all the WICKED easter eggs and secrets | nods to The Wizard of Oz, the stage musical and the sequel

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

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[@sweeney60]

Did you notice that the conductor of the train is the conductor of the orchestra for Broadway’s wicked? It’s so clever.

[@ashleypemberton9892]

When we first meet Boq, he’s standing just as the Tinman does, feet together, leaning over, with the club over his shoulder almost like an axe! When Elphaba gets on the train for Oz, No One Mourns the Wicked is in the background! Truly the start of her demise.

[@LadyDragonbane]

I noticed the music but not Boq's pose

[@gemmahirst9595]

Fiyero is simmialr to this.

[@frederalbacon]

@@gemmahirst9595 Well that's from the musical. They reference A LOT about Fiyero's eventual role as the Scarecrow

[@lilliana493]

I saw this too! And when he stands upright again he puts the club under his foot which i thought was a nod to when the tin man stands with his foot on his axe

[@jessicacolgrave4082]

Glinda also clicked the red shoes’ heels together three times before throwing them to Elphie!! They were able to sneak that little nod in teehee

[@NolaFlower]

I came here to say just that!!

[@paulwhittemore4309]

@@NolaFlower Same! 😀

[@johannastromberg1224]

Yes! I saw that 😊

[@billwenham]

I love how Fiyero gets the attention of many of the males in the movie, and seemingly enjoys it, which pairs nicely with the Scarecrow stating, "Of course some people do go both ways."

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

EXCELLENT

[@darrenbertram7289]

That was a bit of a risqué line for 1939 😆

[@HelenRosemarySmith]

That's so good!

[@LenonGroove]

Especially when the time of WW2​@@darrenbertram7289

[@harveyedgerton3408]

“Get stuffed.” Absolutely brilliant line. Works as humour while also being a great bit of foreshadowing.

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

And I didn't clock it until my second viewing!

[@ten-ze1pq]

And so so dark considering it will be her own doing!

[@harveyedgerton3408]

@ Yep. Elphaba quite literally had Fiyero stuffed to save his life.😂

[@lucygrays.ballad]

i still haven't seen anyone mention this. When Glinda is getting ready for the Ozdust ball, Pfannee says "Fiyero's gonna lose what's left of his mind" I audibly gasped. (this is right before they discover the hat)

[@HelenRosemarySmith]

I heard that line - it made me laugh in the cinema!

[@ambergreymorning1637]

I caught this one in the theatre!

[@uclacraig]

I felt that when the Grimery was opened it was the shape of an hourglass, like the one the Wicked Witch uses with Dorothy

[@HelenRosemarySmith]

oo I see that!

[@derekjamesjack92]

When Boq is singing his verse in dancing through life the lyrics go “because, because, because”. I always assumed it was a direct reference to the song were off to see the wizard “because, because, because, because, because, because of the wonderful things he does”.

[@HelenRosemarySmith]

Ahh I love it!

[@derekjamesjack92]

@ same! I love all the fun references to TWOO in the score and lyrics.

[@JumpinJaxs470748]

Keala Settle’s character on first sight of Elphaba she says something about having a little “gulch”- made me smile as a nod to Miss Gulch from The Wizard of Oz.

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

Just a little gulch! This is also a line in the stage musical, well spotted!

[@ellemw5]

7:12 she also "clicks" the heels of the shoes three times before tossing them - a little nod to that scene in the wizard of oz - so subtle as well!

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

My fave of all the Easter eggs!

[@TheMissBunnyBoo]

It's a tiny thing but something I realised afterwards. I went with a friend who has 0 knowledge of Wicked and she made a comment about how Elphaba's cloak gets longer after she takes off in Defying Gravity. It felt like a nod to the iconic visual we get on stage with Elphaba in the air with the cloak rippling around her and how she's lit.

[@7BearSarah]

I saw the movie last night and I’m in love with it. I noticed in the scene with Madam Morrible teaching Elphaba the levitation spell. Her hand forms a claw shape in a shadow on an open book. I believe this is a direct reference to a really famous photo of Margaret Hamilton (the original wicked witch). Also the page that the book is open to is talking about a wind cyclone. I just think it’s a fun homage.

[@PinkPoodleCrafts]

yesssss, i picked up that silhouette of her hand as well! Good one!

[@contented-winter]

One of my favorite things was during Wizard and I when she sings could I degreenify you she's under a red light from a piece of glass which actually nullifies the green makeup. This an old Hollywood makeup trick. Also Glinda taps the red shoes together 3 times before she gives them to Elphaba

[@lecturaslunares926]

i noticed this too!! It was a clever trick and i was nerding about the color theory to my brother

[@kelly_marie1223]

Love the video! I noticed in the “Loathing” choreography there’s a snippet where they are in some kind of gym class and practicing fighting with sticks/bo staffs that are reminiscent of the Act II choreography in the show when Glinda and Elphaba fight with the wand and broom after Dorothy leaves.

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

Yes, you're so right!

[@thegaythespian]

OMG XD

[@wwozanewmusical]

Ethan slater has stated in an interview, that the lean that he does when he drops Glinda's bags, is a nod to the tin mans lean and wobble from side to side from the film. He said he hopes people will notice it.

[@allisonlandesco]

I loved how Fiyero mentioned at the train station that he's thinking a lot with lots of thoughts. Kind of fitting since he'll be the Scarecrow who doesn't have a brain in the Wizard of Oz. Loved your Easter eggs!

[@ReeniEspino]

Glinda being bothered by Fiyero thinking...

[@1993Judgey]

In the scene pre Dancing Through Life, Boq is holding a book titled ‘How to Fell a Tree’ - very Tinman apt!

[@HelenRosemarySmith]

Oh and he introduces himself and his name is something like "Boq Woodsman" !

[@MaddieFLevine]

When the munchkin children are running through the tulips at the very beginning, they yell “come out, come out” like Glinda says in the Wizard of Oz movie “come out, come out wherever you are”!

[@jer9grant]

i'm taking this as a stage easter egg: Galinda's Momsie is played by a West End Elphaba, Alice Fearn

[@elinewllms]

+

[@b3z3jm3nny]

9:50 I just assumed party-boy Fiyero had built up a tolerance to opium 😭

[@seanmcgcostumes]

17:32 “It’s very ‘Jane Eyre,’ someone pointed out on a previous video.” That was me! 😃 Another favorite Easter egg: Like Miss Gulch, Dr. Dillamond wears a pair of pince-nez spectacles, albeit oversized to fit his goat face. Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch in the 1939 movie also had a pair of pince-nez spectacles hanging from her bodice, but they were removed shortly after filming started because, like Dr. Dillamond’s, they were comically oversized. However, you can still see a flash of them when she’s hiding behind a tree in the apple orchard scene! And you can partially see them in a few of the bts shots of her, including the iconic shadow photographs. In the Wicked movie, Dr. Dillamond’s pince-nez are knocked from his face when he’s dragged away, and Elphaba picks them up and pockets them! I wonder if they’ll appear on her Part 2 witch costume, as a reminder of why she’s chosen the path she’s going down? 🧐 Also, as a Oz book lore nerd: The Wizard’s full name is Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs. Yes, it spells OZ PINHEAD. 🤣

[@HelenRosemarySmith]

Love the costume analysis! So in the books was Oz renamed after the wizard arrived to be named after him?

[@Marskilius]

There where also few book references: -Ozdust Ballroom having Animals and having a scandalous reputation is a subtle reference to the Philosophy Club. -The Grimmerie being very animated. In the book it is discribed how the writing moves whenever Elphaba tries to read it. -There is a moment during "Defying Gravity" when Elphi stands infront of a round window with her iconin cape and hat. It look very much like the OG book cover.

[@JoshDSmith-wn1bg]

The narrator who introduces Kristin & Idina in “One Short Day” is a past Broadway Fiyero!

[@jer9grant]

I knew he was a stage actor! Thanks for letting me know which role he played

[@chasedupthesky]

6:57 I think the rainbow is also strategically placed in the desert to better explain how dorothy gets to Oz. In the film of course she says that she believes the tornado took her over the rainbow to Oz, but in the book the tornado carries her & the house across the impassable desert that separates Oz from the human world (and the shoes also physically fly and carry her over the desert at the end). I thought this was a lovely way to marry both canon ideas together.

[@IndiaMyers]

Yes! And at Dillamon’s house, Elphaba notices a map that shows the desert and it catches her eye. I think we’ll learn more about it in the next movie.

[@mizzmodel927]

I noticed (and loved) when Fiyero first stepped into Shiz, the way the drug his steps out slowly, never quite lifting his feet, felt like a nod to him eventually turning into the scarecrow!

[@PinkPoodleCrafts]

ohhh yeah...I remember seeing that in the film (which ive now seen 4 times lol) and was wondering if that could possibly be done on purpose as a future scarecrow or did they have him walking like that to show he was just lazy....or both lol

[@mitochondria9788]

love when glinda is holding the red slippers she is singing “you’ve got an awfully long way to go” and she mimes the shoes walking! it makes me think of how dorothy has to go a long way to see the wizard

[@gingerbarlow]

I personally really like all the references to wind and the dust spinners we see everywhere as references presumably to tornadoes. Also, I've heard that the silver slippers in this show have heels meant to look like a torando. And I've also heard that a green sky can indicate a tornado coming, so I wasn't sure if this was intentional, but both Boq and Fiyero look up at the clouds turning green at the end and I thought maybe it was a slight reference to how green skies can mean a storm is coming.

[@ourladyoftheunderground]

'can't I make you understand you're having delusions of grandeur', is also the same melody as follow the yellow brick road 💛

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

HOW HAVE I NEVER KNOWN ABOUT THIS

[@HelenRosemarySmith]

@@MickeyJoTheatre 🤯

[@valeriebeaulieu]

The melody of the words “follow the yellow brick road” also looks like a rainbow on sheet music 🥰

[@kaylabeshears6485]

Thank you. I didn't notice. 🤯

[@MicaBlackwell]

Two other subtle details I noticed about Fiyero's fate as the Scarecrow: In Dancing Through Life at one point he holds a book titled 'Forbidden Corn' and while Glinda's getting ready for the Ozdust Ballroom, Pfanee says Fiyero's going to lose his mind when he sees her.

[@HelenRosemarySmith]

I thought that's what the book said!! "Fiyero's going to lose what's left of his mind" haha it made me laugh when I heard it! Also his lyric "life's more painless / for the brainless"

[@david-jonballinger6638]

They mention a Professor Mombi in the Shiz introduction scene. Mombi is a witch from the Oz book series who transforms Ozma (the rightful heir) into her paige boy. Anyone who’s seen Return to Oz might remember Mombi as the lady who steals heads. Nice little callback by the filmmakers!

[@sarahvaughan5088]

I think there are also nods to other musicals: Pfannee saying "We're gonna go rouge our knees..." is an obvious one, but also in Popular , on the "heads of state" lyric, Ariana makes (I think) Evita arms, the balloon that delivers Elphaba's invitation to the Wizard has a walrus with cymbals similar to the monkey with cymbals from Phantom. And I'm sure there are others. But the broom being a reference to Fantasia (which I didn't quite catch myself) solidifies in my head that these were maybe subtle intentional nods!

[@uclacraig]

I saw the “Evita arms” during the “heads of state” lyrics too! & the “rouge our knees”! Also, at one point the Wizard exclaims “Gloryosky!” (sp?) which is a lyric from West Side Story “Gee Officer Krupkee”

[@KeithLOONAtic]

Yess i love Chicago and i immediately noticed the "rouge our knees" but i was afraid it might just have been a common phrase so i didn't solidly believe it was a reference lol Glad someone else also sees it

[@AspenCharmKitchen]

I noticed the Phantom Reference and thought I was somewhat making a stretch of a reference and feel satisfied you noticed it too!

[@HelenRosemarySmith]

I thought of Phantom with the monkey as well - combined with the others it makes them all seem intentional!

[@lydia1634]

And the choreography in the nail salon during "One Short Day" is the same as in "No Me Diga" in the "In the Heights" movie.

[@CaitlintheCasual]

I liked the subtle foreshadowing of Elphaba's possible aversion to water when Madam Morrible grabs an umbrella to shield Elphaba from the rain, saying they wouldn't want her to get wet and then whisks the rain away before she could get any water on her

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

This actually happens in the stage musical as well, right after I'm Not That Girl! And it doesn't necessarily indicate Elphaba's aversion (because she doesn't say or do anything), but it does maintain the possibility that she might be allergic to water for the audience.

[@CaitlintheCasual]

@MickeyJoTheatre it's been a few years since I've seen it on stage 😅 Never picked up on that detail! 😀

[@ten-ze1pq]

It was a smart choice then for her to cry during the Ozdust ballroom scene, so repeat viewers notice the discrepancy. Then next year, the line in Act 2’s opening “I hear her soul is so unclean, pure water can melt her” holds no ground

[@frederalbacon]

@@MickeyJoTheatre The thing about this is that implies that wickedness causes aquaphobia, with Morrible's comment in the movie almost a comment of foreknowledge, and I don't think it's a coincidence that Morrible can control the weather, given that she is the REAL Wicked Witch in the entire show. Would Morrilble also melt in the rain?

[@KandeShack]

Was lucky enough to see the original Broadway cast the week Kristin and Idina left. We had a friend of a friend in the cast. After the show, my 11 year old theatre kid and myself went backstage. We met Norbert, Kristin and Idina and they were all so kind. My Daughter got to hold on to the broom, standing center stage to an empty theatre. She turned to me and whispered “this is where I want to be.”

[@Rognik]

While Elphaba is running across the field, she looks out over the desert. In the original books, Oz is entirely surrounded by a deadly desert. Seems interesting that Shiz is so close to the edge of the country.

[@harrisonschaufel7309]

Fun costume Easter egg; Nessa wears striped socks and her Ozdust outfit is red, black, and white, a clear nod to her fate under a house

[@carr0760]

The silver shoes have a tornado shaped heel.

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

Oh wow - what a spot!

[@blake_ilan]

@@MickeyJoTheatrewas in a behind the scenes video posted by the official wicked channel!

[@barbarjinks8170]

They also look generally storm cloud-ish. One of my favorite details ever in the oz universe considering in the original story the witch of the east had red ruby gauntlets to control the weather.

[@alliyahd8650]

SILVER SLIPPERS/DOROTHY GALE KILL NASSA ROSA GOT SILVER SLIPPERS LOOK ALIKE TORNADO 🌪 THE WICKED 2 CROSSOVER THE WIZARD OF OZ AND THE WIZARD OF THE EMERALD CITY RELEASE UNTIL 2025 GETTING DOROTHY GALE ORIGIN STORY

[@CinnamonQuills]

"Dancing Through Life" also uses some of the same note progression as "If I Only Had a Brain"

[@chloesgl]

Not sure if it's an easter egg, but I loved that Elphaba's cape at the end of Defying Gravity was so long that it extended to the bottom of the screen, because it reminded me of how the cape extends to the floor when she defys gravity in the stage production

[@elphaba5-0]

I was wondering if when Idina and Kristen dropped down into a trap door and then popped back up during their moment in One Short Day was a reference to when Idina fell through the trap door on what would be her last performance in Wicked on Broadway

[@Simon-fc8yi]

Notice how during The Grimerie section of One Short Day the Narrator guy sings “ But time ticked ever onward day by day” .. during this line Kristin and Idina move forward and as they do Kristen twirls her ‘wand’ very reminiscent of the cat fight scene from the stage show ??

[@oscartameara]

Not sure if this was mentioned but you see Dorthy’s fallen house in the wide shot of the munchkin land off to the right. It’s hard to catch cause it’s quick.

[@jacobspence6879]

Also just after popular you can see the clock of the time dragon!! Obviously this is inspired by the dragon that’s over the stage and the weird puppet theatre in the book. I didn’t notice this the first time I saw it and was surprised not to see the dragon since it is so iconic to Wicked but someone pointed it out on Instagram. I think I’ll have to see it again to spot everything I missed the first time.

[@Jaimcferran]

Don’t forget the time dragon clock gets a specific cameo directly after Popular!

[@DannyC-e2c]

I also spotted the figure on the horse,and I firmly agree its elphaba, racing to meet fiyero who’s seen ahead of her as the scarecrow with Dorothy. And she’s not flying because Dorothy has her enchanted broom!

[@laurargriffith9284]

Yes yes yes! This easter egg in particular makes me giddy with excitement and I completely missed it the first time.

[@AlKnickle]

I swear at some point I briefly saw a circus banner/poster (an item the Wizard would have brought with him to Oz) that had the name “Maguire” on it.

[@ThatTheatreKid236]

my two favourite musical motif references that are new to the film are in no one mourns the wicked and dear old shiz. when the children are running through the fields, you can hear ding dong the wicked witch is dead being played in the grass. Then, when one of the ozians say "is it true you were her friend?" and glinda says yes, you hear "for good" played on the piano. She's thinking about her friendship and the song they sang together. When I heard this for the first time in the theatre I audibly gasped. (the notes of for good are sprinkled into the the score at multiple points, like dancing through life)

[@pseudonymous9153]

Well, "Ding dong the witch is" plays, but not the note for "dead"...👀

[@wyrdness1]

There are also the hammerheads and the fancy Winkies (yellow accordion sleeves and trouser legs) from the W.W. Denslow illustrations in the Wizomania sequence.

[@jacobspence6879]

6:34 at this point we also slightly see her singing out to a desert which is a nod to the deadly desert in the L.Frank Baulm books in which a desert surrounds the land of Oz

[@wyrdness1]

when Elphie sings that the wizard is supposed to make sure that 'nothing bad' should happen, she is looking at Dillomond's map of Oz, and the camera lingers on the impassible desert, foreshadowing that Dorothy will be arriving from over it in act 2.

[@derekpenner7478]

A few things I noticed: In Popular when Galinda is talking about great communicators she puts her arms up in a way similar to act II when she’s speaking to the citizens. This might be a coincidence but when Elphie breaks the dorm room window at the beginning I think it breaks in the shape of her hat (I could be very wrong though) Also when we first see Boq he’s literally standing in the Tin Man’s pose with the club over his shoulder just like the axe. AND in dancing through life there’s a moment where we see a silhouette of fiyero standing in a pose exactly like the scarecrow

[@daisya6260]

Wicked Wednesdays!!! 💚🩷 the series I didn’t know I needed 🫧🧙‍♀️buzzing 🥳

[@gemmahirst9595]

Me too

[@InfinitexLibrary]

Some other Wizard of Oz ones that other people may have already mentioned but! - The opening title is the same as the original film in font style, etc. - Elphaba at one point has her hair in two pigtail braids much like how Dorothy wears her head. Pretty sure she also wears gingham in her dress at times too!

[@PinkPoodleCrafts]

Seen the movie 4 times now and although I noticed the ginham in Elphy's dress, I didnt notice the pigtails... good one!

[@beerock79]

I don’t know if I was seeing things but in the ‘no one mourns the wicked’ scene there were three munchkins who seemed to be representing the Lollipop Guild

[@JustinGuidroz]

During “Dancing Through Life”, some of the choreo mimics some of the moves the Scarecrow does in the ‘39 film.

[@elphaba5-0]

I also loved how the sun rays going through her cloak during Defying Gravity mirrored the lighting in the stage show really nicely.

[@PinkPoodleCrafts]

Great job on all the Easter eggs. The easter egg I like the most is the one that Stephen Schwartz talks about where when Elphaba sings "unlimited"... the first 7 notes from that score are the same as in "Somewhere over the rainbow" .... i think that is so cool and hard to pick up on unless you know it.

[@allegramuch6420]

Elphaba saying “get stuffed” is definitely foreshadowing 🤣🤣🤣it makes that line so much funnier when you remember what happens to Fiyero at the end….

[@robwilliamson5082]

Fiyero meeting Elphie definitely felt very Bridgerton. Fitting for Jonathan Bailey.

[@christopheryoung4563]

Schwartz has said his cameo was inspired by Frank Morgan who was the wizards guard in 1939 (and played the wizard in the film)

[@LadyDragonbane]

Wasn't the cape at the end of DG a nod to the musical as well? I thought the length and how it flowed down and out below Elphie was very similar to images I've seen of the stage show. I'm also surprised I've not heard anyone comment on the guard uniforms' similarities to the US civil war confederate uniforms. A bit creepy but impactful when they came for Dr Dillamond wearing those hats. Glinda's bubble dress struck as similar to what she wore in the Hamburg production. Maybe just a happy coincidence, but I liked it nonetheless

[@laragallahue7127]

In history class, there is an Easter egg to Ozma from Ozma of Oz who after first book turns out she is meant to be true ruler of Oz And in the background of escaping the Wizard, on poster for Wizard it does have Wizard canonical name from the orginal novels

[@laragallahue7127]

Yes in cannon that is wizard actual real name There no indication it stage name in the books

[@tinkthevintagevixen1812]

Glinda taps the red shoes together 3 times before she hands them over.

[@staccasc4198]

Musical Easter Egg in the score: "Ding Dong the Witch is...GOOD NEEEEEEEEWS"

[@clareh954]

Finally someone with real history with Wicked. Loved the video

[@schmauften]

I noticed two other things: 1. As a reference to the movie, the shadow of Elphaba's hands when she was doing magic with her long nails made her look like the movie version of the Wicked Witch of the West 2. For referencing the musical, there was a shot of Elphaba and Galinda that really was the same as the poster, with Elphie's eyes covered by the hat and Galinda facing towards her on the right.

[@mercurialjove460]

The reference to Fantasia is also apt because in that particular short the things Mickey enchants run amok and cause a chaos and he can't get it under control, and at this point the flying monkeys are doing the same thing to Elphaba.

[@JuanJesusAvalos]

You can also see the nod to the time dragon clock after ‘Popular’ scene!! It also has the 13th hour in it! 🤯

[@russella90]

I LOVED how many more music cues lifted directly from Wizard of Oz there were in the movie.

[@geoffersonlegan6553]

OZ the name was suggested by L Frank Baum's filing cabinet, which had two drawers labelled: A-N & O-Z hence the name OZ...

[@bajanwhiteboy]

There is a nice musical moment right when Boq and Nessa start to dance that I thought might be a tease of a new song, but it turns out to be a jazzy version of Wicked Witch of the East, specifically "all of my life i've depended on you, how do think that feels"

[@hanonondricek411]

I missed this, but apparently Glinda also "clicks" the red shoes together three times before throwing them. I'm curious if they'll address that The Wizard of Oz is essentially Dorothy's fever dream. In Wicked it's suggested Morrible causes the tornado that sweeps up Dorothy and the house that kills the Witch of the East, and as in the Wizard of Oz it matches that the Wizard is a fraud who can't grant their wishes but sends them on a suicide mission that they actually succeed at. The Wizard is "going to take Dorothy home" since he's from Nebraska but the balloon is cut loose early, Glinda "sends her home" but it's all a dream. I wonder if they'll establish that Glinda wiped her memory and put her back since she is an innocent and they don't want to deal with that or want her to talk, or if that is overthinking. Having Boq and Fiyero as two of the Fab Four doesn't make sense unless it *is* a dream or _they_ have lost their memories - Tin Man being rusted for years and Scarecrow being hung in a field...I guess Elphaba cast the "never die" spell and then didn't hang around to see if it worked? Unless maybe they establish there are multiple Tin Men and Scarecrows and Dorothy's companions aren't literally them. I suspect these coincidences were originally intended as joke-references in the show and they didn't believe it would be completely important later. I do love with the cameos that they're kind of playing that "Wicked" is the Wiz-o-Mania show in Oz, which has frequently been an analogue for NYC in adaptation such _The Wiz._

[@wyrdness1]

The map in Dr Dillimond's cottage could be considered an easter egg, though the colors of Munchkinland and Winkieland are reversed (the cardinal directions are corrected from the mirrored map that is commonly published as the end papers of the books, but the colors keep their wrong positions)...

[@AspenCharmKitchen]

I will always value an opinion of someone who is musical, Wicked, and theater obsessed over someone who makes Wicked content to capitalize on the fame of the movie. Thank you for this video!

[@EveryThing-z6k]

Galinda doesn't just toss Elphaba the red shoes. First she claps them together 3 times. That's what makes the joke. I'm pretty sure the lion cub IS put to sleep by the poppies. He makes no attempt to resist Fiyero grabbing him and just kind of dangles limply as Fiyero is scooping him into his jacket. If he's not fully unconscious, he's at least most of the way there. He doesn't start to perk up til they get him out of the room. Two more Ms Gulch references. When Miss Coddle first meets Elphaba and panics about her maybe being a student she says "just a slight gulch." Also as Fiyero and Elphaba are riding away with the lion on the bicycles the music playing in the background is the Ms Gulch theme again but slowed down and brightened up to a major key to make it sound pleasant and romantic. Omaha is also a specific reference to the Judy Garland film in which the Wizard's balloon has the words "Omaha State Fair" printed on the side. Another subtle Disney reference is the music during the train ride into the Emerald City. A new opening to "One Short Day" is added in which a choir sings "One short day, if you only have, if you only have, one short day!" This choral piece is styled to be extremely reminiscent of music that frequently plays all over the Disney theme parks and in their various fire works shows and parades- invoking the idea that a visit to the Emerald City for these girls is like a trip to Disneyland.

[@IrishBob-m2u]

A foreshadowing you missed: during Elphaba and Glinda’s dance, you hear hints of “For Good” in the score. ❤❤❤

[@k1tkat-kate]

I heard For Good a few times during their scenes and it always made me well up 🥹

[@nikkinathan6813]

This is the content I needed after being a huge fan of the stage show and just seeing the movie, thanks!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@loveandbeauty]

Not Wicked or Wizard of Oz, but Idina easter egg - When watching a second time today, it may have not been intentional, but when Dr. Dillamond is talking about his friend who is protesting who went missing, the friend was a cow. (Elsie! Moo with me!)

[@k1tkat-kate]

LOL omg I thought that too! 😂

[@pseudonymous9153]

That's a stretch

[@KyleMotsinger]

Did you notice the “Return to Oz” nod at the end of the Wizard and I? The Deadly Desert is below the cliff. Not an ocean. In this version it’s called The Impassable Desert. We see it on the map later in the movie. Apparently they filmed for ten days in Egypt for part 2!

[@martinminihan7187]

@@KyleMotsinger I got so excited when the desert came into view!

[@EveryThing-z6k]

That's not a Return to Oz reference. That's from the L Frank Baum books. Return to Oz was making a reference to the books.

[@happygoldensunshine]

Return to Oz is referenced on Dillamond's chalkboard too : lots of references to Ozma!

[@megwestfox2481]

@@happygoldensunshinealso a book reference

[@pseudonymous9153]

The number of people thinking any of those mid *other* Oz films have any relevance whatsoever is too damn high.

[@quinnhuang6515]

There's another easter egg in the "One Short Day" sequence, during the part where Elphaba and Glinda sang "So I'll be back for good some day/To make my life and make my way". The music underneath follows the opening melodies of "Optimistic Voices" from The Wizard of Oz, which also follows the Fab Four as they go to the Emerald City for the first time.

[@kakirchmar]

I noticed When Elphaba sings in The Wizard and I “de-greenify you”, Cynthia leans back in the light, and the green is gone. WOW! Brilliant Director John Chu is! I have you beat by just a little. I saw Wicked on Broadway when it was still in previews in row two. I saw Idina and Kristen, along with Carole Shelley, Joel Gray, Norbert Leo Butz, and Christopher Fitzgerald. The theater was half full, and it was not getting great reviews….yet. The Hat was still at the beginning (which was wonderful,), and Idina and Joel Gray waltz during the singing of “Wonderful.” (Which I hope happens in part 2, but just not sure about that). I knew it was so, so, special. I have been to see it in major double digits over the last 21 years with many Elphies and Glindas, but nothing will EVER beat that first time where they sang “for Good” right in front of me. Talk about tears. Wonderful video! I love this so much!

[@gabriellehitchins9182]

I loved that when the red light hit her face

[@lilliana493]

I noticed that in dancing through life, ariana has a very small butterfly necklace on, which is definitely a nod to the butterfly choker glinda wears in the wizard of oz film!

[@briardraws]

you can also hear the miss gukch theme during the scene of elphaba & fiyero riding on the bikes!

[@adelynnrosner2148]

Did anyone think for the first time that madam morriable was the one who wrote on Dr Dillamond’s white board ? I just saw it again last night and noticed this!

[@unsightedmelodies6801]

I thought that for years

[@pseudonymous9153]

I hope not. Bigotry is a societal issue, not just the machinations of one villain's evil plan. It could be anyone at the school, acting purely out of hatred for animals, and it should never be revealed because it doesn't matter who the individual who physically wrote the words is.

[@unsightedmelodies6801]

@@pseudonymous9153 agreed, it should never be revealed. I think the reason why most people tend to jump on that particular individual as a culprit is because it's clear she wouldn't disapprove

[@aurora787]

A cameo I notice was Stephanie J Block was in the munchkin land in No one morns the wicked. I had hope Eden and Megan would have made cameos.

[@martinminihan7187]

@@aurora787 unfortunately Stephanie J Block confirmed on instagram that she was not in the movie

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

That's not actually Stephanie J Block, she's confirmed she isn't in it sadly.

[@zuitsuit80]

Just like the stage play (i.e. Glinda doing a very “Evita” performance in the beginning of the second act), I noticed several nods to other classic Broadway shows. Among other homages, one I will mention is when Bowen Yang has a new line where he says “I need to rouge my knees and roll my stockings down”. That’s a lyric from “All That Jazz”/“Chicago”. I think some of the choreography in the library is reminiscent of “Annie”.

[@jonathansung4981]

You know, I have never had a favourite critic/reviewer until I came across your podcast and Ali Plumb's film reviews and interviews and now the two of you are my ALL TIME FAVOURITE theatre and film critic/reviewer respectively in those two genres! And just to share, your youtube video on the Broadway musical museum was the one where I got acquainted with you! And now I LIVE for your Wicked Wednesdays and all your other theatre reviews. And YES I LOVE BECOMING NANCY too! I really hope it goes to West End and eventually Broadway and I want a full cast recording because six tracks EP is just not enough! Sending you lots and lots of love all the way from Singapore and keep up the great work! And never stop being the awesome fanboy/critic/reviewer that you are! P/S are you and Ali Plumb acquainted? I'd love if you two were actually friends!

[@DannyC-e2c]

As always Mickey, a very interesting and detailed video! I’d noticed a lot of these myself, but a few were new on me. seeing it again tomorrow, if I catch any more I’ll let you know!

[@CiaoRooster]

I’ll only list the ones I personally noticed but haven’t heard (with one exception.) Miss Coddle, the brilliant Keala Settle (surely, who will sing in Act II?), flustered by Elphaba’s arrival at Shiz calls her “an unfortunate Gulch.” I also think there are several (some which I’ve surely missed) references to Broadway shows as a whole. The hippo playing symbols on the invitation to me is clearly a Phantom reference. And in the scene before Popular, Galinda and Elphaba are in their room having stayed up all night. The sun rises casting sunbeams through the window, and Galinda says, “Look, it’s Tomorrow.” A clear Annie reference! And Bowen Yang, feeling dismissed by Galinda, dejectedly says, “I’m gonna go rouge my knees.” I suppose he also rolled his stocking down. (And I’ve seen written that the aerial shots in Loathing where they wake up in bed are reminiscent of Tracy waking up in Good Morning, Baltimore.”) I’m sure there are more in this vein.

[@yanivk18]

As always great and clever analysis! Although I heard and read all about those Easter eggs you still had your own perspective. On top of that you added some new info I wasn’t aware of. Thank you 💖

[@natureboy95]

I've only seen the movie (and the Defying Gravity sequence) once, hopefully gonna see another one, but I thought the broom and the dust it started to kick up reminded me of a twister... could be remembering it incorrectly of course :p

[@Davidwyatt78]

Firstly, your video is great! Your delivery is captivating! The Disney connection, what I got from the film was the connections also to Return to Oz which is a Disney film. At the end of The Wizard and I when she’s stood on the edge of the cliff looking out over the ‘Deadly Desert’ - where some of the wheelers meet their fate in RTO. Also the name professor Mombi is mentioned a few times, Princess Mombi is the evil character in RTO who changes her head. I also took the movement of the broomstick to be reference to all the inanimate objects in RTO that they put together in to fly across the ‘Deadly Desert’. And lastly they say Tick Tok quite a few times which of course is the beloved tin man style character in RTO. I could be wrong but that’s what I picked up. Oh, also, Stephen Schwartz wears the same moustache as the gate keeper in the original WOZ movie.

[@PinkPoodleCrafts]

Madame Morrible's hair looks that of wind swept clouds.... because she is the witch in charge of the weather. Thats why she moved away the clouds and told Elphy "we cant have you getting wet"... (there is talks from the makers of wicked, for 2 more movies after part 2... but they havent said what they were about yet.) and I think that if this isnt brought up in part 2, it will be brought up in another movie.... about Madame Morrible being the one who melts from rain so when she makes the storm go away in Wicked the movie, she is really protecting herself. AND this is why there is the great drought in OZ which is what leads to people turning on the animals..... because madame morrible caused the drought. She is also the one who brought Dorothy to Oz in the tornado AND my speculation, its how the wizard got to oz as well. Morrible used a simple man from Omaha Nebraska to be the front man of Oz all the while she pulls the strings on the "puppet" that is the Wizard. And when Morrible asks for a volunteer to room with Elphaba and Galinda inadvertently offers, Madame Morrible says "That is very good of you" with the emphasis on "Good".... setting Galinda up to be the future "Glinda the Good". And when Elphy is singing the Wizard and I, she says she'd be so happy she'd "Melt" In "No one mourns the wicked", Elphabas mother is dressed in a dress that looks like an upside down poppy and even has a poppy on her waist. And all the tributes that are played in the movie to other musicals are all musicals that became movies, some of which you named in your video, but there are more of them... like In “Loathing,” there’s a split camera shot of Elphaba and Glinda getting out of bed. This pays tribute to Hairspray which also became a movie. So think of any broadway musical that became a movie and look for those easter eggs hidden within. A subtle nod to the original book of which the musical is based from, When students are reading their dorm assignments at Shiz, we see that someone named Ama Clutch is assigned as Galinda’s suite neighbor. This nods toward the original Wicked novel, where Ama Clutch is Glinda’s school chaperone.

[@yanivk18]

Another Easter egg is found in “dancing through life” sequence. There is a brief moment where Fiyero is standing in the Scarecrow posture like in the wizard of Oz also implying that he is the Scarecrow. Look it up🤓

[@HelenRosemarySmith]

So much love for the source material and the artform and so much care clearly went into the making of this movie and I love it so much!

[@VeronikaHer]

Daily hit of MickeyJo? Yes please ❤️ Very grateful for this video. I was hoping you'd do something like this before my rewatch on Saturday! Can't wait to look/listen out for all of these. 😊

[@KAIMAOFFICIAL]

Currently watching all the wicked behind the scenes videos I can find and OH MY GOD HEY I NEVER CLICKED SO FAST

[@gmoynham]

I'm inclined to go with it being Elphaba on the horse at the beginning since Glinda has the bubble to come and go by.

[@dancingitalianurbanfarm8078]

You missed where Boq first talks to Glinda and he twirls his cane to the ground and then steps on it, which is something the Tin Man does with his ax.

[@claracarvalho321]

this video is absolutely necessary! thanks for this, only a massive fan, such as you, could gather these kinds of easter eggs in that level of detail

[@EmyMay96]

I loved that the slippers were in the box that was ruby encrusted as a nod to the wizard of oz! I also am convinced that a run toward the end of popular that ariana did was straight out of popular song with mika!

[@pedroxqui]

7:35 not only does she gives elphaba some red slippers, but she actually click the heels three times before she does

[@elizamather176]

Yes! I loved this. 😁

[@choicethings]

I’m so excited that you’re doing Wicked Wednesdays! Currently obsessed with it yet again, so this is exactly the video I’ve been craving. And the second I heard the sleeping line I thought of how they meet in the play too! It has to be a reference. Also, for your Wicked videos to come it would be amazing to hear some Wicked theories, either about the play or movie. Or some stuff about the symbolism! :)