Although Wicked doesn’t devote too much screen time to explaining the plight of Animals in Oz, the movie adaptation of the musical does hint at a dark history for the oppressed class in the kingdom. Wicked is a re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz that tells the classic story from the perspective of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Wicked is based on the Broadway play of the same name, which in turn is based on author Gregory Maguire’s darker 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Although Maguire’s novel and the Wicked movie differ significantly, the story of the three texts remains fairly consistent. Cynthia Eric’s Elphaba is born with green skin and ostracized as a result, until she attends Shiz University and meets Ariana Grande’s Glinda. Despite their initial shared loathing, Glinda and Elphaba eventually become best friends and travel to Oz. There, they meet The Wizard of Oz and attempt to advocate for the rights of Animals in Oz. Wicked’s ending reveals the Wizard is a charlatan who hoped to utilize Elphaba’s magic for his own ends.
Elphaba Accidentally Destroys Stonework Of The Wizard At Shiz, Revealing A Mural Of Ozian Animals
Shiz’s Disregard Of Animal Professors Is Evident Early On
In Wicked’s ending, Elphaba learns that the Animals of Oz have been systematically discriminated against by the Wizard to give the kingdom’s population a common enemy and a convenient scapegoat. Wicked’s Animals are disappearing and forgetting how to speak, losing their humanity in an allegory for the ways that fascist governments alienate, isolate, and scapegoat minorities. This is hinted at throughout the movie, most notably in the subplot starring Peter Dinklage’s Doctor Dillamond. One of the last remaining Animal lecturers, Doctor Dillamond informs his class that much of Shiz University’s staff used to be Animals.
Wicked Opening Weekend Box Office
$114 million (domestic)
$50 million (international)
$164 million (worldwide total)
Dillamond doesn’t get to break down the specifics of how The Wizard of Oz and his government are discriminating against animals, but the song “Something Bad” sees him talk with other concerned Animals about what is happening in Oz. The Animals discuss protestors who have been silenced or mysteriously disappeared, and one of Dillamond’s colleagues decides to leave the Kingdom before they are targeted. However, Wicked hints at the erasure of Animals from Oz’s history much earlier. When Elphaba accidentally destroys the stonework at Shiz during enrollment, she reveals a mural of three Animal academics at the University.
Animals Likely Played A Major Role In Shiz’s Founding
Shiz Seemed To Have Once Been Staffed By Animals
Notably, a chintzy grey stone sculpture of The Wizard of Oz covers up the stonework deception of Animal lecturers until Elphaba accidentally breaks the outer layer and reveals the art underneath. While Elphaba’s Wicked powers offer her glimpses into a future where even Animals like Doctor Dillamond are kept in cages, this moment of foreshadowing allows canny viewers to peer into the movie’s future twists. The stonework mural that Elphaba uncovers proves that Animal academics most likely played a formative role in the founding of Shiz University.
Wicked 2: 8 Best Plot Theories for the Sequel
Remove Ads
Dillamond hints at the possibility when he notes that a far larger number of Animals studied and taught at Shiz in earlier years, but he doesn’t directly attribute the University’s founding to Animals. This might be because this goes against the Wizard’s self-aggrandizing account of history, wherein he alone was responsible for Oz’s societal evolution. Since The Wizard of Oz has powerful allies in Shz, including Wicked’s secondary villain Madame Morrible, Dillamond might understandably be worried about broadcasting his knowledge of the role that Animals played in Shiz’s history.
The Erasure Of Animal History & What This Means For Wicked Part Two
Wicked Part Two May Explain Oz’s Animal Oppression Further
Thematically, the erasure of Animal history is pivotal to both Dillamond’s character and Elphaba’s story in Wicked. Wicked Part Two’s plot will likely see Elphaba continue to champion the Animal cause in exile while she is treated as a terrorist in Oz, and her visions of Dillamond trapped in a cage and unable to speak are likely to come true in the sequel. Moreover, the Animal cause provides a perfect parallel for Elphaba, Fiyero, and Glinda’s divergent worldviews in Wicked Part Two. Elphaba has been uniquely familiar with discrimination since birth, leading her to align with the Animals.
Glinda aligns herself with the Wizard and Madame Morrible instead of Elphaba and Fiyero in Wicked ’s ending.
Fiyero begins the story of Wicked blissfully ignorant, proverbially dancing through life, but embraces the Animal cause as soon as he learns of their plight. While Wicked Part Two‘s story may redeem her, Glinda aligns herself with the Wizard and Madame Morrible instead of Elphaba and Fiyero in Wicked’s ending. Thus, the Animal cause can reunite Glinda, Elphaba, and Fiyero in Wicked Part Two, and the franchise can bring Wicked’s story of discrimination and oppression to an end in this sequel.
Wicked Part 2 is set to be released on November 21, 2025.
