“Wicked” vs. “Oz, the Great and Powerful”
Both films’ source material lend themselves to direct comparison, as both stories were conceived as prequels to the Wizard of Oz.
Wicked is based on a Broadway production that explains why The Wicked Witch of the West became evil. While Oz, The Great and Powerful is more of an explanation as to where the Land of Oz’s Great Wizard originated from (and to a lesser extent, has its own origin story in the Wicked Witch of the West). It’s an original movie, based off the books.
I love Wicked’s way of visually creating Oz. It looks so epic and large in scale. Oz, The Great and Powerful (OTGAP) creates a more juvenile-looking Land of Oz. It’s closer to the original Oz movie (and even closer to the books, for that matter), but looks more plasticy and fake. That is probably OTGAP’s biggest drawback, it doesn’t look as real as Wicked. I realize it was probably a creative choice to do it this way, but it hinders what I consider to be a good film.
Both origin stories are great, IMO. But OTGAP probably tries more to tie itself to the original Oz movie, compared to Wicked which tries to distinguish itself from it.
For me personally, I wish Wicked wasn’t a musical. I realize it’s adapted from a Broadway show, but I still wish it was just a standard movie. Still, Oz now feels fleshed out and grand, as well as creating a name for itself alongside great fantasy franchises like Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Game of Thrones/House of Dragon, His Dark Materials etc.