Wicked director Jon M. Chu defends the movie's muted color grading. Adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name, the 2024 musical moves the story of Elphaba (Cynthia Eviro), the Wicked Witch of the West, to the big screen. While the movie has received rave reviews from audiences and critics, one aspect has attracted controversy. As the land of Oz has always been rich in color in both 1939's The Wizard of Oz and 2013's Oz: The Great and Powerful, the 2024 movie boasts an overall desaturated appearance.

Chu told The Globe and Mail that the film's muted color grading was deliberate in order to "immerse people into Oz" and "make it a real place" instead of appearing fake and plastic. Otherwise, he explained, the stakes and the relationships wouldn't feel real. Wicked also aims to offer a new way to experience Oz, where people can feel "the dirt" and "the wear and tear of it" due to the impact Oz has on the land. Chu further reveals that with Elphaba's story advancing, the color contrast would go "up" over time. Check out what he said below:

I mean, 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.

It’s also [presented in] a way we have not experienced Oz before. 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.

What This Means For Wicked

Colors Are Used Intentionally In Wicked

The use of color in Wicked has deeper meanings, and the film isn't lacking for colorful costumes and sets. While Glinda's (Ariana Grande-Butera) costumes are in abundant shades of pink and relentless fashion styles, Elphaba is authentic in her choice of color. She doesn't try to hide her naturally green skin, which also happens to be the core color of the Emerald City.

The land of Oz is supposed to be a magical place that's rich in color, but with the wizard in charge (Jeff Goldblum) lacking any magic of his own and the sinister plan to suppress magic in Oz, the world of Wicked is withering away, resulting in the film's dull and desaturated color grading. Chu's comment indicates that he's using color to tell the story of magic in the film. The lack of color also sets up for the change in Wicked Part II.

Our Take On Wicked's Color Grading

It's A Brilliant Detail That Contributes To Wicked's World Building

The dull color grading is doing exactly what it intends to do by disappointing viewers of the supposedly magical land of Oz ruled by an impostor. In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy tells her version of the story, having traveled to the land of Oz for the first time, but as viewers should now know, her version barely covers the truth in Wicked's story.

Without the change of color, the Wizard of Oz's impact on the magical land would go undetected. While the wizard is great at selling a fake story to the people in Oz and using colors and styles to decorate his lies, he can't hide the truth about the harm he has to the land and people. The Wizard of Oz makes Elphaba the villain, but Wicked's dull color grading in the first movie is a brilliant detail that shows the wizard's true face.

Source: The Globe and Mail