen.

I've not seen the stage show.

All the characters are horrible & one dimensional. Even the green one - she's the most likeable & developed character & they still managed to make her flat & boring.

They threw all the CGI possible at it and it left me feeling very empty. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Glinda is awful. Absolutely awful but we are meant to like her cause of all the rich blond & pink. Dreadful.

The costumes were fabulous though gotta hand them that. Probably an Oscar for costumes.

I feel empty & sad after seeing that film.

My daughters loved it. They now think I'm the worst.

Yes, I was enjoying it until they got to the Wizard. It just stopped making any kind of sense. Tbf it hadn't made much sense up to that point either, but I was willing to go along with it because the performances of Erivo, Grande and Bailey are so strong. But as soon as Goldblum appeared I could no longer suspend my disbelief and the plot became too dumbed down for me to not notice. Goldblum was awful. So, was the sorceress - sorry, I have forgotten her name, although she is an actress I usually admire. Both of them were dreadful and bring the film down.

I have some questions that someone might be able to answer for me: Where did the monkeys come from and why did they suddenly grow wings? Why were they all being taught by animals in the first place and who was taking the animals away? Was that a sudden occurrence or had the animals always been discriminated against, in which case how did they get good jobs like teaching humans? Where were the animals being taken away to? Why did everyone think animals wouldn't learn how to talk when exposure to talking people would have put that right? Which came first - Harry Potter or Wicked? Will these and other questions be answered in Part 2?

@VictoriaSpungecake Wicked the book was published 1995 so before Harry Potter.
The monkeys got the wings because Elphaba accidentally did the spell.
I don't know the answers to the rest.

Weren’t the monkeys the guards/security force in the emerald city before the accidental spell casting and they got wings? No idea where they came from originally but I assume being a guard was a standard monkey career 🤷🏻‍♀️

How come the monkeys can't talk?

I have seen Wicked three times, enjoyed it and most importantly i know the music. I think you need to know the music to enjoy and understand the film.
I thought the film was really clever and made a lot of sense to the story. The film filled in lots of gaps from the stage production and the songs came into the story at the right time. I havent heard anyone say they didnt like it so if you havent seen it, go.

The monkeys grew wings because of the spell Elphie is tricked into casting. She thinks she’s helping the 1 monkey who the wizard tells her likes birds (everyone deserves the chance to fly…). She doesn’t realise the pain it would cause or that all the others would grow wings too.

The animals talking was a thing in Oz but had begun declining, they were like the munchkins, a part of Oz society. That’s the realisation for Elphie, she wanted the Wizard to help stop the animals reverting back to ‘just’ animals but discovered he was driving it. The goat teacher talks about animals he’s heard of loosing their ability to talk. The animals are being suppressed and the people of Oz conned into thinking they are not worthy. They were taught by animals because they were once seen as valuable members of society.

When Elphie flips out and first uses her powers outside school one of the monuments on a wall breaks and underneath you can see one depicting the animals as teachers.

It's meant to leave you feeling cold and unsettled and uncomfortable though. It's literally highlighting the injustices in society that we ignore

Because only Animals can talk. animals and Animals are different in Oz.

That will be a plot point of the second movie - there is a reason but don’t want to say too much!

It wasn't the whole world though.

Her dad hated her because she wasn't perfect and he had a certain appearance to uphold. Then, when the mum was pregnant with Nessa, he forced her to eat milk flowers to stop her also being green and she was born without the use of her legs instead, so he blamed Elphaba.
As a result, Nessa was spoiled and Elphaba was more or less forced to serve her younger sister. So dad and Nessa see elphaba as beneath them. The local kids saw this (and the fact that she has magic powers that could hurt people...and she was green to boot) so they also shunned her.

At Shiz, it's probably more that people are surprised to see a green person. Elphaba has her defences up so isn't exactly friendly. Galinda wanted a private room (always hers her own way) but was forced to share. The fact Elphaba is green is here or there. It's the fact that she a) got into her room b) got on MMs sorcery course c) doesnt pander to galinda d) and is just very different from her.

If Elphaba had of been wanted and loved as a child, she probably wouldn't have been so prickly and would have been able to make friends easier.

I know

I have a feeling that my coldness wasn't quite in the vein that the filmmakers might have been aiming for.

I can't help it, but I kept thinking that the actress playing Elphaba actually has a black skin under the green, so is part of a demographic that has experienced hundreds of years of historical discrimination and cruelty, so the green skin thing was lost on me anyway.

I think you just have to have a certain mindset to really enjoy this film, and I am in a minority who just don't have it. As a kid I loathed the Wizard of Oz. Tin man and scarecrow annoyed me - even as a kid. Won't be watching Part 2.

Ah that's fair enough, it's definitely not for everyone.
Why did you go see if if you hated the wizard of Oz? Genuinely asking, not being a dick, just curious!

We went on a double date to see the stage show last year and the two blokes hated the show. Me and my friend are both loved it. I saw the film with her as well. Absolutely loved it, it was a fantastic version of the stage show.

I think I just got caught up in the hype. I usually see most of the films that come out round about now because I love the Oscars and most of those films are Oscars contenders. So, I tend to watch everything. I also thought I would enjoy it as I got it into my head that it was some kind of radically ironic take on the WOO, a bit of an "edgy" musical, which would be to my taste.

We saw it this weekend and enjoyed it, Ariana Grande stole the show with her comedic overly-dramatic acting, Cynthia Erivo did a good job too, I had no idea she could sing like that. I've never seen the stage show but I have read the book and found some of the other casting choices odd. Like, how come the majority of munchkins are of average height, you see one or two short munchkins wandering around the emerald city but there are none at Shiz, when both Boq and Glinda's friend Pfannee are supposed to be small munchkins. Also, Fiyero is supposed to be dark skinned according to the source material.

I think you answereed your own question there - the interviews are pretty unavoidable is you are on SM at all. Mind you after watching a couple I avoid them like the plague now.

I for one have never behaved anywhere remotely like this with my close or best friends. They seem quite derranged to me.

"Goldblum was awful."

I've been a fan of Goldblums since "Earth Girls Are Easy" (whatever happened to THAT film?), but I agree his performance in Wicked didn't land at all.

It's odd because I have only seen interviews about normal behind the scenes stuff.

What "weird" interviews are people talking about? Is it the tattoos? Meh, the 9 actors from Fellowship of the ring all had matching tattoos after filming LOTR.

all the crying, "holding space", finger holding, world salad waffle for starters.

Mind you, maybe this is normal & befitting for what seems to be the Worlds Most Important Film.

The interviews are definitely very ott which is why there are so many parodies of them. However, the film was incredible. I saw it yesterday and absolutely loved it.

all the crying, "holding space", finger holding, world salad waffle for starter

I see what you mean about the term "holding space". It's become the new buzz phrase.

It was wonderful. YABVU OP. Everyone clapped and cheered at the end. It definitely has 'all the hallmarks of a classic' as some wise boyfriend cried!

I was indifferent to the musical, but loved the film. Thought both leads were phenomenal.