Wicked Beat Sheet Analysis

Why We Chose to Do a Save a Cat! Beat Sheet Analysis of Wicked

To this date, Wicked has garnered 258 nominations and 48 wins! Among its wins are Best Film from the National Board of Review. It has been nominated for 10 Oscars®, including Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Cynthia Erivo), and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Ariana Grande).

At Save the Cat!, we’re most interested in the screenplay—and the script by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox has already won a Writers Guild Award for Best Adapted Screenplay… with many nominations not yet decided.

Wicked is also one of the 10 Movies of the Year from the American Film Institute and the winner of the Golden Globe for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement.

Aside from awards, Wicked is a worldwide phenomenon that pulls at your heartstrings. Needless to say, it hits the Save the Cat! beats.

Wicked

Written by: Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox

Based on:
Wicked, Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman
Wicked, novel by Gregory Maguire
The Wizard of Oz, 1939 movie musical by Noel Langley
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, children’s book by L. Frank Baum

Directed by: John M. Chu

Genre: Fool Triumphant – Society Fool (with a healthy dose of Buddy Love)

The 3 elements of a FOOL TRIUMPHANT story are:

1. A fool whose innocence is his strength and whose gentle manner makes him likely to be ignored—by all but a jealous “Insider” who knows him too well.
2. An establishment, the people or group a fool comes up against, either within his midst, or after being sent to a new place in which he does not fit—at first.
3. A transmutation in which the fool becomes someone or something new, often including a “name change” that’s taken on either by accident or as a disguise.

Fool Triumphant – Society Fool Cousins: Sling Blade, My Left Foot, Mask, Zelig, Awakenings, Forrest Gump, Billy Elliot, Shine, Match Point, More Cowbell (TV), The Importance of Being Earnest (novel)

Save the Cat! Beat Sheet Analysis for Wicked

Opening Image

An eerie pan across a dark, wet floor to the most iconic of items—the black hat of a witch—morphs into a fantastical opening song reminiscent of 1939’s The Wizard of Oz (one of the many pieces of source material). The colors are bright, the perky and not particularly short citizens of Munchkinland run through 9 million (real) tulips, Glinda the Good is pink and perfect in her life-sized soap bubble, hitting high notes that only the Munchkin dog population can hear.

The tone is set: a gleeful and unnuanced establishment is about to meet its match in the form of the fool, the anti-hero that will shake this Shiz up.

Set-Up

Glinda (Ariana Grande) confirms the rumors: The Wicked Witch of the West is dead! Uttered from her rose petal lips, we are assured that the WW of W was the most wicked of all creatures and everyone knows that the word “wicked” has no subtlety or shading—it’s evil, plain and simple.

The big musical number ends with a flourish, complete with the burning of the Witch in effigy, and that should be the end of the story, but… it’s only the beginning. Glinda literally gets her bubble popped by a pointed question: “Is it true you were her friend?” The munchkins are stunned and a tad suspicious when Glinda hesitates; yes, she did know the Wicked Witch, their paths had crossed.

What?? How could goodness and evil ever exist in the same space?

Glinda introduces us to the thesis world by telling the origin story of Elphaba Thropp, the Mayor of Munchkinland’s illegitimate child; his wife had an affair with a mysterious traveling salesman while drinking an even more mysterious green elixir. Elphaba was born with vibrant green skin and an uncontrollable magical ability, horrifying the Mayor, who gives the child to the nanny Dulcibear to raise.

Young Elphaba (Cesily Collette Taylor) takes care of her disabled little sister Nessarose and dreams of meeting the Wizard of Oz, who loves emeralds—even though they’re green—and will grant your heart’s desire. For Elphaba, that’s becoming a different color so that she can fit in and not be judged on sight; to her, this is a thing that needs fixing. But is it?

The young adult Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) brings Nessarose to Shiz University, a boarding school for the elite, crossing paths with the always-fabulous pre-Glinda Galinda in a singularly unpromising meet-cute: they stare at each other with distaste and Galinda digs down deep (which for her is about two inches) magnanimously offering to help Elphaba with her “problem,” since she’s planning on becoming the world’s most powerful sorceress. Joke’s on her: Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), the sorcery teacher, turns up her nose at Galinda, who nearly faints at not getting her way… for once.

Theme Stated

The opening song, “No One Mourns the Wicked,” hammers home the theme in a whole bunch of Stephen Schwartz verses, but in case we missed it, Glinda poses the question: “Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?” Good and evil, identity, acceptance, bigotry, perception, power, and popularity—our film will explore all of these; musically, of course.

Catalyst

Head Shizstress Miss Coddle (Keala Settle), a fawning sycophant, grabs Nessarose’s wheelchair to “help,” treating her like an invalid.

Debate

Elphaba, who always sticks up for the underdog, reacts in rage—and things go flying, including all the books, benches, and Nessarose’s wheelchair. It looks like Elphaba’s about to be the center of negative attention once again since all the students are scared shizless and Nessarose is furious and embarrassed, but, surprisingly, Madame Morrible steps in, claiming responsibility for the hubbub and saving Elphaba from being exposed.

Elphaba is stunned when Morrible shows her affection and admiration; this motherless and largely fatherless girl melts at the attention. Morrible says that Elphaba shows great potential and wants to teach her, brushing off Elphaba’s insistence that she’s not even enrolled at Shiz. As Galinda is hanging around looking for a chance to brownnose (pinknose?) Morrible, she gets assigned to be Elphaba’s roommate, a shocking turn of events for the girl who was counting on a private room to house all her shoes.

Break into Two

One reason to love a movie musical? The beats are usually highlighted by a kickass song. Elphaba belts out “The Wizard and I,” signifying her readiness to move forward. She even gets to stand on a cliff, about to take the plunge into Act Two!

Fun & Games

It’s an upside-down world at Shiz University, where Elphaba brushes off the nasty comments from her fellow students because she is valued by Morrible, the antithesis of her early life. It’s also the debut of the new Odd Couple, Galinda and Elphaba; they launch into a rocky relationship typified by the song “What is This Feeling?” (Spoiler: it’s pure, unadulterated loathing.)

The students meet their history teacher Doctor Dillamond, a billygoat with the dignified voice of Peter Dinklage, and Elphaba develops a deep affection for him, due to their both being “different.”

Dr. Dillamond tells the class that there’s been a growing rejection of animal culture in Oz: the quiet, insidious rise of a fascist movement seeking to demonize their culture. He explains that during the Great Drought, people were hungry and angry and looking for someone to blame, something that Elphaba takes to heart.

We also meet a new student, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), a handsome rogue who loves to stir up trouble and all the girls (and boys) immediately fall in love with him. Galinda decides this man is hers, but Elphaba and Fiyero also connect on some level. Fiyero proposes a big party at the Ozdust and Galinda’s flunkies, Shenshen (Bronwyn James) and Pfannee (Bowen Yang), persuade Galinda to punk Elphaba by giving her a “gift” of the world’s ugliest black hat and inviting her to come to the party.

B Story

Elphaba and Glinda’s fraught best friendship will ultimately change them both “for good.” (You’ll have to wait until the sequel for the song, though.)

Midpoint

A false victory is in store for Elphaba at the Ozdust ball; when she enters wearing the black hat and everyone laughs and mocks her, Galinda is struck by a pang of conscience. Elphaba, in tears, still asserts her inner strength by performing a solo dance, showing her individuality.

Galinda, struck by this display of courage, digs down a little deeper and joins Elphaba in the dance, suddenly bonding them. And of course, everyone in the school follows Galinda’s lead, giving Elphaba the first feeling of belonging that she’s ever experienced. Now the she has the chance to become “Popular,” will she take it?

Bad Guys Close In

Doctor Dillamond breaks the devastating news: animals are no longer allowed to teach. He is forcefully taken from the class and replaced by a human teacher who brings a lion cub in a cage; this is the future for the animal population who will no longer be allowed to speak.

Enraged, Elphaba casts a spell on a bouquet of poppies she’d brought for Dillamond and all the humans in the class fall asleep—except for Elphaba and Fiyero. They take the lion cub from his cage and bring him back to the forest to free him, having a few moments to potentially ‘ship, but Elphaba knows it’s hopeless; after all, “I’m Not That Girl.”

Back at Shiz, Elphaba receives an invitation to have a private meeting with the Wizard; it’s her dream come true and she should be thrilled, but when Morrible says Elphaba must prove her worth to the Wizard, she has a moment of uneasiness. Her excitement takes over, however; she is on the cusp of greatness. Elphaba invites Glinda (dropping the “a” in an amusingly small gesture to honor Doctor Dillamond), who joins her.

In the Emerald City, all the residents are happy and dancing about, but we continue to feel Elphaba’s uneasiness; let’s face it, anyone who’s seen Judy Garland’s movie knows that all is not as it appears in this shiny place. In a delightful cameo, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, the original Broadway Elphaba and Glinda, join the Emerald City Players to portray the “Magical Wise Ones,” telling the origin story of Oz. The first sorceresses left behind their secrets in a book called The Grimmerie, written in a language no one understands any more.

The prophecy says that one day someone will come along who will have the power to read The Grimmerie, so when some random dude descended into Oz in a balloon, they all assumed he was the one to fulfill the prophecy. Hooray for the Wizard!

Or not so much. Elphaba and Glinda discover that the thundering techno-Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) is a mere human, but he’s such a charming carnival barker-shyster, they still believe he has the power to grant Elphaba her heart’s desire. Elphaba shows the growth in her character by abandoning the dream she’s cherished all her life—to be un-greened—and asking the Wizard to help the animals. Which he is more than happy to do, but not quite in the way Elphaba had hoped for.

When Madame Morrible shows up and they ask Elphaba to try to read from The Grimmerie, Elphaba finally has the opportunity to prove herself. She opens the book and is able to decipher it, immediately casting a mysterious spell.

All Is Lost

Unfortunately, the ancient magic that Elphaba has summoned does the unthinkable: wings suddenly sprout from the back of the monkey Chisery, the Head of the Emerald Guards, causing him terrible pain. In fact, all of the palace guards shriek in agony as they develop wings, but the Wizard and Morrible are delighted; now they’ll have “eyes in the sky,” spies to watch over any possible seditious animal activity.

Dark Night of the Soul

Elphaba is horrified, realizing that she’s been tricked; the Wizard himself is the one who’s been turning people against the animals. She’s been used by Morrible, lied to by the Wizard, and all her dreams come crashing down. Her lifelong hero is a fraud; he has no power at all.

Break into Three

The Wizard and Morrible try to persuade Elphaba that this is wise governance, because what brings a community together more than a common enemy? But Elphaba says no; she will not be a pawn in their power game.

Finale

Elphaba doesn’t have much of a plan when she runs down the hallway with screaming monkeys sprouting wings all around her, but her survival instincts quickly kick in. She gathers the team—her and Glinda—and executes the plan: they will commandeer the Wizard’s balloon and escape the palace.

But the Wizard and Morrible are a step ahead, thwarting their ascent and the theme comes full circle as wickedness is literally thrust upon Elphaba. The Wizard and Madame Morrible announce to all the people of Oz that Elphaba is actually the Wicked Witch, an evil fugitive from justice.

A and B Stories cross as the well-meaning but shallow Glinda begs Elphaba to reconsider working with the Wizard and achieving everything she’s always dreamed of, and Elphaba begs Glinda to come away with her as their power together would be “Unlimited.”

But Glinda cannot bear the idea of not being popular, not even for her best friend. It breaks Elphaba’s heart, but she digs deep down and executes the new plan: flying out of the palace, all alone, to take on the Wizard and his devious plan single-handedly.

Final Image

Seeing Elphaba escape the palace by jumping over shrieking winged monkeys and crashing through a plate glass window is thrilling, but nothing compared to the final image of the “Wicked” Witch swooping through the sky over Oz. Everyone underestimated the “fool,” but not anymore—not when she’s in her full regalia of pointed hat, broom, and black cape and claiming her new identity by hitting that final high belt E6 note of “Defying Gravity.” Holy Shiz.