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Take it from Fiyero: Life is fraught-less when youre thoughtless.
Some of the movies best musical moments happen when Chu finds a new cinematic language to filter them through.
11.A Sentimental Man
11.
Look, Jeff Goldblum was not hired for his singing voice, which is basicallyfine.
10.Dear Old Shiz
10.
What can I say?
Even the introduction of Keala Settles Miss Coddle cant do much to make Dear Old Shiz stand out.
(No fault of Settles; its just not a This Is Me moment.)
At the same time, everyonesoundsgreat.
Whether through the magic of live singing or the magic of post-production, their voices meld together beautifully.
9.Something Bad
9.
(He certainly looks better than Elphabas Bear nanny.)
And Dinklages singing voice is pleasant if not exceptional.
Hes at least up to the task of this particular number.
This is almost certainly the best Something Bad we were going to get.
8.Im Not That Girl
8.
The song itself does a lot of the heavy lifting, so its hard to complain too much.
7.No One Mourns the Wicked
7.
Munchkinland looks great, borrowing just enough from the 1939Wizard of Ozwhile still feeling like its own thing.
This is where the scope of the film, as opposed to the Broadway production, comes into play.
6.One Short Day
6.
Its good to see them, isnt it?
5.The Wizard and I
5.
Its still a banger in the movie, naturally, again performed well by Erivo.
Erivos performance remains solid throughout, though shes better at the longing than the musical comedy.
4.What Is This Feeling?
The split screen in What Is This Feeling?
is the first time I felt confident that Chu was going to pull this movie off.
It also emphasizes the Sapphic undertones, but if you didnt already understand What Is This Feeling?
to be a love song, (Sarah Paulson inCarolvoice) I cant help you with that.
Its a magic trick.
3.Popular
3.
Its clear that Grande isWickeds most valuable player well before Popular.
Again, Chu manages to insert a movie moment that couldnt be done onstage in the makeover montage.
2.Defying Gravity
2.
Defying Gravity is undeniable.
Its a showstopper so showstopping that they decided to breakWickedinto two movies.
it was never not going to be at the top of this list.
Well,nearthe top.
There are a few reasons Defying Gravity misses out on the number-one slot.
The biggest issue is how much actionWickedincorporates into the big finale, particularly at the end of the song.
Thats followed by a bunch of aerial tricks as she evades the flying monkeys.
Its sort of like watching a music video with too many dialogue scenes in it.
I want to hear the song!
Youre going to cry.
Youre going to feel stirred.
Youre going to gag at Elphabas silhouette in full Wicked Witch of the West garb.
1.Dancing Through Life
1.
Maybe its because Im not immune to Jonathan Baileys charms.
Maybe its because Im finding myself in a very lifes more painless for the brainless place of late.
Do I love the new arrangement of the song?
Its not just Fiyero singing, though.
Dancing Through Life is also a nice spotlight for Marissa Bode and Ethan Slater.
