Wicked director Jon M Chu has said it was very much intentional that his film looks the way it does.
The big-screen version of the award-winning musical has been a long time in the making, with the movie receiving mostly positive reviews upon its premiere last week.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s performances have been particularly singled out for praise, with both actors now at the centre of awards buzz thanks to Wicked.
However, one aspect of the film that has proved a little more polarising is its overall look.
Some critics felt that Wicked’s colouring made the film look a little “washed out”, particularly in comparison with the technicolour aesthetics of the 1939 film The Wizard Of Oz, though Jon has maintained he’s happy with his movie’s appearance.
In a recent interview with Canada’s The Globe And Mail, he pointed out: “There’s colour all over it. I think what we wanted to do was immerse people into Oz, to make it a real place.
“Because if it was a fake place, if it was a dream in someone’s mind, then the real relationships and the stakes that these two girls are going through wouldn’t feel real.”
Jon added that his version of Oz is one that “we have not experienced” before, adding: “It’s been a matte painting. It’s been a video game digital world. But for us, I want to feel the dirt. I want to feel the wear and tear of it. And that means it’s not plastic.
“We have the environment. The sun is the main source of light. You see the vast landscapes. You see the air. You see creatures exist here.
“These two characters that will go through two movies, their relationship with the land is important; their relationship with the nature of this land that the wizard imposed himself. The [colour] contrast goes up over time because that is what Elphaba brings to this world.”
HuffPost UK’s review of Wicked describes the “costumes, hair and makeup, sets and special effects” as “visually delicious”, comparing the movie favourably with “the craft and colourful excess of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie”.
Wicked is in cinemas now.
