I don’t care if this statement isn’t going to be… popular. Since we’re living in a time where more than half the country voted for an elected official/convicted felon trying to use people of color as a scapegoat to elevate his platform and retain the pitiful amount of “power” he has, I’d say a movie like Wicked could not come out at a better moment.

The sadly hilarious thing here is that a film based directly on a 20-year old Broadway musical, which in turn is based on a 30-year old novel, could not be more relevant today than ever before.

Let’s start off light with the entertainment factor of the film first, though. Wicked is hands down one of my favorite films of this year. It’s tremendously fun, entertaining, emotional, and visually impressive from its first frame to its last. It’s also one of the best directed, best staged musical adaptations of the past few decades, if not all time.

For those of you who aren’t already familiar with the story, Wicked centers on the untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West, actually named Elphaba, before Dorothy landed in Oz. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), was born green, and spent her entire childhood persecuted by her family and peers due to being different. We learn about her origins meeting Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande), a self-absorbed wannabe martyr, at Shiz Academy in their youths. Though they start out as bitter rivals, the two realize that they actually are much deeper than their outward personas may project, and begin to form a deep friendship akin to sisterhood. All this culminates in a journey to see the Wizard of Oz, in which secrets and conspiracies are revealed that test both their friendships and Elphaba’s limits of power, but forever change them both for good.

One of the biggest key reasons for Wicked’s success stems from the talented visionary eye of director Jon M. Chu. After bringing In the Heights to life, I was impressed, but skeptical about his ability to adapt Wicked because of how different the two shows were. Oh boy, was I ever wrong for doubting him. After seeing Wicked, I can safely say, given both triumphs, he’s officially established himself as the best living movie musical director working today.

What separates Wicked and In the Heights from other musical adaptations in recent years is that Chu gives them a reason to be adapted for the screen. He knows the boundaries and limits of the stage that aren’t present in cinema and is able to utilize the cinematic medium to its fullest potential. Dazzling musical sequences that were limited by the tiny confines of a Broadway stage are ever more enhanced by Chu’s ability to explore locations like Shiz and the Emerald City, fleshing out the world and immersing you with daring feasts of spectacle and acrobatic choreography.

Take the “Dancing Through Life” sequence, for example. On the stage it’s not only rushed, but not super engaging. It’s why it consistently falls beneath “Defying Gravity” and “Popular” in terms of its notability. But in the film, Chu gives us incredible sets designed to allow his skilled crew members the opportunity to tumble and spin through complex and elaborate production designs.

The choreography is completely jaw dropping, with every move being perfectly in sync with his terrific dancers; some of which are tumbling and flying around like aerialists at Cirque du Soleil. It becomes an incredible spectacle and an exciting party that will leave you awe-stricken. However even later within the sequence, at the OzDust Ballroom, Chu chooses to pause the glitz, glamor, and spectacle to highlight an incredible emotional moment between Elphaba and Glinda, that provides so much more poignant and heartfelt than the stage equivalent of this scene which is played mostly for laughs.

Through the power of the cinematic medium, in this sequence alone, Chu immerses the audience not only into the magical world of Oz, but also the touching and rich emotions behind the friendship that forms between Elphaba and Glinda. It makes the movie so much stronger, and allows for us to connect to our protagonists in the most beautiful way. Thus adding character growth to the film’s characters, and generating a much stronger emotional pay off with them both by the film’s conclusion. That scene between the two leads is indeed the heart of the film, as so oft said.

The emotion and heart, however, is only partially driven by the direction. The other half boils down to the performances. And boy, does Wicked get its magic from a pair of stellar lead performances in Erivo and Grande. Grande is absolutely hilarious as Glinda, completely channeling role-originator Kristin Chenoweth in both vocal ability, charisma, and comedic timing 1:1; an absolutely spot-on performance in every sense of the word. The sincerity and commitment to the performance absolutely makes you fall in love with Glinda the same way Chenoweth did, from her ability to ham it up in scenes like the “Popular” sequence, to the aforementioned Ozdust ballroom sequence that bring tears to your eyes because she plays off the heart equally as impressive.

Erivo, on the other hand, goes for a different approach in making the role of Elphaba her own, standing out and away from comparisons to Idina Menzel due to the subtle differences and choices she makes for the character. Her Elphaba plays off the bullied mousiness, with a subdued warrior brewing beneath her. This leads to incredible, rewarding catharsis whenever she’s able to unleash the warrior and showcase her power — particularly in the famed “Defying Gravity” sequence. Together, the duo is truly unlimited given the amazing chemistry between them. They give us a believable and heartfelt friendship that, given their respective performances individually and together, are bound to bring audiences everywhere to tears.

The other performances in the film are also terrific. Jonathan Bailey proves to be the ultimate sex symbol as Fiyero, giving charm and charisma in every scene to produce the greatest chemistry with both Erivo and Grande. But he also possesses an earnestness to the character that makes you understand the rock star energy is all a cover for a more unhappy individual within. Michelle Yeoh is also reliably strong as Madame Morrible, showcasing her range as she alternates between warm mentor figure to callous and deviously duplicitous snake. What she lacks in singing ability, she more than makes up for in gravitas and delivery. She can do more with an icy stare than many can with whole monologues. Jeff Goldblum is also well cast as The Wizard, being his quirky charm to the role, combined with an appropriate level of ick as well.

Sadly, I think two of the film’s strongest performers — Ethan Slater, playing Boq from Munchkinland, and Marissa Bode, playing Nessarose, Elphaba’s sister — don’t get a whole lot to do in this installment. However, that’s definitely because there will be much more of them in the second part. What they do here in Part 1 is stellar work, both from a musical standpoint, and acting as well.

The other aspect of Wicked that is just so wonderfully done are the technical components of the film. The production design in particular deserves such a special shout out. The sets and the architecture of every building, classroom, and library is so elaborately decked out and unique.

The props are astonishingly crafted as well. Even the exterior forest scenes feel like they come straight out of Avatar. All of which add up to a completely immersive and transformative experience that leaves your jaws completely on the floor given how much beauty and hard work is poured into every background element. Taking a look at the “Popular” scene alone, you can see the innate cleverness of the crew working to construct a trunk/mirror/stage for Grande to perform on all in one amazingly constructed piece, and that’s just a single item.

There’s also the costumes, and the hair and makeup. The work is beautifully crafted from the vibrant colors of the Shiz uniforms, to the small frilled details on Elphaba’s hat and Glinda’s dresses. Every character has a distinct look that speaks so much about who they are, just from what they’re wearing. It’s very much a terrific way to inform the audience about the characters without having to utter a single line of dialogue. While on the hair/makeup side, small details like Morrible’s elaborate do, and Elphaba’s pitch perfect theatrical skin bring these characters to life with an other-worldly mysticism that simply pops in every scene.

The one technical area that was a bit less impressive was the Visual Effect work. In particular the flying monkeys and Elphaba’s cape in the “Defying Gravity” sequence stand out as a bit weaker than the other technical elements bringing Wicked to life. They reminded me of recent MCU films more than anything in certain moments. But it wasn’t at all any sort of dealbreaker.

Now, circling back to the introductory paragraph and the title of this review, I need to be transparent: Wicked was exactly the movie I needed right now. It’s a joyous and wonderful, brilliantly acted and performed film, yes. But more than anything, this is a now timeless story about prejudice and scapegoating at the highest levels of power.

We literally just spent the past year hearing COMPLETELY FABRICATED claims about how people of color and “migrants” are “invading the country” and “eating the dogs and cats” in other states. No one has been able to produce any proof of any of this, yet so many folks bought into these lies because they came from someone they mistakenly admired who wanted to say whatever he could to seize power, ultimately voting him into the position he sought out.

The literal allegory of The Wizard using animals as a common enemy to dupe the people of Oz into allowing him to seize power, despite him having absolutely no skills, abilities, or brains was completely cathartic for me to see. And let’s face it, many out there won’t acknowledge the parallel whether they pick up on it or not. Or if they do, will carelessly, blindly, arrogantly label it as “woke Hollywood propaganda” despite the story being around for decades now. However, whether folks want to accept it or not, this is a movie with a message that is so relevant to today, that I hope some audience members take a step back and realize the dangers in having done the exact same thing in reality that they just saw in this story.

For that, I genuinely love Wicked. Is it the most profound or subtle film with a message this year? No. However, for one of the year’s most anticipated wide releases, I’m incredibly glad it’s speaking loudly and intentionally about these dangers and the evils of prejudice, and hope folks get the same level of catharsis from it that I did. Or at minimum, if they choose just to turn their brains off, at least enjoy themselves in pure cinematic bliss for two and a half hours.

Now that I’ve said my piece, I’ll get off my soapbox and just summarize by saying Wicked truly is one of the most magical, musical experiences I’ve had at the movies this year. With stellar, confident, brilliant direction from Jon M. Chu, amazing choreography and show stopping set pieces, as well as powerhouse performances from Erivo and Grande, I am simply floored by how much I was moved by this triumphant work of art. Coupled with a powerful message that’s as necessary today as it was 20-30 years ago, this was exactly the movie I needed to make me smile once more during some of the darkest days I’ve seen this year. In short, Wicked is Oz-some, Oz-tonishing, and simply Oz-tounding!

Overall Score (on an entertainment level): A
Overall Score (on a representation level): A