‘Wicked’ Reviewed By 9 and 7 Year Old Superfans of the Show

The following post contains a discussion of Wicked and a few minor spoilers for the movie — nothing that would come as a surprise to anyone who has seen the Broadway show. 

For the last year, I have lived with Elphaba and Glinda.

That’s not their given names, obviously. But ever since we took our nine and seven-year-old daughters to see Wicked during 2023’s Kids Night on Broadway, my two girls have been obsessed with the show. We watch clips on YouTube. They sing the songs every night at bedtime. We went back and saw the show a second time. We listen to the soundtrack on long car trips. The kids sing the songs some more. I beg them to give it a rest. They continue singing anyway.

My daughters have tagged along to family films before (and they’ve even reviewed things for me once or twice) but the Wicked movie was a horse of a different color (green, obviously). This was the first time in my professional life that my daughters (and my wife, who is also a huge Wicked fan dating back to when she saw the show for the first time in 2003 with the original cast) all flat-out demanded they come to a press screening.

After the four of us saw the film, I asked the kids what they thought about it and how it compared with the Broadway show. (Mom makes a brief cameo appearance during the discussion as well.) I’ve slightly condensed some of the conversation, but these are their unvarnished (and mostly very positive) reactions to the film.

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Dad: So which did you like more, the Broadway show or the movie?

7 Year Old: Movie.

Dad: What about you? Which is better, the movie or the —

9 Year Old: The movie!

Dad: The movie was better than the show?

9 Year Old: The person who played Elphaba, was so amazing. She did so good on “Defying Gravity.” And I also liked how, because on Broadway she just … it felt more real in the movie than in the Broadway show. And you always want it to feel more real.

Dad: I think I understand what you’re saying. The movie has all the special effects and the massive sets. It’s not just on a stage.

9 Year Old: Also, when we were sitting close [on Broadway], I could see [Elphaba] had green gloves on that went up her arms.

Dad: And in the movie you didn’t see that, so it felt more real?

9 Year Old: Mmmhmm.

Dad: Did you cry at all? Were there any moments that really got you feeling stuff?

9 Year Old: No.

7 Year Old: I didn’t cry during the movie. I felt like I wanted to at some points, like  “Defying Gravity.”

Dad: Mom was crying. I looked over and she was wiping tears away.

Mom: It was so good.

Dad: What differences did you notice between the movie and the show?

7 Year Old: The movie was more sad and more scary.

Dad: Why more sad?

7 Year Old: They were crying and upset that they had to leave each other. And the guards were trying to get them and stuff.

Dad: So that made it scarier?

7 Year Old: Yeah. Like when the monkeys were trying to get her. And the monkeys had wings.

9 Year Old: That scared me — wait, where’s my magic wand?

Dad: Mom has it.

9 Year Old: Oh phew.

Dad: So the monkeys scared you?

9 Year Old: The first time the monkeys came out and, like, crashed into the window. I was like “Ah!”

Dad: Do you know what that’s called? That’s called a “jump scare.” You want to know why?

9 Year Old: Because you jump and you’re scared?

Dad: Pretty much. So if the movie was sadder and more scary, why did you like it more than the show?

7 Year Old: It was more silly.

Dad: Who was more silly?

7 Year Old: Fiyero. So was Glinda. In “Popular” she was very funny. I also like when she spun around on the ceiling.

Dad: Oh, you liked when she jumped up and hung on to her chandelier during “Popular.” Am I going to catch you trying to do that in our house?

7 Year Old: No.

Dad: You say you like the movie better than the show. But was there anything that was better in the show than in the movie?

9 Year Old: What I didn’t really like in the movie … Fiyero … well, two things. First: We meet Fiyero in the woods. I didn’t really like that scene. I liked how they did it better in the show.

Dad: Okay, yes, they added a scene in there where Elphaba meets Fiyero before his first big song.

[long pause]

Dad: You said two things. Was there was something else about Fiyero you didn’t like?

9 Year Old: Uh … no.

Dad: What did you think of “Dancing Through Life”?

9 Year Old: [Holding up bag of leftover popcorn] Can I eat this?

Dad: Hold on.

[9 Year Old grabs fistful of popcorn]

Dad: Stop.

[9 Year Old shoves popcorn in her mouth. Dad sighs.]

Dad: What did you think of little Elphaba in the beginning? That was another thing they added for the film.

9 Year Old: Cute. I liked her glasses. I wish you had those glasses.

Dad: That would be an interesting look for me.

9 Year Old: I didn’t like that they didn’t do the thing where Elphaba gives her teacher her lunch and then he eats the paper instead.

Dad: That’s true. That got left out. Well, it’s probably hard to do that when its a CGI goat.

9 Year Old: What’s a CGI?

Dad: So in the movie, that wasn’t a real goat. It was made with computers and special effects.

9 Year Old: Dad, the goat in the show wasn’t a real goat either.

Dad: Okay, yes, but that was a human wearing makeup.

9 Year Old: And a mask!

Dad: And a mask. But it was a real person under the mask. In the movie, the goat was basically an animated character.

9 Year Old: Yeah, that character didn’t look real.

7 Year Old: He looked weird.

Dad: Did you have a favorite scene or song?

9 Year Old: I liked “Popular,” but “Defying Gravity” was my favorite. “Popular” was my second favorite because Glinda did like a split, kind of, and spun around and hung on to the what’s it called? The chandelier.

Dad: Yes, your sister likes that part too.

9 Year Old: It was so cool.

Dad: What did you think of the actors’ voices?

7 Year Old: I thought Elphaba was very very good.

Dad: She really has a beautiful voice, huh?

7 Year Old: It sounded so easy in “Defying Gravity” when she did it.

Dad: It really does.

7 Year Old: It sounds so easy, but it’s really hard!

Dad: Oh, I know. I know.

Dad: You have been waiting for this movie. Did it live up to your expectations?

7 Year Old: Even better.

Dad: Did it seem too long? Because this movie is about as long as the whole Broadway show, and it’s just the first act of the show.

7 Year Old: I feel like it is a little long.

Dad: But was it too long?

7 Year Old: [shakes head no] Even though it is pretty long, it’s so good that I didn’t mind. I liked watching it. I didn’t want it to end.

Dad: Is it weird that it ends in the middle of the story?

7 Year Old: It’s kind of not as weird as I thought it would be. I thought they would do the end and just turn off the television. Like [mimics a remote control turning off a TV] done.

Dad: So you guys aren’t gonna want to see the second one, right? We can just skip it?

7 Year Old: [grabs Dad and pulls him down to her face] I WANT TO SEE IT!

Dad: Would you rather see this one again or the second part?

7 Year Old: This one again.

9 Year Old: Second part.

Dad: Would you rather see this one again or go see the Broadway show again?

Both: [Simultaneously] This one again.