Wicked: For Good - A Biblical Worldview Movie Review for Families

Also Available on:

Hello friends. On today's podcast, we are going to be discussing the movie Wicked: For Good, and we are going to specifically be talking about three biblically grounded conversations that you can have with your child if you choose to take them to see this movie.

General Thoughts and Recommendations

As I've said on previous movie review podcasts, I am never going to recommend that you take your child to see a specific movie simply because that is a matter of conscience. You are the one who needs to make that ultimate decision of whether or not you'll take your child to see a movie.

However, what I'm going to do is offer some general thoughts about the movie, make some recommendations, and then give you three biblically grounded conversations you can have with your child if you do choose to take them to see the movie.

First, my general thoughts: similar to the first part, it is artistically beautiful. It's really well done. As you already know, if you have seen the musical in theaters before this, the score is excellent.

Age Recommendation: 10 and Up

I would recommend that you not take your child to see this movie if your child is under the age of 10. There are a few reasons for this.

First, this second half of the musical is more intense than the first half. There are a little bit more fighting scenes and battles and things like that. I would just recommend that your child be a little bit older if you take him or her to this movie.

Also, there is a scene in this movie where sex is implied between Elphaba and Fiyero. You don't actually see any parts of the act. However, the interactions between Elphaba and Fiyero leading up to this are a bit more intimate than what I think would be appropriate for children who are under the age of 10 to see. In the song they're singing leading up to that moment, one of the lines says, "Every moment as you're mine, I'll wake up my body and make up for lost time." Children might not catch that line, but you can imagine what's going on in the movie if that's what they're singing.

Spoiler alert: If you don't want to hear this spoiler, just fast forward about 60 seconds in the podcast and you'll miss this. Another reason why I think children under the age of 10 probably shouldn't see this is that towards the end of the movie, there's a scene where the wizard finds out that Elphaba was his daughter, and there's a flashback to that opening scene from the first part of this movie where the wizard is having an affair with Elphaba's mom. It's just a little bit confusing for children and might be a little bit intense.

Content Warning: Witchcraft and Incantations

Also, something to be aware of—which is probably already self-evident since this is a movie about witches—there are a number of incantations in this movie. Similar to the first one where Elphaba opens up that magical book and she speaks the incantation over the monkeys, there are several places in this second part of the film where she opens up that same book and speaks those incantations. In the song "No Good Deed," the song is pretty intense, and the first part of it is her just repeating this incantation over and over and over again.

Those are just some things to be aware of as you are considering whether or not to take your child to this movie.

Three Biblically Grounded Conversations

Now, if you do take your child to see this movie, I think that there are three really great biblically grounded conversations that you could have with them.

Conversation #1: The Concept of Truth

I was first introduced to the musical Wicked back in 2012 when I was at Focus on the Family. I was taking a class on comparative worldviews, and when we were going over the postmodern worldview, my professor presented Wicked as an example of a postmodern piece of art.

I had never seen Wicked and didn't know anything about it. A lot of my classmates were big fans of Wicked, and they kind of pushed back saying, "No, no, no, that's not postmodern." But then I went to see Wicked on Broadway in 2013 with my family, and I remember thinking, "Oh yeah, I can see how this is postmodern." Now, leading Foundation Worldview for almost the past decade and doing lots of research on comparative worldviews, as I was sitting in the theater tonight, I was thinking, "Oh my goodness, this musical is postmodern through and through."

The entire musical is designed to bring to light this realization that what we think we know about The Wizard of Oz isn't true—it's just what we've been told. This is the entire postmodern narrative: that everything you believe is objectively true isn't actually objectively true. You just believe it because that's what you've been conditioned to believe, what the community around you has trained you to believe. Truth with a capital T is unknowable.

This theme about truth being unknowable is even highlighted in the theme song for the second part of the movie. The theme song for this part is "For Good." That's even why it's called Wicked: For Good. The chorus to this song goes: "Who can say if I've been changed for the better? Because I knew you, I have been changed for good."

What Elphaba and Glinda are saying as they're singing this to each other is, "Who can say whether I have actually been changed for better or for worse because of our friendship? Nobody can really know that. That truth is inaccessible. But what I do know is that I have been changed for good"—not meaning "for better," meaning "forever." I have been changed forever.

Discussion Questions

I think we can talk through this with our kids. Talk about: What is this movie designed to do? It's designed to help us think that everything we've known about The Wizard of Oz isn't actually true—it's just what we've been told. In so many places in the movie, including the theme song, we are led to believe that we can't really know what is true. There are only small little truths around us that we can know.

Then I think a great question to ask our children is: Is it possible to live like there is no truth? Did the characters in this film even live up to this theme? Were they able to live as if there is no truth?

You can talk about how even the characters in the movie were not able to consistently live out this theme. In the beginning of the movie, Elphaba says that she's so grateful that she can finally help people see that all they believe about the wizard is a lie. As the yellow brick road is opening and there's that ceremony in the Emerald City, Elphaba shows up and writes in the sky, "Our wizard lies."

Elphaba is constantly talking about truth and lies. Even though this movie is trying to get us to think you can't really know truth about The Wizard of Oz, even this movie can't get away from the concept of truth and lies.

This comes up again towards the end of the movie in one of the two new songs that was added for this rendition. Glinda sings, "Such a beautiful girl with a beautiful life built on lies." She's realizing that her whole life is built on lies.

We can talk with our kids about how we might be able to tell ourselves that it's impossible to know truth, but no one lives this way. That's one of the main themes of this movie—that we can't really know truth—but even the movie itself can't live up to it. Similarly in our lives, we might tell ourselves that we can't know truth, but nobody lives this way.

We wake up and we brush our teeth in the mornings. Why? Because we believe that it's true that if we don't brush our teeth, we will get cavities. As we're crossing the street, we generally look both ways. Why? Because we believe that it's true that if we are not careful, we could get run over. We cannot live as if there is no truth. It's impossible. We might be able to say it, but we can't consistently live it out.

Going Deeper with Worldview Curriculum

If you have taken the children in your care through our Comparative Worldview Curriculum here at Foundation Worldview, you can take this conversation one step farther and you can ask them what worldview is presented in this movie. You can talk through how it is the postmodern worldview and how the whole theme of this movie is trying to get us to think that you can't really know truth—everything you think you know about truth regarding The Wizard of Oz is just what you've been led to believe by your community. Talk about how that is what postmodernism pushes.

For those of you who are not yet familiar with our picture books here at Foundation Worldview, What is Truth? and Are Feelings Truth?, I highly recommend that you check them out. These would be great follow-ups to that conversation about whether it's possible to live as if there is no truth—just to have the foundational conversations about what is truth and how is truth different than emotions.

Conversation #2: How We Know What Is Good

In one of the main songs in the movie, "No Good Deed," Elphaba is singing and she says, "No good deed goes unpunished. No act of charity goes unresented." Later on in that song, she's questioning herself and she says, "Was I really seeking good or just seeking attention? Is that all good deeds are when looked at with an ice cold eye? If that's all good deeds are, maybe that's the reason why no good deed goes unpunished."

We can talk with our kids about the song and say: Elphaba just had this theme that no good deed goes unpunished because everything that she tried to do that she thought was good—helping her sister, helping Dr. Dillamond, helping Fiyero—they ended in disaster. Her sister ended up dead. Dr. Dillamond ended up in a cage not being able to speak. Fiyero ended up hurt and wounded out in the field. She's questioning: Were those things even good? How can I even know if those things are good?

We can ask our kids: How do we know what is truly good?

Biblical Foundation: First Peter 1:14-16

I think a great place to take our kids is First Peter 1:14-16. This passage reads: "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'"

We can ask our kids: What does this say is our calling in life? Our calling is to be holy. Why are we called to be holy? Because God is holy.

We can talk with our kids about how all that is good is what aligns with God's character, and those things have been commanded in God's word. Good is what aligns with God's character and has been revealed in his word. We don't have to guess like Elphaba was guessing, "Is this good or is this not good?" We can go directly to God's word to learn what is good and what is evil.

Biblical Foundation: First Corinthians 13:1-3

Another passage that I think would be excellent to talk through is First Corinthians 13:1-3. This passage reads: "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing."

We can ask our kids: What does this passage reveal about good deeds? Good deeds have to be done in love. God has commanded us not just to do these things, but to do these things in love.

Talk about how we don't have the same moral confusion that Elphaba has in the movie because what is good has been revealed to us in God's word. It's what lines up with his character. We've also been told that those good things that we do out of obedience need to be done out of love—love for God and love for others.

Conversation #3: The Biblical Definition of Love

The third conversation that I think we can have with our kids is actually about the concept of love, because this is one of the main strengths of this movie—love is very clearly demonstrated in this movie.

I think we can open up by asking our kids: What is love? What is the biblical definition of love?

You can take your children to that First Corinthians 13 passage. Another great place to go is John 15:13, where Jesus is speaking and he says, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."

Talk through how biblical love is sacrificing for the good of another. It's laying down our rights, our desires for the ultimate good of another.

Then you can ask your child: If that's the biblical definition of love, where do we see true love demonstrated in this movie?

Elphaba's Sacrificial Love

You can talk about how so many of Elphaba's actions demonstrate true love—that Elphaba was willing to sacrifice her own comfort and safety and wellbeing for the good of others.

We see this when she was visiting her sister when it was dangerous and how she wanted her sister to be happy, to be joyful. We also see this when she risked everything to visit Glinda on her wedding day to wish her well. We also see this as she worked to free the animals—she wanted what was ultimately best for them. Even at the end of the movie, she urged Glinda not to clear her name because she thought that's what would be best for Glinda.

We can talk about all these acts of sacrifice, and then these acts of sacrifice become even clearer when we contrast them with the actions of others in the movie.

Contrasting with False Love

A great person to contrast Elphaba's actions with is Nessarose, her sister. Talk about: What did Nessa do that Nessa thought was loving, but actually wasn't? Nessa claimed that she loved Boq. But what did she do? She enslaved Boq. She wouldn't let him go. She was forcing him to love her, which you can't force someone to love you. It's impossible. You need free will in order to love.

Nessa was only caring about her own wants and desires. All she wanted was to go back to that night at the Ozdust Ballroom when Boq told her she was beautiful and she felt like she was floating on air. That's all that she could think about.

Contrast that with Elphaba—Elphaba was constantly thinking about what was ultimately good for another, where Nessa was only thinking about what was good for herself.

Similarly, Glinda's actions throughout most of the movie: she was willing to lie to get the attention and approval that she wanted. She was unwilling to stand up to the wizard even when she knew that he was lying and he was doing what was wrong. Now, that changes towards the end of the movie, which is a really beautiful change. But for most of the movie, Glinda was not loving.

We want our kids to see this theme of true love. When you think about the overarching theme—the postmodern theme about not being able to know what is true—it's so interesting because this is another way in which the film can't even live up to its own postmodern narrative, because it's presenting love as an objectively good thing.

Bonus Conversation: What Makes Something Beautiful?

I told you at the beginning of this podcast that I would present three biblically grounded questions. I actually do have a bonus question because there was another topic that I thought would just be so wonderful to talk through with our children.

The bonus question that I think would be great to talk through with our children is a question about beauty and what makes something beautiful.

There's a scene—it is in that more intense romantic scene between Elphaba and Fiyero—where Fiyero looks at her and he says, "You're beautiful." Elphaba kind of chuckles and says, "You don't have to lie to me." And he says, "It's not a lie. It's looking at things differently."

In this movie, Elphaba was not portrayed as being physically attractive. I think her name is Cynthia Erivo—I don't know if I'm pronouncing that correctly—but the actress that plays her is very aesthetically pleasing, but in the movie, she's not supposed to be very aesthetically pleasing.

We can take that scene, and actually it's repeated in the end. Spoiler alert: you can fast forward 30 seconds. Fiyero is turned into the Scarecrow in order to save his life, so he's a scarecrow at the end. That scene is repeated where Elphaba looks at him and says, "You're beautiful." He says, "You don't have to lie to me." And she responds with, "It's not a lie, it's looking at things differently."

Discussion Questions About Beauty

We can ask our kids: What does it mean for someone to be beautiful?

When Fiyero looked at Elphaba and said, "You're beautiful," did he just mean that she was beautiful to him subjectively just because he had romantic feelings for her? She looked beautiful to him because that's usually what our world preaches—that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That's just a bold-faced lie. That is not true.

Now, aesthetics maybe in the eye of the beholder. I might really like gray on my walls, and you might think, "Ugh, how drab, I like blue or bright purple or red or some other color." So aesthetics are in the eye of the beholder to a certain degree.

However, what is truly beautiful is not in the eye of the beholder. God is not beautiful simply because he subjectively appears beautiful to certain people. No, God is beautiful because he is the standard of what is true and what is good and what is beautiful, and he is beautiful whether or not people recognize that.

We want to talk with our kids about: What is true beauty? What does it mean for someone to be beautiful?

We can talk through how Elphaba was genuinely beautiful. What attracted Fiyero to her was her self-sacrificial love for others. That is what made her beautiful. Outwardly she was not necessarily aesthetically pleasing to everyone, but true beauty is reflecting the character of God, and she reflected this in her self-sacrificial love.

We want to talk with our children about this to get them to think through what actually is beauty and talking about it being reflecting the character and nature of God.

Conclusion

Well, that's a wrap for this episode.

Are you looking for more biblically grounded resources to help your children think critically about the ideas they encounter in movies, books, and everyday life? Join our email community to receive practical tools and insights delivered straight to your inbox. You won't want to miss future episodes and resources designed specifically to equip you in training the next generation to carefully evaluate every idea through the lens of God's truth.

If you have a question that you would like for me to answer on a future Foundation Worldview podcast, you can submit that question by going to FoundationWorldview.com/podcast.

As we end our time together, my prayer for you is the same as always: that no matter the situation in which you and the children God has placed in your care find yourselves, that you would trust that God is working all things together for your good by using all things to conform you more into the image of His Son.

I'll see you next time.