Wicked: Part 1
This movie was so fun to watch because the filmmakers understood the medium they were working with. They looked at the Broadway show and figured out the magic that required a suspension of disbelief on the stage, and turned it into movie magic on the big screen. And it was beautiful and thrilling to see it done right. The movie was a nearly perfect adaptation of the first act of the stage show.
And the story is a fantasy that took place in OZ, a world full of magic and color, glitz and glamor. A trend that I really like is one in which not everything is CGI. What we see on the screen is a wonderful blend of practical, in-camera effects, and CG effects, used to enhance them. For example, something I wouldn’t normally think of is the green color of Elphaba’s skin. Yes, she was wearing green makeup, but the color was enhanced by computers, filling in places where makeup might be difficult, like where makeup might get onto a costume or inside the mouth.
Of course, there were all the talking animals like Dr. Dillamond and Dulcibear, among others. CG artists have gotten pretty good at anthropomorphic animals, and these were pretty good, though from a design standpoint, when I see a goat drinking out of a teacup, I have to wonder how it is gripping the cup. Well, the cup had a hoof-shaped fixture instead of a handle for the hoof to go into. Never-mind the fact that a goat’s body is not structured for it to lift it to his mouth, nor is its mouth equipped to drink out of a cup without making a mess. But I digress.
But that technology is getting pretty impressive. For Dr. Dillamond, a puppet was used on set for the other actors to interact with. Then they filmed Peter Dinklage, who voiced the character, and used his facial expressions to animate the fully CGI goat. In that way, Dinklage was not just a voice actor, but an actual physical actor.
I was also pretty impressed by the flying monkeys. First, they were blue, and we got to see the magical process where they grew their wings. The flying feathers and painful contortions of the creatures was actually a little scary on the screen, but so well-done. And speaking of flying, when Elphaba finally takes to the skies, the film did it in a way that cannot be done on a stage, they gave her speed and agility on her broom, though they still went out of their way to give us many of the signature shots and images that made the stage show so exciting. I especially liked the Wizards giant steampunk metal head effect. Again – Practical but enhanced with CGI. Just like the Emerald City Express
Though, I have to mention two things that enhanced the fantasy of the movie, but were ultimately silly and unnecessary. We could have done without the hummingbirds playing bells at Shiz, and the stupid-looking band at the Oz Dust Ballroom. I’m sorry, but quick as the shots were, they just looked baaaaad.