Wicked
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Wicked.One of the biggest strengths ofWickedis that it manages to follow the story of the musical quite well, although a change makes one character more important.
While its story largely sticks to the canon, there are plenty of changes that were necessary simply due to the change in medium from Broadway musical to film, and many of them enhance the story being told even more.
One ofWicked’s characters, who was still great in the musical, is even better thanks to a major change to the film’s story.
Wickedtells the story of Elphaba Thropp, a character who eventually becomes theWicked Witch of the West, who first appeared inThe Wizard of Oz.
The film is based off the 2003 Broadway musical, which itself is based off a book from 1996 by Gregory Maguire.Wickedhas received rave reviewssince its release, with most of the praise directed at the performances,with even the smaller, supporting cast members making the film better.Madame Morrible is one of these side characters, and the changes made to her character from the musical made her much more interesting.
Wicked’s Madame Morrible Explained
The Character Is Very Important To The Film
Madame Morrible is played by Michelle Yeoh inWicked, and she is one of the most interesting characters in the film.
Image via Universal Pictures
She is the Dean of Sorcery Studies at Shiz university, and is the one who invites Elphaba to the school to train in her magic.
However,Madam Morrible’s main purpose in the film is to act as a twist villain when the Wizard’s treachery is revealedand become one of the main forces acting against Elphaba when she becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.
The Wicked Witch of the East is a major character in Wicked, and the musical’s reveals make this Wizard of Oz death even more upsetting.
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.
Morrible is a great character, and one of the biggest reasons for that is how she turns the classic mentor character archetype on its head.
She is initially presented as the exact person that Elphaba needs in her life, someone who is willing to look past Elphaba’s exterior and see what is really inside, which is true to an extent.
However, whenWicked’s twist is revealed, Morriblebecomes the exact opposite, telling the world how wicked Elphaba is, explicitly saying that her green skin is an indicator of her evil nature.
How Madame Morrible Is Different In The Original Wicked
The Character Is Very Different Between The Two Versions
While Morrible is given the role of a twist villain in the movie, the original Broadway musical presented her as a more obvious villain from the get-go.
She is portrayed as a little hard-edged in the film, but someone who ultimately cares about cultivating Elphaba’s talents, at least before the third act andWicked’s twist ending.In the Broadway version, Madam Morrible is more sinister throughout, acting threateningly to Dr. Dillamond and clearly only wishing for Elphaba’s power, even from her initial interactions with the main characters.
The musical version of Morrible worked very well for that medium, but the film made the perfect changes to ensure Morrible worked as well for this adaptation.
The central reason for this change is the fact that the film has a lot more time to delve deeper into the character with a much longer runtime.
TheoriginalWickedBroadway musicalhad to move quite quickly to fit the entire story into two and a half hours, and sothere would have been very little time to develop Morrible as a characterbefore she turns into a villain.
The musical version of Morrible worked very well for that medium, but the film made the perfect changes to ensure Morrible worked as well for this adaptation.
The New Madame Morrible Is A Great Addition To Wicked
The Character Brings Another Layer To The Story
Madame Morrible being a twist villain is a great continuation of the film’s themes around appearances being misleading.
Obviously, the main messaging is centered aroundElphaba, as her green skinis seen as a sign of her wickedness, even though she is fundamentally a good and caring person.
From the outside,Morrible seems like a solid mentor for Elphaba, but eventually, it is revealed that her outside appearance is also a false representation of what kind of person she is, as she only cares about keeping herself and the Wizard in their positions of power.
WickedCharacter
Actor
Elphaba Thropp
Cynthia Erivo
Galinda Upland
Ariana Grande
Madame Morrible
Michelle Yeoh
Nessarose Thropp
Marissa Bode
Prince Fiyero
Jonathan Bailey
Doctor Dillamond
Peter Dinklage
The Wizard
Jeff Goldblum
Boq Woodsman
Ethan Slater
Wicked’s big twist is integral to the film as a whole, and Morrible’s role in the twist makes it more engaging, as she is a character the audience is familiar with, as opposed to the Wizard, who was only introduced at the end.
Madame Morrible’s expanded role also helps the film by giving the excellent Michelle Yeoh a bigger role to sink her teeth into.
Her performance is integral to selling the character before her villainous turn, and the final reveal of her true nature makesWicked’s finale all the more enjoyable.
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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.
