I rewatched The Wizard of Oz after watching Wicked and my feelings about the characters completely changed

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SPOILERS for Evil: Part 1 are ahead! Also, I won’t go into detail about what happens in the second act of the musical – so you’re safe from such events here. If you haven’t seen the film yet, you can see it in theaters now.

I grew up watching The Wizard of Oz; I played it repeatedly as a small child. However, I didn’t revisit it until after I saw it Evil in cinemas shortly before its premiere on Cinema program 2024. Although I first saw the musical on Broadway a few years ago, I barely remembered the plot and could only sing along to the hits. So I approached the film adaptation with an unfocused view of the impact of the original film.

However, after I left Evil and gave it a five-star ratingI immediately watched it again The Wizard of Oz. And I have to say, my feelings towards the characters in the OG movie have completely changed.

When Glinda came to Munchkinland, my emotions were very mixed up

To be honest, I didn’t think much about growing up with The Good Witch The Wizard of Oz. She was just a beautiful girl who appeared in her bubble at the beginning and end of Dorothy’s journey, and I never really associated her with the Wicked Witch.

Well, that has now completely changed.

When Evil As No One Mourns The Wicked began with Glinda climbing into her bubble to talk to the Munchkins about the witch’s death, I couldn’t help but watch as she seemed to be hiding. what she thought of all this. Then, at the end of the film, it was clear that Glinda and Elphaba were best friends who broke up in a heartbreaking moment, and I couldn’t help but feel the weight of that fact as I watched the 1939 film.

Overall, Glinda went from being a wholesome, sweet and vivacious witch who perfectly contrasted the evil witch, to a complex character who made the decision not to go with her friend, which changed the course of both their lives forever. Knowing that she didn’t go with Elphaba and stayed with the Wizard and Madame Morrible, I’m dying to know what was going through her mind during her interactions with the Munchkins in both The Wizard of Oz And Evil, for her past with Elphaba certainly gives them a new and tragic weight.

I was never a fan of the wizard… Now I can’t even empathize with him

If you think about it, the wizard has never been this good. I mean, he hid his identity and lied to the entire population about his power. However, as I watched The Wizard of Oz As a child I never saw him look so bad.

However, Evil that has totally changed. Not only is he hiding his identity and lack of power from his constituents, but he is also a big part of an evil plan. It was despicable to see him and Madame Morrible gloating about the monkeys growing wings and talking about turning them into spies. Plus, it’s despicable that he would want to use Elphaba’s power for his own gain!

When I first watched The Wizard of OzI guess I always saw this leader as a fish out of water trying to succeed. Obviously there’s a lot more to it than in the original film, but watching the new musical helped reinforce the leader’s true motivations and selfishness.

I have a lot more sympathy for the Wicked Witch of the West

Now, I’m not nearly the first or last person to make this claim, because that’s the point Evil: I feel so much compassion for The Wicked Witch of the West.. The show aims to tell you the origin story of Elphaba and show you how she became the evil witch, and her tragic beginnings provide plenty of context for her later actions.

However, I always understood and supported it when I saw it Evil on Broadway and in the movies, watching The Wizard of Oz really hit differently. I hadn’t seen the original film since I was a child, so I didn’t have the opportunity to watch it with this new understanding of the evil witch.

Knowing how much she cares about the people around her – and especially those who are mistreated or different – and how deeply she felt about the abuse she has endured throughout her life, I could As you watch, you can’t help but feel sad about the witch The Wizard of Oz.

Also, every move she made in the original film made me think that maybe it was a performance. Maybe she’s just pretending and playing a role. Maybe she’s drowning in these evil expectations. I found myself thinking about all this while watching the Wicked Witch of the West torment Dorothy and co. because we met the Elphaba in the first part of Evil wouldn’t do that.

Plus, between “Wicked” and “The Wizard of Oz,” I can’t stop thinking about the monkeys

While I’m on the subject of The Wicked Witch of the West, it behaves in ways I couldn’t imagine after watching it EvilLet’s take a moment to talk about the monkeys, because they make this point clear. Elphaba insists on helping the animals in the musical – she saves the lion with Fiyero, she is the only one who Dr. Dillamond wants to help, and she is mortified when she accidentally gives the monkeys wings.

So it was a little unsettling to see the evil witch with the monkeys in the original film. This time, however, I saw it more as if they were serving her, because she is the only one who doesn’t treat them like servants or slaves (in Evil That means). Without knowing anything about Elphaba, the evil witch’s monkeys act like minions.

However, after watching it EvilI couldn’t help but think that the monkeys might have followed her for a reason, because the wizard treated them really, really terribly.

Honestly, this new musical film really changed my view of them from the main characters to the various supporting characters in the original film.

Now I can’t wait to see how this works Release of Evil: Part 2 influences my feelings towards the original film even more! However, while we wait for the release on Cinema program 2025You can stream The Wizard of Oz with a Maximum subscription and catch Evil: Part 1 now in the cinema.