Unraveling the Extended Magic of Wicked: Part I

The Plot

In Wicked: Part I, a smart decision is made not to clutter the narrative with numerous side plots. Instead, the added run time is dedicated to enriching the main characters and their complex relationships. Glinda's opening flashback sets the stage as she recounts Elphaba's unfortunate upbringing. The out-of-wedlock baby with green skin, spurned by her parents, is raised mainly by a nanny bear voiced by three-time Olivier Award winner Sharon D. Clarke, a character not seen in the show. The movie also alters Elphaba's path to Shiz University to emphasize her status as a neglected outcast. In the musical, Elphaba and her sister Nessarose enroll together, but in the movie, only Nessarose is set to attend. It is only when their father pushes Elphaba to ensure Nessarose's safety that Elphaba follows and gets an unexpected invitation. This leads to a series of events, including an incident where Elphaba casts a spell that lifts Nessarose and surrounding objects, causing a commotion. Shiz headmistress Madame Morrible witnesses this and admits Elphaba, offering her private magic lessons, a scene not shown in the musical. We also get to see more of the oppressed talking animals at Shiz University. The goat professor Dr. Dillamond, voiced by Peter Dinklage, is the primary animal character in the musical's first act. Here, we see more of him and his colleagues like a tamarin monkey, an owl, a deer, and a shoebill. The "Something Bad" sequence, originally a duet, becomes a solo song for Dr. Dillamond in an added scene where he meets with other animals to discuss Oz's discrimination. Elphaba eavesdrops and is later welcomed. Another new character, Miss Coddle (portrayed by The Greatest Showman's Keala Settle), forces Dr. Dillamond from the university as Oz expels its animal population. Another character who shines more in this midsection is Fiyero (played by Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey), the shared romantic interest between Glinda and Elphaba. After Dr. Dillamond is fired, a new professor wheels in a lion cub (the future Cowardly Lion). In the musical, Elphaba erupts in rage and runs away with Fiyero and the cub. In the movie, they hatch a separate plan to sneak into the classroom, take the cub, and free it in the woods where they first met. The climax of Part I is elongated and filled with action. It begins with Glinda and Elphaba's visit to the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), where they settle on the color yellow. The subsequent escape sequence shows Glinda and Elphaba's failed attempt to take the Wizard's hot-air balloon and Elphaba's struggle to fly before mastering her broom. The song "Defying Gravity" is stretched to accommodate these changes.

The Songs

Wicked: Part I doesn't introduce any new musical numbers, but the existing ones receive significant enhancements. Fiyero's "Dancing Through Life" gets an extra boost. Director Jon M. Chu, known for his work in the Step Up movies, gives this song more grandeur by lengthening it, slowing the rhythm, and placing the choreography in various cinematic settings like a giant rotating library. Comparing the track lengths of the movie's soundtrack to the cast recording shows that many of the film's versions are at least a minute or two longer. We've already discussed the reasons for the extended "Something Bad" and "Defying Gravity," but "One Short Day," the catchy ballad that accompanies Elphaba and Glinda's trip to the Emerald City, also has an added task. Several lines are added to explain the Grimmerie, a mystical spellbook owned by the Wizard and later read by Elphaba. The stage version focuses more on the wonders of the Emerald City, but in the movie, these expository details are incorporated into the song.