“They’re never going to stop believing in me. Y’know why? They don’t want to.” [Damn, Chu. That’s super on point for the year of Our Lord 2025.]

Story: When we last saw our two witches, Galinda/Glinda had stepped up as Oz’s shining darling, with Elphaba being painted as the “Wicked Witch of the West”. As Elphaba fights for freedom for all members of Oz – animal and human/human adjacent – Glinda starts to see the cracks in the Wizard’s carefully constructed façade. Looks like there’s a storm brewing…

Genre I’d put it in: Adaptations Of Popular Broadway Musicals
Release Date: 2025
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Sequel to/conclusion of 2024’s Wicked. Based on the stage musical of the same name, and very loosely based on the novel by Gregory Maguire.

Gotta say: I have no shame about my total love for the first film. I’m a theater kid born and raised, so this was exactly the kind of gloriously extravagant creation my heart was hoping for. And honey? 2 just blew it out of the water. Or, to keep with the Oz thing, the sky. If Nope warned viewers not to be taken in by spectacle? 2 is here to let us know that sometimes, spectacle is just what the doctor ordered. Don’t we all need a little Christmas spectacle right this very minute? We do. 2 delivers that in abundance.

First things first; our leads. That twinning-level of friendship Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo share on the press tour is palpable in their portrayals of Glinda and Elphaba. There’s a line between performing and simply being yourself on camera, and these two straddle it beautifully. The care – and worry- Glinda has for Elphaba shows in every glance. Elphaba’s determination to do right by Oz while staying steadfast in her friendship with Glinda radiates off of Erivo. It’s part talent, part director Jon M. Chu’s ability to get his performers to put it all on screen.

Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero has swoon-worthy chemistry with Erivo’s Elphaba, and their duet “As Long as You’re Mine” is a payoff so wonderful, the romantic number doesn’t drag the story in the least. I’m not well versed enough in the stage musical to do a compare/contrast with it, but we’ve both got Playbill for that. I’ll just say the new songs – again written by Stephen Schwartz – and a few songs that get fleshed out a touch, to really lend some characterization to folks like the Wizard and Nessa. My favorite change to the source musical is that Nessa isn’t “cured” of her disability here. This Nessa longs for love and what was, rather than to be “whole”. It’s a nice change, and gotta give a special shout-out to Marissa Bode for her layered performance. Bode’s ability to shift between love, longing, anger and horror is amazing. She’s not onscreen for long, but her talent demands attention.

Screenwriters Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox blend the various emotional highs and lows effectively, and no wonder. They helped create two things I hold dear; My So-called Life and The Wedding Date. (What can I say? I adore silly emotional chaos.) Of course Chu puts every penny of this film’s reputed 150 million dollar budget onscreen; see my original Wicked review to read how hard I simp for his visual style and ability to bring together the most amazing artists and creators. My only quibble is when we see the Scarecrow, there’s a strange, overly airbrushed look to his burlap that feels equal parts uncanny and overly AI-ified. (Damn, now I’m doing Oz-speak.) Probably best that we don’t get to see him in all his hay-filled glory ’til the final few scenes.

Because yes, as this is the “whole” story of Elphaba, there are nods to the OG Wizard of Oz. A step here, a shadow there, but that’s a different story for a different tale. Oz is part of the cultural zeitgeist nowadays, so there isn’t a need for more than that. And honestly, it’d take away from the story we’re here to focus on. These snippets are just what’s needed, no more, no less. Chu, Holzman and Fox also inject some real-world relevance to this story, with the Wizard being a whole lot more than he appears to be…and that’s not great. Hell, the dialogue feels like stuff we’d hear on the news. (See the quote I chose to open this review.)

If you’re in the mood to be taken away to a fairy tale where things might not turn out exactly the way you’d hoped, but all’s right in the end? Give Good a try. This seemingly light and fizzy musical has a solid message that’ll stick with you long after your family gets sick of you singing along to the soundtrack.

#Protip: If you’re gobsmacked over the crazy amount of merchandise tie-ins for 2? You’re not alone. But did I give in a time or two? Yes. Yes I did. And for me? Those Glinda & Elphaba hand sanitizers I nabbed from Five Below are right on time for cold and flu season. Plus, the cost didn’t make me feel super gross for supporting the capitalist marketing monster during these hard times. Thanks, witches!