“Wicked 2” actors are wickedly ill

Tornadoes are unusual, but they are incredibly common in Kansas when wearing ruby slippers. It might sweep you away and bring you somewhere strange, all to say, “Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road.”

“Wicked: For Good,”  the second part of the 2024 movie “Wicked”, continues the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West, leading to the journey of Elphaba, Glinda, and their many friends as they try to save Oz, once and for all.

However, this seemingly age-appropriate kids’ movie, as its cover suggests, quickly proves uncomfortable for many. 

In this case, it’s not about too much profanity, inappropriate scenes, or graphic violence– it’s the Wizard of Oz, for Pete’s sake– but it’s more of what’s going on mentally with the actors that created an uncomfortable viewing for many.

In many cases, an actor’s mental health does not affect the viewers until they inform themselves about it, or they hear about it, but in “Wicked: For Good,” actors like Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda, and Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, were clearly malnourished.

Both of their sternums were shown, and even in some cases, it seemed like the costume department was attempting to show off the fact that you could only see skin and bones. 

Their collarbones and shoulders were incredibly disheartening to see, especially given the obvious, bright, shiny gemstone placement on said collarbones, to emphasize the malnourished look.

Of course, other actors in other movies may face similar issues. But in a movie targeted towards a younger audience, it poses serious mental health influences to young, underdeveloped brains. 

It is especially difficult to ignore when you remember the first movie, when the actors were physically healthy, so naturally, your thoughts gravitate towards the strategically placed gemstones and excessive face contouring on the main actors.

It’s important to note that commenting or suggesting someone has an eating disorder can be hurtful to one’s mental health. However, in such a big movie with multiple actors looking this way, it’s doing a disservice to ignore it, because it will then become normalized, popularizing the look of near death for women’s bodies through media.

Other than that, the film was well produced, and the music was well integrated into the story. If you’re not into musical theatre-related songs, you may not enjoy it. 

The storyline was easy to follow and often unpredictable, which made it all the more worth watching compared to a typical movie, where you know exactly what is going to happen next.

Overall, it’s worth watching as long as you are aware and can ignore the extreme malnourishment of the main characters’ actors, though it is doubtful anyone could. I would not recommend children watch it, as it will most likely set up unrealistic body standards of being deathly skinny to the point of no return, which is very harmful not only to children, but also to teenagers and adults alike.