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WICKED: FOR GOOD - The Popcorn Junkies Movie Review (SPOILERS)

·19 min·1 clip

This whole Wizard of Oz story is really a narrative about deceit, state control, and propaganda.

1. Popcorn Junkies Movie Reviews discusses Wicked for Good, the sequel to Wicked, and ties it to The Wizard of Oz. 2. Hayden introduces himself as the producer of Fantasy Fangirls, while Steven is the "bookish internet goofball" who has not read Mistborn. 3. The review asks whether Wicked for Good works as a darker second half that shifts attention from Cynthia Erivo to Ariana Grande. 4. The host says the first Wicked film felt like Cynthia Erivo's film, while this sequel feels like Ariana Grande's film. 5. He describes Wicked for Good as "infinitely darker in tone," "dour," and "sinister" compared with the first film. 6. He argues that the Emerald City depends on a fake narrative that tells Oz who the goodies and baddies are. 7. He links the film's themes to "deceit, state control, propaganda," and the need to control the story. 8. He compares the wizard's curtain reveal in The Wizard of Oz to a con, a myth, and a deception. 9. He says Jeff Goldblum is "absolutely fantastic" and more prominent as a controlling master of ceremonies. 10. He says Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum help show how magic, goodness, and public image can be artificial. 11. He points to Ariana Grande's bubble, which requires a button to create, as a sign that the magic is performative. 12. He notes that the film shows animals being eradicated and the munchkins being ushered off trains, with signs saying "no animals, no munchkins." 13. He describes those images as resembling segregation, apartheid, slavery, and exploitation. 14. He says Cynthia Erivo's hideout in the woods reminded him of Yoda's swamp in The Empire Strikes Back. 15. He enjoys the "canoodling" moment between Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey, including the line "I've never felt so wicked." 16. He says the film's sets, costumes, and makeup are gorgeous even when the songs are less memorable than he hoped. 17. The tone is conversational, car-recorded, and strongly opinionated, with repeated digressions into symbolism and political analogy. 18. The style moves between cast praise, scene-level observations, and longer comparisons to The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars. 19. Fans of Wicked, Oz lore, and darker musical adaptations would likely enjoy this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a song-by-song musical breakdown may skip it.

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