From expanded musical numbers to new characters, the "Wicked" movie adaptation brings fresh twists to the beloved stage musical. Join us as we explore the most significant changes that breathe new life into the Land of Oz, diving deeper into Elphaba's backstory and the political landscape of this magical world.
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00:00I think people need direction. When this thing gets built everybody is going to remember
00:04that if you just follow the road."
00:06Welcome to Shiz Mojo and today we're looking at the most significant differences between
00:11the Wicked movie and the stage musical's first act.
00:14Expected.
00:14The unexpected.
00:16Beware the following spoilers.
00:18Number 10. Alphaba becomes popular with Shiz students.
00:22While the students of Shiz University aren't drastically different in the film,
00:26there are a few tweaks.
00:28Galinda's friend Fanny is gender-swapped, being played by Bowen Yang.
00:32It's my granny's.
00:33I'd give it away but I don't hate anyone that much.
00:37Hey!
00:38You should join us tonight.
00:40And don't tell me you have nothing to wear.
00:42Because you could wear this.
00:44More time is also dedicated to Bok, who's even given a last name, Woodsman.
00:48We're sure that's not foreshadowing anything in the slightest.
00:51Most notably, Galinda makes good on her promise to make Alphaba popular.
00:56You're gonna be popular.
00:59I'll show you what shoes to wear.
01:01I'll fix your hair.
01:02Everything that really counts to be.
01:05Not long after winning over the Ozdust ballroom crowd,
01:08Alphaba is surprised to receive friendly hellos from her peers as she passes by.
01:12It's a sign that Galinda isn't Alphaba's only friend.
01:16All of the students finally accept her.
01:18In the end, Alphaba sacrifices her chance to be with the wizard,
01:22as well as her newfound social status.
01:24I know.
01:36Number 9.
01:37More Wizard of Oz references.
01:39The stage production didn't shy away from references to 1939's The Wizard of Oz.
01:44The film works in more Ozzie and Easter eggs,
01:46as Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion head for the Emerald City.
01:55Number 8.
02:00Ding Dong the Witch is Dead can be briefly heard while children run through the flower fields.
02:18Speaking of flowers,
02:19Alphaba rescues the lion cub by putting her class to sleep with poppies.
02:24That was you who made all that happen.
02:25She proceeds to put the lion in a basket and bikes away with it,
02:29just as Miss Gulch did to Toto.
02:31The yellow brick road's origins are also laid out as the wizard unveils the Oz of Tomorrow.
02:36The wizard isn't sure what color to make the road,
02:39but with help from Galinda and Alphaba, he's put on the right path.
02:42I give you the Oz of Tomorrow.
02:47Number 8.
02:48Miss Cottle
02:49Upon arriving at Shiz, Nessa and Alphaba meet Miss Cottle,
02:52played by Keala Settle.
02:54And welcome to Shiz!
02:58Miss Cottle wasn't in the stage musical or Gregory Maguire's books,
03:02being the most significant character created for the film.
03:05Living up to her name,
03:07the headmistress immediately coddles Nessa,
03:09becoming defensive with Alphaba.
03:11In the stage version,
03:12Alphaba clashes with Madame Morrible when she tries to wheel Nessa away.
03:16Miss Cottle fills in for Morrible during another scene
03:19where the students learn that Dr. Dilament has been let go from Shiz.
03:23You're not being told the whole story!
03:26You can't permit this.
03:27I'm afraid he's after my hands.
03:29By turning Miss Cottle into an antagonistic figure,
03:32Morrible comes off as more affectionate toward Alphaba.
03:35This makes it all the more shocking when Alphaba's mentor
03:38shows her true colors and declares her wicked.
03:40Don't let her get away, this wicked witch.
03:45Number 7.
03:46Alphaba's sessions with Madame Morrible.
03:48Come with me.
03:50Of course.
03:50Not you.
03:51You.
03:55You're the one the wizard has been waiting for.
03:58In the stage musical,
03:59Alphaba attends Shiz for the sole purpose of looking after Nessa.
04:02Alphaba doesn't start off as a student in the movie.
04:06She's only at Shiz to make sure Nessa is settled in at their father's request.
04:10After seeing the power that she possesses,
04:12Madame Morrible pulls some strings to enroll Alphaba.
04:15We have nothing but the highest hopes for some of you.
04:22Morrible also takes credit for Alphaba's magic display in the school courtyard,
04:26keeping her powers under wraps.
04:28Like in the stage show,
04:29Morrible offers to personally tutor Alphaba.
04:32This time though, we actually get to see their private lessons
04:35as Alphaba hones her powers,
04:37finding how they're connected to her emotions.
04:39No one should be scorned or laughed at or told to keep quiet.
04:46Remarkable.
04:48Absolutely remarkable.
04:49These scenes go a step further in establishing Morrible as a friend who is truly a foe.
04:55Number 6.
04:56Hal Fierro meets Alphaba.
04:58You didn't see that.
04:58You must have blended with the foliage.
05:03Is this how you go through life?
05:04Just running amok and trampling anyone in your path?
05:07No.
05:09No.
05:10Sometimes I'm asleep.
05:11Fierro makes his debut in the stage musical riding on the back of a carriage.
05:15Bidding farewell to his driver,
05:17Fierro doesn't see Alphaba for the first time until the dance at the Ozdust Ballroom.
05:21The film forms a connection between the two earlier on.
05:24Fierro shows up to Shiz on horseback,
05:27meeting Alphaba before he encounters anyone else.
05:30Alphaba immediately thinks she has the shallow and self-absorbed prince all figured out.
05:35I see that the responsibility to corrupt my fellow students falls to me.
05:40You pretend to be shallow and self-absorbed.
05:44Uh, excuse me.
05:45There is no pretense here.
05:46I happen to be genuinely self-absorbed and deeply shallow.
05:48Fierro is surprised that Alphaba doesn't fall head over heels for him,
05:52but there's a first time for everything.
05:54It's a nice meet-cute hinting that these two opposites are made for one another,
05:58even if neither realizes it yet.
06:01Number 5.
06:02Dancing Through Life
06:03Life is fraughtless when you're thoughtless.
06:07Those who don't try never look foolish.
06:10Dancing through life.
06:12Dancing Through Life remains one of the musical's most toe-tapping songs.
06:16But director Jon M. Chu gives the number his signature with a change of scenery.
06:20The song now commences at the Shiz Library,
06:22where the bookshelves rotate like a hamster wheel.
06:25Or a tornado wheel, as Chu prefers to describe it.
06:28Some people call it a hamster wheel.
06:30I hated that name, so I was like, let's call it a tornado wheel from now on.
06:33Keep it Ozian.
06:34Yes!
06:35And yes, this was a practical set.
06:38In the stage show and film, the number builds to a finale at the Ozdust Ballroom.
06:42Dancing through life, here at the Ozdust.
06:46If only because dust is what we come to.
06:50Instead of a traditional ballroom, Chu envisions the Ozdust as a nightclub.
06:54It's akin to a speakeasy where animals play instruments.
06:58With animals becoming second-class citizens in Oz,
07:00it makes sense that an underground lounge
07:02would be one of the few places they'd be permitted to perform.
07:06Number 4.
07:07Elphaba's Childhood and Family
07:09I did not eat grass as a child.
07:11I've always been green.
07:12Although we witness Elphaba's birth in the stage version,
07:15the film explores her childhood in greater detail.
07:18She was essentially raised by her nanny, Dulcibear,
07:21giving Elphaba further incentive to fight for animal rights later in life.
07:25While the other kids in Munchkinland ridiculed her,
07:27Elphaba nonetheless formed a bond with her sister, Nessa Rose.
07:30You wanna see something amazing?
07:32Yeah.
07:33This is all about our wonderful Wizard of Oz.
07:37As Nessa seeks a fresh start at Shiz, though,
07:39she grows further away from Elphaba.
07:42Elphaba and Nessa Rose's father isn't drastically different,
07:45still favoring one daughter over the other.
07:47Go with her.
07:48What?
07:49If anything should happen to her...
07:51She'll be fine.
07:52However, the Munchkinland governor is given more screen time,
07:55including an uncomfortable meeting with Bok.
07:58That perfectly adorable Munchkin boy just asked me out.
08:02Given his fate at the end of the film,
08:04don't expect to see much of their father in the sequel.
08:07Number 3.
08:08Elphaba's Visions
08:09And that's how we'll begin, the Wizard and I.
08:15During The Wizard and I,
08:16Elphaba mentions a vision almost like a prophecy,
08:19envisioning a celebration across Oz that's all to do with her.
08:23But I swear someday there'll be a celebration throughout Oz
08:30that's all to do with me.
08:36Of course, Oz celebrating the Wicked Witch's death
08:39isn't what she had in mind.
08:41The stage musical never makes it clear if Elphaba is just daydreaming
08:44or if she can really see glimpses of the future.
08:47The film firmly establishes Elphaba's prognostic power.
08:51Elphaba senses that something bad is indeed happening in Oz,
08:54perceiving a vision of Dr. Dillamond being locked away in a cage.
08:58Something bad is happening in Oz.
09:00As she realizes what the Wizard is doing to animals,
09:03Elphaba finds that her visions are becoming a reality.
09:06We expect Elphaba's visions will factor into part two
09:09as a house comes crashing down into Oz.
09:12Best way to bring folks together is to give them a real good enemy.
09:21Number two, more animal rights commentary.
09:24There was a time before you were born when life in Oz was different.
09:30So when and why did this change?
09:35From what I've read, the Great Drought.
09:36Prejudice against Oz's animals is a key part of the musical's
09:39political commentary.
09:40The film digs deeper into this theme,
09:43showing how animals were once respected scholars at Shiz.
09:46Ever since the Wizard rose to power,
09:48the animals have slowly been erased from history.
09:51Animals are no longer permitted to teach.
09:53What?
09:54Dr. Dillamond expresses his fears in the Something Bad number,
09:57which was a duet between him and Elphaba on stage.
10:00The movie's rendition of the song adds several talking animals
10:03who share Dr. Dillamond's trepidation that they may lose their voices.
10:07Something bad is happening.
10:10That's it, I'm leaving Oz while I can still speak the word goodbye.
10:14With the animal population dwindling,
10:16some are compelled to flee before it's too late.
10:19The animals are now being blamed for everything that goes wrong.
10:23While they aren't on screen for long,
10:25the presence of the other animals emphasizes
10:27that there's a whole society being silenced,
10:30not just a token goat.
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10:48Number 1.
10:49One Short Day
10:50Of all the musical numbers,
11:01One Short Day is expanded upon the most.
11:04A new section is added to Wizzomania,
11:06detailing the significance of the Grimmery.
11:08This spellbook is derived from the so-called Wise Ones.
11:12After the Wise Ones passed on,
11:14it was prophesied that someone else with the ability to read the Grimmery
11:17would arrive in Oz.
11:19In Oz's darkest hour,
11:21Though we cannot say when,
11:24There will come one with all power
11:28To read the Grimmery again!
11:32When the Wizard dropped in,
11:34that prophecy was seemingly fulfilled.
11:36In addition to expanding Oz's lore,
11:38this sequence provides an opportunity for Idina Menzel
11:41and Kristen Chenoweth to make cameos as Wizzomania superstars.
11:45Michael McCrory-Rose,
11:47who once understudied for Fiero,
11:49also appears as a narrator along with writer Winnie Holtzman.
11:52He can read it!
11:54He must be...
11:57a wizard!
11:58One short scene can certainly pack in a ton of information and talent.
12:02And Oz, which had been sad and blind,
12:06Once more will sing a joyous...
12:12Are there any changes we missed?
12:14Let us know in the comments.
12:33Do you agree with our picks?
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