The digital release for Wicked also means more behind-the-scenes materials becoming available, including the fascinating deleted scenes. When Wicked broke the Broadway musical box office record and stands out as one of — if not the biggest — movies of 2024, any additional content concerning it would draw in fans new and old. Wicked winning the Golden Globe Award for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement only further proved that it is a true cultural phenomenon, capturing a spectacular and little-seen movie experience.
The deleted scenes provide viewers with more insights into the relationship between Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba and Ariana Grande-Butera’s Glinda. Predictably, some examples will prompt discussions that they should have been left in the movie, while others were clearly unnecessary. Regardless of what made the final cut, Wicked has been a massive success, and fans can still glean additional details about the characters from the deleted scenes.
10
Glinda Meets Pfannee & ShenShen
Galinda Sort Of Met Pfannee & ShenShen Before Shiz
Glinda, initially Galinda, is always flanked by adoring peers, primarily her would-be best friends Pfannee (Bowen Yang) and ShenShen (Bronwyn James). According to the deleted scene where the trio properly meets upon arriving at the university, they all somewhat know each other from before, seemingly having attended a dance academy together. Based on the interaction, it is possible that Glinda doesn’t remember them at all and is only being polite.
Their burgeoning friendship, based almost entirely on traditional popularity, is underscored by the melodramatic exchange of Glinda asking how they are, “truthfully,” and Pfannee saying: “I’ve been through, I’ve been through.” This scene is funny, especially for those who appreciate Yang and James’ comedic work in this movie. However, as far as the broader story is concerned, all that really matters is that people naturally flock to Glinda — and Pfannee and ShenShen are hilarious in the scenes they do have anyway.
9
Anticipation Of Fiyero’s Arrival At Shiz
The Student Body Fawning Over Fiyero Is Drawn Out With This Scene
When Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) arrives at Shiz, everyone is immediately taken with him, including and especially Glinda. Fiyero swiftly convinces everyone to go to a moderately illegal club with him through the stellar musical number “Dancing Through Life.” Another deleted scene shows newspapers announcing Fiyero’s impending arrival being delivered to Shiz, to be blown about and passed around from one student to another in a flurry, including Boq (Ethan Slater), who can’t manage to hold on to a copy.
Eventually, a copy blows into Glinda’s face, and once she realizes what is happening, she excitedly goes to do her hair and makeup. The theatrical cut goes straight from Fiyero riding into Shiz to Glinda looking at the gazette. Ultimately, the scenes where Fiyero is actually interacting in person with the other students are a lot funnier and more dynamic, and this sequence wasn’t needed in a movie with a nearly three-hour runtime.
8
Glinda Teaches Elphaba Another Version Of “Toss Toss”
Ariana Grande Never Slows Down During The “Popular” Sequence
Ariana Grande’s performance of popular is instantly iconic, and her energy never lets up as she sings one of the most famous songs of Wicked‘s soundtrack or when she instructs Elphaba in between verses. The extended sequence of Glinda going over “bouncing” with Elphaba and another way to toss her hair is, indeed, comedic gold that piles on to the bombastic portrayal that Grande is pulling off. What’s even better about the parts of this scene that were cut out is that Elphana, at certain moments, appears to be enjoying herself.
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The extra teachings in popularity weren’t necessarily needed when the shorter “toss toss” moment as seen in the movie, alongside the song itself, does the job perfectly. Additionally, extending the break in Glinda’s singing might have slowed down the momentum of the song, something that mildly affects “Defying Gravity” later in the movie. At any rate, like with many fun deleted scenes, it might not have been a perfect fit for the movie, but people will still love it now.
7
Elphaba & Fiyero With The Lion Cub
Elphaba & Fiyero’s Scene In The Forrest Is Also Abridged In The Final Cut
Fiyero helps Elphaba recuse a lion club from the cruel teacher who replaces Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage), unknowingly kicking off the Cowardly Lion’s Wicked origin story. The deleted scene shows Elphaba and Fiyero bickering over where they should go, and how to properly hold the lion cub. It is an amusing and interesting addition because it portrays Elphaba and Fiyero as not being entirely sure what they are doing, rather than fully confident heroes.
Which, in turn, reflects more about their budding romance and the experiences they have had together, taking a risk for what they believe is right. This also appears to be the previously unseen moment where Fiyero is scratched by the cub, which leads to an intimate interaction later. The scene was ultimately shorted to the narrative necessities of the plot point, which is that the lion cub goes free and Elphaba and Fiyero are left questioning their feelings.
6
Elphaba & Glinda’s Moment Of Truth
Elphaba & Glinda Have A Heart-To-Heart After Dillamond’s Arrest
In a deleted scene loaded with emotional significance, Glinda is struggling with learning sorcery, before she and Elphaba discuss how Fiyero helped save the lion cub, and Glinda asserts that she would have done the same and Elphaba promises not to leave her behind again. This scene would have somewhat disrupted the narrative flow, especially when there is no follow-up of Glinda being angry that Elphaba left her to become the Wicked Witch of the West in the musical — which could be changed in Wicked: Part Two. However, this scene actually addresses some loose threads moviegoers may be curious about.
Glinda’s magical education isn’t brought up again in the movie after Elphaba gets her into Madame Morrible’s (Michelle Yeoh) seminar; showing her struggling but with Elphaba supporting her establishes the storyline of Glinda’s ambition continuing. The conversation also poses the question of whether Glinda really would have helped with the lion cub and the extent of her and Elphaba’s dedication to each other. However, what the scene shows is that while a crisis may overwhelm them, both truly want to do right by their friend.
5
Elphaba Bids Farewell To Her Father
The Last Time Elphaba Sees Her Father
Wicked establishes that Elphaba’s father (Andy Nyman) has detested and verbally abused her for her whole life, favoring her younger sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode). However, the musical and the theatrical movie don’t explore how Elphaba briefly being favored by some of the most powerful people in Oz affects their relationship. Yet the problem was never Elphaba’s lack of success, but that her father was simply unjustly cruel, and her sudden change in circumstances isn’t going to change that.
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Governor Thropp snidely implies that he still thinks Elphaba’s meeting with the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) could go wrong, while Madame Morrible and Glinda only affirm that it will be perfect. Elphaba herself politely thanks her father for coming. However, she now has support from people like Glinda and Fiyero and her father’s dismissal affects her less, something that shows in Cynthia Erivo’s nuanced performance. Given that the governor presumably came because of Elphaba going to the Emerald City, this scene perhaps could have remained.
4
Elphaba & Boq Talk About Romantic Strife
Elphaba & Boq’s Conversation At The Train Station Sheds Light On The Group Dynamics
Reportedly, Erivo was “gutted” about Elphaba and Boq’s scene being cut from the final version, and it is easy to see why. Nessarose and Boq’s storylines still stand as the most difficult for the Wicked movies to adapt, when the musical doesn’t offer either a significant amount of character development. However, Boq’s confession that he doesn’t want to hurt Nessa but that he can’t change his feelings for Glinda makes him more sympathetic. It also suggests he has a genuinely heartfelt relationship with Nessa and a friendly one with Elphaba.
It also seems unlikely that Elphaba wouldn’t have missed that Boq only asked Nessa out to impress Glinda and then never would have confronted him about it. Boq catching on to how Elphaba feels about Fiyero creates a mirror between them, and while it is less valuable to the movie, it is still a compelling moment. Sadly, the movie’s production crew decided that they would also have to cut this for the sake of the runtime.
3
Elphaba & Glinda On The Train
Elphaba & Glinda’s Travel Day Is Totally Unnecessary, But Incredibly Sweet
Once Glinda leaps onto the train to join Elphaba in the Emerald City, the music of “One Short Day” is drawn out to show them simply messing around. It is a great clip because it shows a very casual, normal, and comfortable friendship: they look over the tourist book, enjoy the luxuries of the train, and fall asleep on top of each other. Overall, it adds something to the characterization of this just being a fun day out with friends as well as a major career opportunity for Elphaba.
However, it is also clear to see how this scene’s inclusion would have made for a less smooth transition into “On Short Day.” The music playing is just the instrumentals that are going to play later, this time with lyrics, which would have diminished their impact and thus the wonder Elphaba and Glinda experience when they actually arrive in the city. Therefore, unfortunately, this scene also had to go.
2
Elphaba & Glinda In The Emerald City
Elphaba Is Reminded Of Her Childhood Dreams While Glinda Gets Tickets
When they arrive in the Emerald City, Elphaba notices the pop-up book she had as a child, prompting an obvious moment where she reflects on her seemingly impossible dreams. While Elphaba looks at the book, Glinda gets tickets for Wizomania. This, of course, isn’t vital exposition, as no one watching the movie would spend much time questioning how Elphaba and Glinda get to see a show that appears to be happening in an open plaza. Ironically, Glinda saying she got tickets made for a good moment to include in the advertisement for the movie’s tickets going on sale.
However, the movie can already make the thematic connection to a young Elphaba through other moments without padding the runtime. Essentially, the entirety of “The Wizard and I” is about this long-held dream, which will ultimately crumble when Elphaba realizes the truth. However, when she sees her young self while falling from the palace, she finds strength in still fighting for that girl’s ideals.
1
Extended Monkey Chase Through The Emerald City Palace
The Monkey Chase Scene Already Goes On For A While
Finally, the recently released deleted scenes show that there was also a beat cut from the final chase sequence where Elphaba and Glinda try to escape the Wizard’s palace, being pursued by guards and flying monkeys. The scene is unfinished as it was decided they wouldn’t use it before all the special effects were done, but it seems as though they were trying to capture a horror-movie effect with the monkeys reaching in through the windows to grab Elphaba or Glinda.
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The action here is already added to the basic plot of the musical, supposedly to make it more cinematic. However, Glinda’s comedic screams are just too over-the-top in this case, and Wicked really doesn’t need another moment of showing Elphaba being clever for the sake of it. This is already an abnormally long movie, making many of these deleted scenes strategic decisions that overall helped its rewatch value and pacing.
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Wicked
PG
AdventureFantasyMusical
Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Release Date
November 22, 2024
Runtime
160 Minutes
Cast
Cynthia Erivo
, Ariana Grande
, Michelle Yeoh
, Jeff Goldblum
, Jonathan Bailey
, Ethan Slater
, Marissa Bode
, Bowen Yang
, Bronwyn James
, Keala Settle
, Peter Dinklage
, Aaron Teoh
, Grecia De la Paz
, Colin Michael Carmichael
, Adam James
, Andy Nyman
, Courtney Mae-Briggs
, Sharon D. Clarke
, Jenna Boyd
Character(s)
Elphaba Thropp
, Glinda Upland
, Madame Morrible
, The Wizard
, Fiyero Tigelaar
, Boq
, Nessarose Thropp
, Pfannee
, ShenShen
, Miss Coddle
, Doctor Dillamond (voice)
, Avaric Tenmeadows
, Gilligan
, Professor Nikidik
, Glinda’s Father
, Governor Frexspar Thropp
, Melena Thropp
, The Midwife
Director
Jon M. Chu
Writers
Gregory Maguire
, Winnie Holzman
, Dana Fox
, L. Frank Baum
Studio(s)
Marc Platt Productions
Distributor(s)
Universal Pictures
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