“Wicked: Part 1,” the film adaptation based on the Broadway play by Stephen Schwartz with Winnie Holtzman and the source novel by Gregory Maguire, had to have three things going for it to be a success. The production team needed to have the brains to respect the source material, the courage to put original spin on the project and the heart to win over an audience. Director John M. Chu (“In the Heights”) and screenwriters Dana Fox and Holzman accomplish all three in such a marvelous manner the film looks to be headed down the yellow brick road of golden awards. Both the book and stage production of “Wicked” look at life in Oz before Dorothy and Toto dropped in on the Munchkins. Glinda – played with brilliant joy and fun by Ariana Grande – and the green-skinned Elphaba – played by stage dynamo Cynthia Erivo – end up being on the opposites of good and evil but they start out as friends attending Shiz University. Glinda – pompously pronounced Guh-Linda at the start – is the most popular student. With a flip of her hair – and she does LOTS of hair flipping – the other students bow to her wishes. Then Elphaba arrives and after a period of loathing each other, they become BFFs. Chu hits all the points of the book and musical. The fact he expanded the story to require two movies with the first one clocking in at 160 minutes could have meant a production bloated on its own special effects. The result is just the opposite. The cinematography and special effects are dazzling. It is as if the world of Harry Potter ended up taking over Disneyland and the whole mixture was doused in glitter. The visual elements are so detailed and massive a single viewing of the film will not be enough. Where the film could have gotten heavily boring was with the story. The writers take some liberties with a few scenes such as a musical history of the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) that was in the original stage show but has been expanded in the movie. The bonus is that expansion delivers a surprise that will delight fans of the original stage show. Such concern in taking the book and stage productions to the almost infinite boundaries that film can provide actually makes the movie feel far shorter than the running time. It helps that the most memorable of the tunes from the original Broadway show are in the first act that is played out in this first part. It has taken time to get “Wicked” to the big screen. There is reason to be mad about that because this production shows that a superb book and a great stage show can rise to a higher level with a film adaptation. There is also reason to be happy because it was the right time to be able to cast Erivo and Grande. Both not only bring stunning voices to the film but manage to make their performance just different enough to avoid direct comparisons to the work done by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel in the original show. Grande almost assures herself an Oscar nomination with her performance as Glinda. She is a constant source of fun humor and brings more energy to the film than a 10-year-old who has just consumed a case of Red Bull. Her performance of “Popular” takes on Cirque du Soleil qualities. Unlike past Glindas, Grande’s take on the Good Witch is one who feels privileged and pampered but shows a little more vulnerability at certain moments. It is a nice extra texture. On the other hand, Erivo’s Elphaba shows a little more strength than past versions. That extra level of strength also makes the character more textured and real. Michelle Yeoh’s work as Madame Morrible and Jeff Goldblum’s as the Wizard are solid enough not to get in the way. It would have been nice to see Yeoh bring a more sinister tone to the character and Goldblum be a little more scatterbrained. Those are only small glitches. The track record of a stage production becoming a film is not great. “Wicked: Part 1” is that welcomed exception where the movie rises above the printed word and the stage show. Chu will have his work cut out for him when he releases part two in November of 2025 because the first part is getting so much love. He will have to find a way to add depth and more emotion to the film despite the second act of the Broadway musical generally considered by critics as being weaker than the first act. How strong it is compared to the first half will be unveiled in 2025. Until then, follow whatever paved or bricked road you need to use to get to a theater and see “Wicked: Part 1.” Movie review Wicked Grade: A Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Arina Grande, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Director: Jon M. Chu Rated: PG for scary action, brief suggestive material Running time: 160 minutes.