Wicked's Elphaba have more in common than people may initially think, with similarities beyond the fact they are both played by the American actor and singer Idina Menzel. The musical Wicked starts before Dorothy's arrival in Oz but catalogs her adventures in the fantasy land, telling the story from the perspective of two witches, Glinda and Elphaba. Frozen tells the story of two princesses, Elsa and her younger sister Anna.
The planned movie musical adaptation of Wicked will follow the Broadway show's story of how Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West, best known as the villain in The Wizard of Oz. Menzel played the role both on Broadway and in London, just as she played another character with magical powers, Elsa, in Frozen. Although set in completely different realms and undergoing different storylines, Elsa mirrors Elphaba in various ways, including hiding her magical powers and the song she is famously known for.
Elsa and Elphaba Share Similar Families
As a princess, Elsa is born into a powerful and rich family, the king and queen of Arendelle. As the firstborn, she also has the responsibility of one day inheriting the throne. Elsa loses her parents to a storm when both she and her younger sister are barely teenagers. During their childhood, the two sisters become estranged after Elsa accidentally harms Anna because of Elsa's abilities and powers. Elsa grows to resent her magic and is seen as the more troublesome sister by their parents, as well as the people of Arendelle, once Elsa's powers are revealed in Frozen.
Similarly, Elphaba is born into a powerful family, as narrated in the opening of Wicked. Her mother is married to the governor of Munchkinland, who rejects Elphaba after she is born with green skin. However, it is revealed that Elphaba is actually the child of a secret affair between Elphaba's mother and a traveling salesman.
Just as Elsa loses her parents as a child in Frozen, Wicked's protagonist becomes orphaned herself because she loses her mother at a young age and doesn't know where her father is. Like Elsa, Elphaba has a younger sister who is considered less troublesome than her, particularly by her father, who adores Nessarose and shows her all the attention Elphaba was deprived of.
Frozen's Elsa & Wicked's Elphaba Both Possess Secret Magic
While Frozen is often compared to Tangled and other Disney movies, its main character shares characteristics with Wicked's Elphaba that distinguishes her from other Disney princesses. Firstly, Elsa and Elphaba both possess magical powers from their birth. Their powers are different in nature, with Elsa having the power to manipulate ice and snow. Elphaba's magic, meanwhile, allows her to control inanimate objects and make things levitate.
Possessing secret magic is not the only trait these two characters have in common. Both Elsa and Elphaba unintentionally cause problems and even disasters because of their powers. When they are both children, the two are playing Anna and are accidentally hurt by Elsa's potentially inherited powers. Later on in Frozen, she ends up harming the entire kingdom of Arendelle by inadvertently causing an eternal winter.
In Wicked, Elphaba causes chaos during a class at Shiz University when she accidentally frees a lion from a cage. The lion escapes amid the confusion, and Elphaba gets into trouble. In both cases, their magic is triggered by their emotions. Neither Elsa nor Elphaba are able to control their magical powers when they lose control of themselves.
Elsa & Elphaba Are Both Demonized For Their Powers
In both Frozen and Wicked, Elsa and Elphaba have to keep their powers a secret. Growing up, Elsa hides her magic from everyone around her until she loses control of her emotions at her coronation ceremony and unleashes her powers. Elsa is seen as a villain for the better part of Frozen because of the eternal winter, which is eventually resolved in the film's climactic flipping of Disney fairytale tropes.
Similarly, in Wicked, Elphaba is considered a villain by everyone in Oz. This is partly because of bigoted assumptions based on her skin color being green. It is also because of the chaos she creates with her powers, especially at Shiz University, and that reputation grows after she flees the Wizard's palace and his offer to work together. Elphaba decides to go her own way, after which she becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West. Unlike Elsa in Frozen, by the end of Wicked, Elphaba is still considered a villain by most of Oz. Both women are seen as monsters because of their magic when in reality, all they want to do is use their powers for good.
Elsa And Elphaba Are Both Villain-Origin Stories
Additionally, both Frozen and Wicked base their main characters on established villains. Elsa represents Disney's take on The Snow Queen, and Elphaba is a spin on the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen follows its title character and villain of the story, the queen of snowflakes who lives in a land of eternal winter. Similarly, the Wicked Witch of the West is the primary antagonist in The Wizard of Oz as she wants to get revenge on Dorothy for killing her sister and stealing her ruby slippers. Frozen and Wicked suggest these cultural figures might actually be misunderstood.
"Let It Go" And "Defying Gravity" Share The Same Message
Both songs occur narratively after each character runs away after losing control of their powers. The songs represent turning points as they both start taking control of their own story and actions. Elsa singing "Let It Go" means she is not only coming to with her magical powers after hiding from them for her entire life but actively celebrating them.
Its message is also similar to that of Wicked's own most famous song. In "Defying Gravity," Elphaba finally decides to take control of her own life and stay true to herself, no matter the consequences. As with Elsa, Elphaba embraces everything she had resented until now, especially her powers. Both songs are about breaking free of societal expectations and embracing one's true self, which, in the case of Elsa in Frozen and Elphaba in Wicked, means not hiding their magic anymore.
