What the ‘Wicked’ Movie Changed From the Musical—Plot Twists to Cameos!

Caution: Wicked spoilers this way come. 

After years of waiting, part one of the Wicked movies is finally here! Like the Broadway musical it’s based on, the plot of the first film, in theaters November 22, follows Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo)—a.k.a. The Wicked Witch of the West—and Glinda the Good Witch (Ariana Grande) before Dorothy drops into Oz. The magic musical is also quite a production, filled with great costumes, props and backdrops. 

First for Women recently had the great pleasure of attending an exclusive preview of the film, and we can confirm that it is as grand and green as we’d hoped. We can also confirm that there are quite a few changes between the musical and film that go way beyond clothes and classroom settings. We dive deep into what they are below. 

15 Ways the ‘Wicked’ movie differs from the musical

Elphaba and Nessarose’s nanny doesn’t exist in the film 

In the movie, viewers are introduced to a bear named Dulcibear (Sharon D. Clarke), who serves as a midwife and nanny for the Thropp family, but no such character exists in the musical. There is a character in the novels called Nanny who travels with the girls to Shiz University, though that never happens in the film. Instead, Dulcibear helps the girls when they are children, but is never seen or mentioned again. 

We meet Glinda’s family 

In the musical, viewers never actually meet Glinda’s family; you hear about them, of course, but never see them on stage. In the film, though, when she gets to Shiz University, Glinda is seen hugging her parents goodbye and even says, “They are going to miss me so much,” which is the most pinkalicious line we have ever heard! 

In the film, only Nessarose gets into Shiz

When the Thorpp sisters arrive at Shiz University, we quickly learn that only Nessarose (Marissa Bode) got accepted, and Elphaba is just there to see her off. But in the musical, Elphaba and her sister get accepted at the same time. As things progress in the film, Elphaba does get accepted after Madam Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) sees her thrillifying magical ability.  

Nessarose’s silver slippers never belonged to her mother

Before telling his youngest daughter goodbye, Frexpar Thropp (Andy Nyman) gives Nessarose a pair of silver slippers that he says belonged to her mother. In the musical, though, no one knows where the slippers came from; they are just told that Nessarose’s father gave them to her. 

Miss Coddle isn’t in the musical

Another character that doesn’t exist in the Broadway musical is Miss Coddle (Keala Settle). In the film, Miss Coddle serves as a staff member at Shiz, who takes on random roles like showing Nessarose around and firing Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage). 

Madam Morrible and Elphaba’s relationship is explored more 

In the musical, viewers hear all about Madam Morrible mentoring Elphaba, but never see it happen. That changes in the film in that not only do you see their magic lessons, but you also view them focusing on levitation spells, foreshadowing Elphaba learning to fly at the end. 

Dr. Dillamond doesn't have any friends in the musical 

A large part of the Wicked plot revolves around animal rights, and in the first act, Dr. Dillamond serves as the point animal for that. In the musical, he is a history teacher who bonds with Elphaba and tells her all about how mistreated animals in Oz have become. And while that remains true in the movie, we also see the doctor discussing the political shift with his animal friends. He also sings “Something Bad” to his fellow animals at the beginning, which is a massive change from it being a duet between him and Elphaba in the musical. 

Fiyero and Elphaba’s first meeting is different 

Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and Elphaba serve as the show's “main couple,” and while their meeting in both the film and the musical are cute, they are different. In the stage production, they meet outside Shiz University after Fiyero's carriage almost runs Elphaba over, while in the movie, they meet in the woods after Fiyero's talking horse tramples her. 

This is also very similar to how Anthony Bridgerton (Bailey) met his love interest Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) in season 2 of Bridgerton. 

The entirety of ‘Dancing Through Life’ is different

“Dancing Through Life” serves as Fiyero's first musical number in both the film and the musical, but the tempo of each rendition is very different. In the musical, it’s more of a fast, upbeat song that gets everyone moving and grooving. But in the movie, it’s slower and has a lot more dialogue breaks. 

Another key change to this section of the show is when Fiyero and Glinda discuss going to the Ozdust ballroom. In the musical, Glinda suggests the idea and it’s understood that the ballroom is a place that the students of Shiz visit quite frequently. In the movie, Fiyero is the one who suggests they go there, even though it is against the rules. 

Finally, in “Dancing Through Life,” Glinda learns she has been accepted into Madam Morrible’s sorcery seminar, thanks to Elphaba’s suggestion. While that does happen in the musical, we actually see Elphaba ask her in the movie, which helps us understand how much Elphaba trusts her teacher. 

Elphaba’s father returns to Shiz 

In the film, before Elphaba leaves Oz, we see her father return to Shiz to see her off. He also has a brief conversation with Nessarose and Boq (Ethan Slater). None of these things happen in the musical. 

The lyrics to ‘One Short Day’ are completely different

“One Short Day” is a showstopping song that highlights the sort of antics Glinda and Elphaba get into during their trip to the Emerald City. While what they do in the city remains the same in both the film and the musical, the lyrics are completely different. 

Firstly, the opening to the song in the movie is altered. Another thing that was changed in the film was the entire Wizamina Show: that portion of the song is much longer and explains where the magical book The Grimmerie came from and why they think the Wizard is their savior since he is the only one who can read it. This part of the show also mentions a prophecy that told the citizens of Oz that during their darkest hour, someone with great power would come, read The Grimmerie and save them all. The people of Oz again think it’s the Wizard, but fans of the musical know that it’s actually Elphaba who can read the spellbook. 

The musical never mentions a prophecy and never explains where The Grimmerie originated. We also expect that these topics will be further explored in part two of the film. 

We discover the origin of the yellow brick road 

Both in the Wicked musical and The Wizard of Oz, the creator behind the yellow brick road remains a mystery. However, in the Wicked movie, viewers learn that the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) created the road as part of his “Oz of Tomorrow” plan. He claims it gives people a way to always find him. Then Elphaba experiments with colors before Glinda tells her to make it yellow. It is a moment that every Ozian, old and new, will love and appreciate since the road is such an iconic part of every film and play. 

Elphaba and Glinda don’t get to escape via the Wizard’s balloon 

After learning that the Wizard isn’t that wonderful after all, Glinda and Elphaba try to escape his castle. While doing so, they stumble upon the balloon that brought him to Oz in the first place and try to escape in it. Sadly, their plan fails and the balloon burns up. None of this happened in the musical. 

Elphaba struggles to fly 

After enchanting the broom she found to fly, Elphaba jumps out of the window to try and defy gravity, but instead begins flailing. She then sees a reflection of her younger self, who shows her how to do it. And while it was a very moving moment, it never actually happened in the musical. Instead, she flies without any trouble and delivers an incredible closing note. 

The citizens of Oz react to Elphaba turning wicked 

After Madam Morrible tells the citizens of Oz that Elphaba is a wicked witch, the camera pans to Fiyero, Nessarose and Boq back at Shiz. Viewers see them genuinely shocked, trying to figure out what happened. 

Then, after Elphaba leaves the Emerald City behind, we flash back to Shiz and see everyone panicking, whereas Fiyero is leaving the university. We also see Glinda being ushered inside by Madam Morrible, foreshadowing their future friendship in part two. 

None of these moments happened in the stage show, but we’re glad they were added because they gave each character more morality. 

For more 'Wicked' content, keep scrolling!

Cynthia Erivo Reveals the Song That Won Her ‘Wicked’ Role—Plus Other Facts About the New Wicked Witch

Ariana Grande’s 15-Year Acting Journey: From ‘Victorious’ to Her Dream Role in ‘Wicked’

Watch Ariana Grande Weigh in on the Moon Landing—And Fail a Lie Detector Test Doing It