The movie “Wicked” has been everywhere in pop culture these days. From pink and green drinks at Starbucks to enchanted items from the Land of Oz at Target and even the Lexus TX, it seems that every retail partner you can think of has boarded the “Wicked” train. Between this and the near-ubiquity of the movie’s leads, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, it’s understandable if “Wicked” fatigue has set in for some of us even before the movie comes out. Still, despite all this advanced marketing, the movie has played it fast and loose with two facts.

One: this is the first of two films. While some may be aware that the film was split into two parts, even they may have been lulled into forgetting about that, as the movie has insistently called itself “Wicked,” with the “Part 1” reserved only for movie-goers. Second: this is a musical. While there is some music sung by the leads in the trailers for the film, it’s never coming out of their mouths. As a result, some may be lulled into a false sense that the music will be secondary to the story. Not so. This is a big, bold musical that even has some of the music cues from the stage musical expanded upon.

In fact, the movie musical “Wicked” is a fairly faithful retelling of the first act of the Broadway musical “Wicked,” which is based on the book by Gregory Maguire, which in turn was based on the book by L. Frank Baum of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and its movie adaptation. The movie starts with a celebration in Munchkinland for the death of the Wicked Witch of the West, which is attended by Glinda the Good (Grande). But before Glinda can leave, a munchkin accuses her of being friends with the Wicked Witch. Glinda confirms the information, and this starts a flashback to when the pair were in college together.

At first, Elphaba Thropp (Erivo) and Galinda Upland (who later becomes Glinda) hate each other when they start at Shiz University. Elphaba was originally only there to look after her paraplegic younger sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode), but when she shows she has real magical powers, Madama Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), the Headmistress who gives a seminar on sorcery, begs her to stay. As a result, she needs someone to room with, and Galinda volunteers, or at least it seemed that way to Morrible. Galinda was really trying to get into Morrible’s seminar.

The pair can’t stand each other in the beginning. But then Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), a new student who also happens to be a Winkie prince and the man Galinda is enamored with, takes the students to a party at a nightclub. Morrible comes by to tell Galinda that Elphaba insisted that she let her into her sorcery class, so when Elphaba shows up in a hat that Galinda gave her and gets mocked as a result, Galinda dances with her to make things right. After that, the pair becomes friends, and the woman now known as Glinda even accompanies Elphaba to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).

I loved the stage musical “Wicked,” but admittedly don’t remember it very well. Still, the movie doesn’t quite live up to my memories of the stage production, but for the price of a movie ticket, it’s a good approximation. And there are some things that the movie can do that the musical simply can’t. For instance, the sets are next level here. The movie creates an immersive environment, and you really do feel as though you’ve been transported to Oz for 2 hours and 40 minutes. The production design by Nathan Crowley and costumes by Paul Tazewell may take cues from the stage show but they’ve made it truly their own, especially the sets, which give a complete 360 degree view of Oz. It’s a thrilling addition to the movie and helps to set it apart.

As in the stage musical, throughout the film there is a strong undercurrent of the injustice to animals. One of the students’ professors, Doctor Dillamond (voice of Peter Dinklage), a goat, and his animal brethren are oppressed and stripped of their ability to talk. But these scenes are more disturbing than in the musical because they happen to real-looking animals, as opposed to humans playing animals or puppets, and because there are actual guards that come to get Doctor Dillamond. This evokes a feeling of real fear for the animals that can’t be matched by the stage show, which could be good or bad depending on your perspective.

The cast of the film is, for the most part, wonderful, although Cynthia Erivo is too old to play Elphaba. And while she can’t pull off young, she can pull off all of the emotions the character feels and she can sing beautifully — so if you can get past her age, you’ll still enjoy the movie. Ariana Grande is equally adept as Glinda. This is Grande’s first major movie role, but she has real theater-kid energy, and it’s showed off here in the best fashion. In fact, the whole cast lives up to the hype. There are no weak links, even if Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum’s singing could use some work. 

Director Jon M. Chu has really outdone himself with this movie. While he’s directed epic scenes before in movies like “Crazy Rich Asians” and “In the Heights,” he’s never directed on such a huge scale, and he pulls it off with great aplomb. There are some things that seem unnecessary here, such as the switch from black and white to color in the credits (a nod to “The Wizard of Oz” that seems a bit silly). But for the most part, the musical fires on all cylinders, so we’re off to a good start. We’ll see around this time next year if “Wicked: Part 2” keeps the party going, or if “Wicked” fatigue sets in for everyone.

“Wicked” comes to theaters on November 22.