As someone who haven't seen the Broadway musical this movie is based on, I didn't know what to expect from it. I only saw it after seeing the positive reception from both critics AND the audiences, something it's rarely seen. With that said, I was really surprised how well-made this movie is. Is it flawless? No, but I have a very good time.

The story is basically a prequel to The Wizard of Oz told from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West, better know here as Elphaba Thropp. It is fascinating seeing the characters we thought we already know shown on a different light, as well the call-backs from the original story. Even the message about prejudice, while in many stories are heavy-handed, here I thought it was well-executed. Showing us that racism doesn't just come from hatred, but also from manipulation from others' benefits.

With that said, my biggest criticism to the story is that it's 2 hours and 40 minutes long and while it didn't bother me, I felt there were scenes that could've been cut or trimmed-out for much better pacing. And considering this is 'Part 1', this is an incomplete story, so maybe I'll re-watch the movie in the future when Part 2 comes out.

The characters also make the movie. Since this is a prequel, we get to see these iconic characters before they become the characters we all know and love. The friendship between Glynda and Elphaba are the heart of the movie; how they started as enemies, until the former decides to show empathy towards the latter. While I was surprised for Ariana Grande's performance; the one that deserves an ovation was Cynthia Erivo. She gave her character a lot of honest heart and passion that makes you root for her from beginning to end.

The rest of the cast are also pretty great. Each one having a moment to shine and makes this world of Oz more wonderful. And the performances are also solid, particularly from Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible and Jeff Goldblum as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz himself.

The production values are another positive thing about the movie. Particularly the sets and the costumes that are spectacular. I think those alone makes the movie worth seeing. Sure, some of the CG is a bit shoddy that clashes the stuff that was filmed in front of the camera, but at least they were still appealing. And since this is a musical, there is a lot of dance numbers and choreography that was also well put together.

And finally, this wouldn't be a musical without the songs. Considering the songs from the Broadway show were written by Stephen Schwartz, who also wrote the songs from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Prince of Egypt (my favorite movie of all-time), I expected great songs and fortunately, these did not disappoint. Not only many of them were intense and emotional, but they make this already big story even bigger. I think my favorites are any of the songs sung by Elphaba, I cannot praise her singing enough.

Overall, even though this is Part 1, it became one of my favorite movies I've seen in 2024. The story was solid, the characters are unforgettable, the production values are spectacular and the songs are beautiful. If you love the Wizard of Oz or at the very least the Broadway musical, you're gonna adore this film.