I finally made it out to see Wicked: Part 1, and I had a really great time.

Of course, I’ve heard all about Wicked before (the musical and the book) but I honestly didn’t know much about it beyond the basics: it’s a prequel to The Wizard of Oz about Elphaba (Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good Witch).

Part 1 was a big build to Elphaba being dubbed the “Wicked Witch of the West” and flying away from Emerald City. It was a great climax. She looked legit awesome getting the cape and broom.

I saw some people questioning why this was so long compared to the musical considering that this is only the first half, but as I said earlier, I haven’t seen it so I can’t compare. However, I will say that I really didn’t think that the film dragged anywhere or that there was a lot of material able to be cut.

The singing was excellent.

I don’t love musicals, but I sure always have a great time watching them due to the singing. I thought Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were fantastic. They managed to combine their singing and acting in a way that easily translated off the screen.

Even the folks who can’t really sing like Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum did a serviceable job in their roles.

The film’s colors felt a little washed out.

I had read reports prior to seeing the movie that things looked a little washed out in the room, and that was true. At the beginning of the film in the “present” day (after the events of The Wizard of Oz), I was blown away by the colors. I thought the scene where Glinda comes floating down looked terrific.

Then, when the “flashback” started, something happened with the film where the colors all looked a little washed out. Things weren’t as bright as they should have been, and that was a bummer. They had the opportunity to make this a vibrant movie and missed the mark.

Otherwise, I thought the film looked great.

I thought the effects in the movie were top notch. The final scene where Elphaba gets her broom and flies away was tremendous. I wish I could’ve seen that in IMAX.

The CG for the various animal characters was also top notch. Just a great job all around.