When Universal Pictures split their musical adaptation of “Wicked” into two pictures, the move was condemned by some critics as a cynical — if phenomenally successful — money grab.
But with “Wicked: For Good” available in theaters around the world this week, its cast and creators believe the decision has freed them up to expand the “Wizard of Oz” prequel well beyond the Broadway musical on which it is based.
The result includes an expanded new take on one of the most famous scenes in movie history, with the arrival in Oz of a young girl from Kansas called Dorothy.
And the added running time also allows for two entirely new songs — one of which, “The Girl in the Bubble,” sees Ariana Grande’s beloved, pink-clad heroine Glinda confront her unusual dark past.
“It happens in the wings of the Broadway show. You see the before and after moments,” Grande remarked during a recent press conference.
But in the second picture, we see “beneath the bubbly, shiny, perfect exterior” and “spend some more time with that darkness,” she continued.
“Wicked: For Good” begins up some years after the first “Wicked,” with Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba now living as a rebel in exile, wrongfully painted by all as a terrible witch.
Glinda, meanwhile, has become the poster girl of the Wizard’s dictatorship — a position that affords her privilege and recognition, but also awakens regret and shame, originating from her youth.
“She’s gotten everything she’s always dreamt of, and yet has never been more alone,” Grande said.
The pop singer already garnered a best supporting actress Oscar nod for the first “Wicked.” Universal is likely to devote money into seeing she wins the award this time around, and she is already the bookmakers’ favorite.
Erivo is also a strong best actress hopeful, according to awards prediction site Gold Derby, and has a new song, “There’s No Place Like Home.”
‘Two stories collide
Beyond generating space for new Oscars-eligible original songs, the two-movie structure allowed the filmmakers to explore the overlap between the plots of “Wicked” and “The Wizard of Oz.”
“Wicked: For Good” takes place almost concurrently with the events of the iconic 1939 movie, and L. Frank Baum’s story, when Dorothy and her tiny dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from Kansas to Oz.
In the Broadway musical, Dorothy is only seen once as a fleeting silhouette.
The film depicts her various times, from skipping down the yellow brick road to being kidnapped by flying monkeys.
Her face is never clearly visible, to highlight that Dorothy is only a helpful but naive pawn in the political machinations of Oz.
“We had more time” to explore the junction of the two tales “in the second film, which, for a lot of audiences, is a lot of fun,” said producer Marc Platt.
“When the girl from Kansas finally arrives, how do the two stories collide?”
With the original picture having grossed over $750 million worldwide, Universal is clearly betting that many, many fans will head off to see the wizard one more time.
