I was able to attend the screening for Wicked, coming to theaters on Friday, November 22. I went into this movie knowing nothing about Wicked beyond the fact that it is a story about the Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West, and that it was originally a Broadway production. Below is my Wicked movie review for parents.

I was quite impressed with the movie and the storyline. I cannot speak to how true it stays to the original theatrical production, however, as someone who has nothing to compare it to, I felt that the movie production was impressive. The roles were all filled with actors and actresses who did a phenomenal job as each of their characters.

This movie ran long at 2 hours and 40minutes, however it keeps you engaged through every minute of it. The songs were lively and performed exquisitely, making them fun to watch. The movie kept its original musical feel by incorporating so much song and dance, something that fans of the Broadway production are sure to appreciate.

This is part one and ends with an outstanding performance of “Defying Gravity”, leaving the audience ready and waiting for what is to come in part two.

WARNING – In order to provide specific examples of themes and potential concerns for parents, spoilers ahead.

Main Themes in Wicked

Friendship: There is a beautiful portrayal of friendship in this movie. While it does not start that way, a deep friendship develops about two-thirds of the way through the movie. The acts that brought on this friendship develop out of some prejudice and bullying that are overcome by a public display of friendship between Glinda and Elphaba.

Identity and Self-Love: In part one we see a lot of identity formation happening with Elphaba, with the end of the movie concluding with her finding her true self and loving who she is, even at the personal cost she knows it may have. Elphaba sacrifices her dream to stay true to what is morally important to her, calling out Glinda for her desire to fit in and conform for the sake of her own ambitions, rather than fighting for what is just.

Prejudice: There is a lot of prejudice and bullying portrayed in this movie. Whether it is coming from her father, the kids in town, or the classmates at the school, Elphaba experiences it time and again. The introduction of prejudice against animals is also introduced toward the middle of the movie.

Privilege: Privilege is mostly depicted through Glinda’s experiences. It can also be seen some with Elphaba’s sister, Neesa. At one point Glinda is shocked that, for the first time, her privileged position does not get her what she wants. In general, however, Glinda finds that she lives a privileged experience, where she gets much of what she wants and receives adoration and kindness from all who are around her.

Popularity and Belonging: The idea of being popular is a prominent theme in Wicked-part one. Most of the movie is centered around Glinda’s popularity and Elphaba being the outcast. One scene, in which the girls become friends instead of enemies, is poignant because of Glinda using her popularity to take that chance on being nice to Elphaba, when all the others are pointing fingers and laughing at her. Only moments before Glinda points out that “of course” Elphaba cares what others think and that she wants to belong. Elphaba has the internal struggle throughout the movie of being an outcast while deeply yearning for acceptance from others.

Things to Consider for Childrenwicked movie review for parents

Wicked – Part One is rated PG for thematic material, brief suggestive content, and some scary action, all of which I would agree with. Ultimately parents will need to decide what is appropriate for their own children, however I would not recommend it for children below the 1st grade, and it may not be appropriate for some who are in the 1st grade, again, depending on the child. More conservative parents, or those with sensitive children may want to wait until they are a little older. Reasoning (spoiler alerts) list listed below.

  1. This movie runs long. Not every child is going to be able to stay entertained for the duration of this movie.
  2. Themes may be over their head, making the movie difficult to follow or understand.
  3. Many of the themes have adult content. This makes the movie entertaining for adults but not necessarily something that all parents will find appropriate for their young children.
    • For example, the movie begins with Elphaba’s mother being portrayed in an affair. While the depiction is flirtatious behavior, including some bodily contact such as being lifted by her lover onto a piece of furniture, the commentary leads the scene straight into Elphaba’s birth, making it known that she was the product of this affair.
    • Another flirtatious couple is Glinda and the Prince who have a great song and dance scene, but it is full of slightly risqué dancing that parents may not be comfortable with for their young children. Later in the movie they do also share a kiss.
    • Another theme that is prominent is Elphaba’s experiences of being bullied, “loathed”, and rejected. This comes from many sources including children in the town, students at school (which includes a whole song and dance about them loathing her), and her own father being outwardly unkind and rejecting.
    • The theme of prejudice is constant throughout the movie. When Elphaba is at the school there is a comment that it is “good” that she isn’t enrolled after the head of the school looks at her. Another comment is made about how they will “find a place to hide you”. It is also implied that being green is a problem and that she may someday be able to change her color.
  4. There are many scenes that children may find scary, or that parents may be uncomfortable with younger children watching.
    • The opening scene includes the townspeople rejoicing about the Wicked Witch of the West being dead. There is a song that sings about “the wicked die alone” and “no one mourns the wicked.”
    • As I already mentioned, there is the portrayal of an affair that results in a child.
    • When Elphaba is born it shows everyone in shock and disgust and two nurses take swigs from a bottle.
    • After this it flashes back to the townspeople again rejoicing about the witch being dead and they bring out a wooden statue of a witch with a sign that reads “kill the witch” and Glinda lights it on fire.
    • There is a scene where they are discussing what is happening to the animals who can talk. The scene is dark and the images are shadows of condemned animals which could be scary to some children.
    • There is a scene when Elphaba and Glinda are talking and Elphaba expresses that she blames herself for her mother’s death and her sister being in a wheelchair. I will note that this ends nicely with Glinda stating that it is not Elphaba’s fault and she can’t blame herself, but that could be a heavy scene for some children.
    • There is a scene where the goat professor is being taken away and Elphaba asks “are we all going to sit here in silence?” This is followed by a new professor coming in and demonstrating how keeping a young animal in a cage from the start will mean that it never develops the ability to talk. Elphaba points out that the animal doesn’t look like it’s okay being in a cage. This isn’t necessarily a bad scene, just heavy commentary for children.
    • The meeting of Oz could certainly be scary for children. It is a darker scene and a big looming head with a deep, loud voice appears and fire lights up around the room.
    • The scene when the monkey gets his wings is pretty intense. As the wings grow out of his back, he is crying out and reacting violently, and Elphaba is worrying that it is hurting him. She wants to reverse the spell, and then he flies up into the air and crashes back down to the ground.
    • Not long after that it shows all of the monkeys crying out as they cope with wings that they just grew, and they are told “if you want your families to stay safe, you’ll be loyal to our wizard. Get the green one, she did this to you!” Then the monkeys fly out and look for Elphaba. This leads into another potentially scary scene as Elphaba and Glinda are being chased by monkeys who are crashing into windows and trying to attack them. Guards are also chasing after them.
    • The defying gravity scene could be scary as Elphaba and Glinda are surrounded by guards, they grab Glinda, and then Elphaba crashes through a window, plummeting almost all the way to the ground before finally figuring out how to fly.

My general feel is that this movie is rated PG for a reason. Parents should consider the content of the script as well as the displays of graphics and assess if they feel it is appropriate for their individual child. I think most parents who are already familiar with Wicked will not really be taken aback by this movie but should still keep in mind that seeing something as a movie and depicted so vividly on screen is received differently than a theatrical performance. If parents are questioning the appropriateness of this movie for their child, regardless of their child’s age, the best call would be to see it themselves first and then make a decision that would be best for their own unique family.