The 10 Best Characters From 'Wicked,' Ranked (2024)

Good news! Wicked has made its much-anticipated debut, finally allowing audiences the chance to see the story of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Galinda (Ariana Grande) come to life on the big screen. The movie is an adaptation of the Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz, of the novel by Gregory Maguire, which itself is based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Wicked delivers the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West, and details how she and Galinda the Good Witch were once friends. Along the way, we meet plenty of other characters that are important to their journey and the eventual story of The Wizard of Oz. Now that the movie is out, and we’ve gotten a chance to familiarize ourselves with everyone, let’s rank the characters of Wicked, shall we?

910

Wicked

PG

Adventure

Fantasy

Musical

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The story of how a green-skinned woman framed by the Wizard of Oz becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. The first of a two-part feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical.

Release Date

November 22, 2024

Director

Jon M. Chu

Cast

Cynthia Erivo , Ariana Grande , Michelle Yeoh , Jeff Goldblum , Jonathan Bailey , Ethan Slater , Marissa Bode , Bowen Yang , Bronwyn James , Keala Settle , Peter Dinklage , Aaron Teoh , Grecia De la Paz , Colin Michael Carmichael , Adam James , Andy Nyman , Courtney Mae-Briggs , Sharon D. Clarke , Jenna Boyd

Runtime

160 Minutes

Main Genre

Musical

Writers

Gregory Maguire , Winnie Holzman , Dana Fox , L. Frank Baum

Studio

Studio(s)

Marc Platt Productions

Distributor(s)

Universal Pictures

Character(s)

Elphaba Thropp , Glinda Upland , Madame Morrible , The Wizard , Fiyero Tigelaar , Boq , Nessarose Thropp , Pfannee , ShenShen , Miss Coddle , Doctor Dillamond (voice) , Avaric Tenmeadows , Gilligan , Professor Nikidik , Glinda's Father , Governor Frexspar Thropp , Melena Thropp , The Midwife

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10 Governor Thropp

Portrayed by Andy Nyman

Governor Thropp is the Governor of Munchkinland and also the father of Elphaba and Nessarose (Marissa Bode). His appearances throughout the film are brief, but we do learn more about him through Elphaba, and it doesn’t paint him in the greatest light. He is horrified when his wife gives birth to a daughter with green skin, so much so that when they have their second daughter, Nessarose, he forces his wife to chew milk flowers to ensure they do not have another child with green skin. This instead causes complications with the pregnancy, causing his wife to die in labor.

Thropp blames Elphaba for the entire situation, since he never would have forced her to eat the flowers had she not been born with green skin. He generally favors Nessarose, and doesn’t make any attempt to hide this from Elphaba. H e’s all around not a great father, and certainly not a good man, so he deserves a place at the bottom of the list.

9 Pfannee & ShenShen

Portrayed by Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James

Pfannee (Bowen Yang) and ShenShen (Bronwyn James) are Galinda’s best friends, and they are being grouped together solely because they (unfortunately) do not have much screentime. The two hilariously compliment Galinda’s over-the-top character, and it’s honestly a shame we don’t see more of them.

Whenever either of them is in a scene, Pfannee and ShenShen are bound to get a laugh; although, we do spend slightly more time with Pfannee than we do with SheShen. Still, the lack of screentime and discernible information about their characters makes it impossible to rank them higher.

8 Boq

Portrayed by Ethan Slater

Much like Pfannee and ShenShen, Boq (Ethan Slater) doesn’t have a ton of screentime in Wicked, which is the reason for his lower placement in the rankings. Boq is a munchkin who is in love with Galinda, and adorably so. However, she is infatuated with Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and tells him he should vy for Nessarose instead. He does so, but he’s still in love with Galinda, something Nessarose begins to notice herself.

Still, Boq isn’t a bad person– he is good to Nessarose, treating her kindly and making her night at the Ozdust special and one to remember. There’s not much substance to his character in Part 1 aside from his hefty crush on Galinda, so it’s difficult to rank him much higher.

7 The Wizard

Portrayed by Jeff Goldblum

Despite hearing about him throughout much of the movie, we don’t actually see the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) for very long. When we do finally meet him, it’s well worth the wait... at least, until he shows his true cards. He promises Elphaba that he will grant her any wish she so chooses, and give her a home in the Emerald City, while making her his new protégé. This is only a ploy, something Elphaba realizes once Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) arrives and she and the Wizard have Elphaba read from the Grimmerie and give his monkey servant the ability to fly. The spell ends up causing the monkey to sprout wings, causing him severe pain and devastating Elphaba. She then realizes that it was the Wizard’s plan all along, because he is a fraud and can’t read from the Grimmerie, or cast a spell and needed Elphaba’s power.

Of course, this isn’t a surprise if you’ve seen The Wizard of Oz, but it doesn’t make it sting any less as you watch Elphaba arrive so excited only to know her dreams are about to be crushed. Still, Jeff Goldblum is uber charming as the Wizard of Oz, so bonus points for casting. The Wizard will have a much bigger role to play in Part 2, which will bring many more layers to his role.

6 Nessarose

Portrayed by Marissa Bode

Nessarose is the sweet, younger sister of Elphaba. Due to complications from her mother’s pregnancy, Nessarose is in a wheelchair, but she doesn’t let it stop her. In fact, it only motivates her more. She is extremely self-sufficient, and on more than one occasion tells others not to help her because she can take care of herself.

Nessarose is also very starry-eyed, constantly seeing the good in people. When she is asked to the Ozdust Ballroom by Boq, she doesn’t think twice when he mentions Galinda gave him the idea, even when Elphaba thinks it strange. She’s a ray of sunshine in what can often be a sad story, and is a definite highlight of Part 1.

5 Madame Morrible

Portrayed by Michelle Yeoh

Madame Morrible is the Dean of Sorcery at Shiz University, and she takes Elphaba on as a protégé. She senses greatness in the young woman, and wants to help her learn how to harness her powers and learn how to control them. Elphaba, having always felt different from everyone else, is eager for a mentor, and finds a kindred spirit in Morrible. However, Morrible’s intentions aren’t as good as they initially seem.

By the second act of the film, when Elphaba makes it to the Emerald City and meets the Wizard, she realizes that Madame Morrible and the Wizard have ulterior motives and are using her magic to keep the animals of the world from speaking. It’s a twist that paints the character in a villainous light and makes her one of the bad guys, but it also makes her so layered and nuanced that she deserves to have a place higher up on the list. Plus, even though her motives were ultimately bad, Morrible did help Elphaba get a better hold on her powers, which proved useful to help her by the end of the film.

4 Fiyero

Portrayed by Jonathan Bailey

Fiyero is Wicked’s love interest– first he's introduced to be Galinda’s love interest, but slowly, Elphaba’s as well. He comes to Shiz University midway through the school year and wows everyone with his charm and carefree nature. Galinda is instantly smitten with him, naturally, while Elphaba couldn’t care less. It isn’t until Fiyero helps Elphaba free a frightened lion cub that she realizes she might feel something deeper for him. Fiyero is the only one who isn’t affected by her spell in class, nor is he frightened by her green skin when he first meets her.

Fiyero isn’t the most layered or interesting character to come out of Part 1 of Wicked, but he’s charming and brings an air of lightness. There’s also plenty in store for him in Part 2 as well, so there is much more to look forward to (including more Fiyero songs, because who doesn’t love those?)

3 Doctor Dillamond

Voiced by Peter Dinklage

In the land of Oz, animals can talk, and at Shiz University, they can teach. Doctor Dillamond (Peter Dinklage) is a history professor who just so happens to be a goat. He is also one of the only people who shows Elphaba uninhibited kindness upon her arrival at Shiz. He informs Elphaba that animals around the land are losing their ability to speak. This puts Elphaba on high alert, and she does everything in her power to stop it from happening. Doctor Dillamond is eventually forced to retire when the school bans animals from teaching, and is suddenly dragged away, leaving Elphaba heartbroken and confused, but determined to avenge him.

Doctor Dillamond is a relatively minor character in the runtime of the film, but he does play a very large part in Elphaba’s storyline and life. He’s the motivation behind Elphaba seeing the Wizard. In fact, when she finally does meet the Wizard, she decides that her one wish will no longer be having him change the color of her skin, but instead that he protects animals' right to speak.

2 Galinda

Portrayed by Ariana Grande

There are only two characters that could take the top two spots: Galinda and Elphaba. Choosing who goes to which spot is nearly impossible. In fact, they should both be considered number one. However, for ranking's sake, Galinda lands in second place. Galinda and Elphaba are two starkly different characters, and yet they compliment one another so well. Galinda is the heart of this movie. It begins with her telling us the story of Elphaba’s upbringing, and how she knew her, and we see the cracks begin to seep into her polished facade as we learn there was more to their relationship than just crossing paths.

Galinda starts somewhat like a mean girl. She’s cruel to Elphaba and teases her. Much like everyone else, she embarrasses her at the Ozdust, and she refuses to see eye to eye with her. Throughout the movie we see her character development, and we get to see how she grows into Glinda the Good as we know her in The Wizard of Oz. She allows herself to be vulnerable, and opens her heart to Elphaba, something she never would have done before. Ariana Grande does an incredible job of bringing the character to life and capturing every nuanced detail of Galinda. Every single song, line, and dance, has specific inflections that add to the story, and allow for an even deeper look into the character.

1 Elphaba

Portrayed by Cynthia Erivo

While Galinda is the heart of Wicked, Elphaba is the very soul of it. It is her story in its most raw form. Cynthia Erivo brings a specific take on Elphaba that is as painful as it is beautiful. She portrays her with all the joy of a young woman stepping into this exciting new part of her life, while still carrying the burden of the trauma and pain she’s carried throughout her life. Everything she does is out of the goodness of her heart, which makes it so much more upsetting that the town of Oz deems her “evil”. Erivo captures that slow, panicked descent so well, and that is why Elphaba takes the top spot.

Much like Galinda, we see a lot of development in Elphaba’s character. She goes from worrying too much about what others think and wanting the Wizard to change her skin color, to instead changing her motives entirely and wanting to protect the animals of Oz. She asks Morrible to teach Galinda sorcery, even though Galinda has been nothing but cruel to her. She stands up to the Wizard of Oz and escapes, so she doesn’t conform to what he wants from her. It’s a powerful journey for her, and one that is subtle yet mighty, and she more than deserves to defy gravity at first place.

NEXT: Every Movie Directed by Jon M. Chu, Ranked