Wicked: For Good

Story

Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) have become estranged as Glinda struggles to balance the demands of her new role and the expectations of the people of Oz with her enduring admiration of Elphaba, who Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) and to a lesser extent the Wizard of Oz himself (Jeff Goldblum) have been powerless to subdue. While the citizens of Oz live in fear, showered with vile propaganda, fed a constant stream of lies and confronted with burning effigies with slogans like ‘Kill the Witch’, Glinda still treasures her friendship with Elphaba. Likewise, Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), who in addition to becoming engaged to Glinda has also become the head soldier in the hunt for Elphaba, recalls the innate goodness of his friend and refuses to think of her differently despite the storm of hate rising around them.

Elphaba, meanwhile, believes in the goodness of Oz. She protects the animals from cruelty and enslavement and encourages them to stand up to the Wizard. She’s determined to show the people the truth so that they can understand who their Wizard really is, but every time she tries to shed light on the corruption and lies she’s stopped by Madam Morrible. When her sister’s death is used to trap her, she finally begins to see that no matter what she does, the people will always view her as wicked. She decides that her only option is to sacrifice herself so that someone else can be the emblem of goodness. Her final act, unnoticed by the masses, is born of a love that askes nothing in return and that ultimately changes everything – for good.

Themes

Betrayal; relationship breakdown; corruption; deceitfulness; magic; prejudice and discrimination

Violence

Wicked: For Good has some violence. For example:

Elphaba sets a group of enslaved animals free and is attacked in the process. She hits characters with her broomstick, and a character is caught up by a random chain and dragged before she falls into others and lands in paint.
Killing Elphaba is talked about often.
Elphaba writes a message in the sky telling people ‘Our wizard lies’. Madame Morrible changes it to ‘Oz dies’ and further incites fear and hate by claiming that Elphaba will kill them all.
Glinda and Fiyero’s wedding is trashed by a stampede of animals fleeing the Wizard’s dungeon.
Madame Morrible tells the guests that the stampede is the work of the Wicked Witch and that the witch wants to kill them all.
Glinda and Elphaba slap each other in the face.
Fiyero holds Glinda at gun point in order to make the soldiers release Elphaba.
Soldiers grab Fiyero, beat him and tie him up to a post. They try to get him to tell them where Elphaba went and then leave him to die.
A violent mob chants, ‘Kill the Witch!’
Elphaba is delivered a piece of Fiyero’s uniform and led to believe that he was killed trying to protect her.
Elphaba ‘melts’ when a bucket of water is thrown on her. She screams and writhes before disappearing completely.
Glinda imprisons Madame Morrible and has her carried off by flying monkeys.

Sexual references

Wicked: For Good has some sexual references – for example, the Wizard discovers that Elphaba is his daughter from a previous affair.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Wicked: For Good has some substance use. For example:

The Wizard often drinks from a green flask, and it’s implied he’s drinking alcohol.
The Wizard offers Glinda a drink, telling her, ‘This dulls the pain if you want a swig’.

Nudity and sexual activity

Wicked: For Good has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

Fiyero and Glinda kiss.
The Wizard and Elphaba’s mother have an affair.
Fiyero and Elphaba run off together. They kiss as they start to take off their clothes, and later they’re shown lying in bed with Fiyero bare chested and Elphaba wrapped in a robe.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Wicked: For Good.

Coarse language

Wicked: For Good has some coarse language – for example, ‘Oh my Oz’. Insults include ‘witch’, ‘traitor’, ‘crazy’ and ‘shut up’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Wicked: For Good is the second of a 2-part movie adaptation of the Broadway hit Wicked. It continues to tell the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West though musical fantasy, but despite the brilliant, lavish sets, it’s darker than its predecessor, and is therefore best suited to viewers over the age of 11.

The main messages from Wicked: For Good are about being true to yourself and helping others when faced with injustice. The movie also explores friendship, acceptance and inclusion.

Values in Wicked: For Good that you could reinforce with your children are friendship, loyalty, selflessness, courage, love, resilience and compassion.

Wicked: For Good could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the real-life consequences of things like:

Spreading hate or lies against someone or a group of people.
Judging others based on their appearance instead of their character.
Lying to get what you want and where you want.
Oppressing a species or group of people because someone says they’re less worthy.