People love the new Wicked movie (which has had the biggest opening weekend of any Broadway adaptation) for multiple reasons.
Some are holding space for the lyrics of Defying Gravity. Some love the film’s beautiful costumes.
But fans of the Broadway show and its 1939 Wizard of Oz origins have also been enjoying the movie’s Taylor Swift-level Easter eggs and references.
The movie’s director Jon M Chu told Radio Times: “We have a lot, a lot of breadcrumbs in the tradition of Wicked the show.”
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“Of course, Wizard of Oz has such a place in our hearts of how we see story, how we see the world,” he added.
You’ll also (obviously) see lots of parallels to the Wicked musical, which was itself inspired by a book that drew on The Wizard Of Oz.
So, we thought we’d find as many Easter eggs and references as we could (oh, and obviously, huge spoiler alert for the movie).
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1) Chickens playing the piano
“Before [L Frank Baum] wrote Wizard of Oz, he bred show chickens, these sort of fancy chickens. So we used fancy chickens playing the piano, this kind of weird Ozian piano in the Ozdesk Ballroom,” Chu said.
“So we wanted to reference as much as that, and even the [WW] Denslow drawings in the original book. We wanted to use animals from those books, and the design sort of look from those drawings. And so we infuse some of that throughout.”
2) The Universal logo throwback
Universal Pictures
The movie’s Universal logo has been replaced by an older version in the film. This echoes what The Wizard Of Oz’s Universal credits would have looked like.
2) The tulips are planted in a rainbow
A scene showing Munchkinland from above reveals multicoloured tulips planted in a rainbow pattern; a reference to The Wizard Of Oz’s Somewhere Over The Rainbow.
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3) Elphaba’s name
The author of the The Wizard Of Oz book is called L. Frank Baum, or L. F. Baum, which sounds like “Elphaba” when said out loud.
4) The film’s title card font is a throwback
At the end of the film, a title card appeared which uses the same curly font as The Wizard Of Oz’s original movie.
5) Children ring out “ding, dong, the witch is dead”
The iconic Wizard Of Oz tune reappears in this adaptation when children run through Munchkinland ringing bells and clanging pans over the Wicked Witch’s death.
6) Hot air balloons
The Wizard escaped from a hot air balloon in The Wicked musical, and Dorothy tried to use one to get home in the 1939 film too. Apt, then, that Glinda and Elphaba try to escape using one.
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7) The tornado shoes
“I love the sort of red slippers that [Glinda] clicks three times in Popular. I love the crystal slippers that we have in the movie. The design of it is like a tornado, as, if you know the story, that comes into play later,” director Chu says. It refers to the tornado that The Wizard Of Oz begins with.
8) More rainbows
During The Wizard And I, both rainbows and bluebirds appear, referencing the iconic Somewhere Over The Rainbow (again).
9) No detail sparred
Both Elphaba and Glinda spar with sticks in the movie, a possible reference to The Wizard Of Oz’s broom and wand battle.
10) Cameo…
Michael Rose, who played Fiyero in the Broadway show, is the lead male vocals on One Short Day.
11) After cameo…
Idina Menzel, who starred in the original Broadway version of the Wicked musical, makes an appearance.
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12) After cameo…
So does Kristen Chenoweth, also from the original Broadway version of Wicked.
13) After very-on-the-nose cameo.
Before No One Mourns the Wicked, the audience sees the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and Toto on The Yellow Brick Road.
14) Nessarose’s stripy socks
Elphaba’s sister wears striped socks, reminiscent of the well-known Wizard of Oz still showing The Wicked Witch Of The East’s stripy sock-wearing legs peeking out from under the house that crushed her.
15) Madam Morrible’s hair and costume
Her hair is shaped like storm cloud, a reference to her ability to control the weather.
16) We see a baby Cowardly Lion
The show includes a lion cub trembling in a cage ― reminiscent of the Cowardly Lion.
17) What the gulch?
Miss Cottle calls out “Not to worry, just a slight gulch” in the movie. The Wizard Of Oz’s original Wicked Witch was played by Almira Gulch.
18) You’ve got to hand it to them
Universal / Everett Collection
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Fans of The Wizard Of Oz will likely have noticed how the shadow of Elphaba’s hand mirrors that of The Wicked Witch Of The West’s in The Wizard Of Oz.
19) Did we mention there were cameos?
Stephen Schwartz, the person who wrote the lyrics to the Wicked musical, is briefly visible as a guard through a peephole.
20) There’s a Bridgerton crossover
Jonathan Bailey, who plays Fiyero in the film, rides on a horse that’s the same as the one he used in Bridgerton.
21) Do you want them to spell it out for you?
The library’s spinning circular shelves and ladders both spell out the letters “O” and “Z” (OZ) at different points in the movie.
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22) There’s (sort of) a flying house
The Wizard picks up a wooden house and throws it in the air in the movie, reminiscent of Dorothy’s home’s flight in the 1939 film.
23) There are literal ruby slippers
If you wanted a clear-cut reference to The Wizard Of Oz, these Dorothy-worthy shoes should do it. And if they didn’t, maybe the fact that they’re clicked three times will satisfy you.
24) Everything’s re-cycled
There’s a cycling scene in Wicked with the lion cub in tow. It’s hard not to think of the moment in The Wizard Of Oz, where we see Toto in Dorothy’s bike’s basket.
25) “We mustn’t let you get wet”
Madam Morrible advises Elphaba “we musn’t let you get wet.” This is how The Wicked Witch Of The West dies in the 1939 film.
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26) The subtlest Wizard doxxing
The Wizard in The Wizard Of Oz’s real name is Oscar Diggs. We see this name plastered on surfaces throughout the film.
27) Oma-ha!
Oscar Diggs is from Omaha originally, which is referenced multiple times in the film. The wizard’s invite is from Omaha: an “O-ma-ha” chant rises in the movie.
28) Wouldn’t it be wild if there was another cameo?
Well, there is. Winnie Holzman, who wrote the book of the Wicked musical, also appears in the film.
29) Elphaba’s Defying Gravity pose doesn’t defy tradition
This mimics an iconic moment in Wicked’s musical.
30) Glinda’s Can’t I Make You Understand comes from an old songbook
The tune is
Follow The Yellow Brick Road.
31) There was a not-quite Jeff Goldblum Easter egg
The actor, who played The Wizard in the film, shared on
that he’d wanted to sneak a piece of string that he uses for magic tricks. It mostly got cut out, but he claims Elphaba holds it at some point in the movie.
32) Pay attention to the man behind the curtain
The line “don’t pay attention to the man behind the curtain,” from the 1939 movie, is cleverly referenced when the Wizard hides behind a hanging sheet.
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33) There’s a brick road, and… guess what colour they choose to make it
The Wizard has to pick what colour to make his new brick road in the film, and well… there was no real option aside from yellow.
34) To be continued…
The 1939 Wizard Of Oz bursts into Technicolour in the second act, a huge technological feat the time.
The musical also breaks after Defying Gravity, which is when the 2024 movie ends.
At that point, a “to be continued…” title comes up in the same font as the 1939 movie and in bright colours.
35) Oh, did someone say cameos?
Actor Alice Fearn, who played Elphaba in the Broadway Wicked musical throughout the 2010s, plays Glinda’s mother.
36) Poppies
The flowers which featured heavily in the 1939 Wizard Of Oz film also appear in the Wicked movie.
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Did you spot any more references and Easter eggs? Let us know!
