Hard R-rated novel turned into a PG movie

Is the ‘Wicked’ book appropriate for kids?
In a word, no. The “Wicked” book by Gregory Maguire has key adult differences from the stage adaptation. One of the opening scenes is puppets having sex. When we first meet Elphaba in the book, she’s a feral infant who is muzzled after biting off people’s appendages. The book contains drinking, drugs, sexual assault, prostitution, crime and wild sex parties between humans and animals.

In an interview with MassLive, Maguire said while the main themes translate, his book is a “tragedy” and the stage production is a “bittersweet drama.”

“I purposely put some somewhat raunchy material in the first few pages of ‘Wicked’ the novel to show what people were getting into, that they were going to have to leave behind their ideas about an all-singing, all-dancing chorus line of flying monkeys,” Maguire said.