Best WICKED Bloopers & Behind-the-Scenes Footage

#10: Glinda Makes Her Entrance

In the first scene, Glinda joins the celebration among the Munchkins of Munchkinland. Its an entrance reminiscent of her counterpart in The Wizard of Oz. Arriving in her pink bubble, the first time we see her in her ornate pink gown, she makes a huge statement. The footage of Ariana Grandes first entrance in the dress is really powerful. Shes luminous, and it really feels like the start of something amazing. Footage of that day shows Grande introducing herself to the crew and fellow performers on set, fully embracing the experience of making this incredibly special movie.

#9: Completing the Jump

In a pivotal scene in the Emerald City, Elphaba and Glinda make a daring escape from the flying monkeys and the Wizards guards. Elphaba comes into her powers just in the nick of time. She runs and flies across a giant gap between two platforms. Cynthia Erivo actually performs the stunt herself with assistance from a gravity-defying harness and pulley system. Even more amazing than the stunt is the clear sisterhood between Erivo and her co-star, Ariana Grande. When Erivo clears the jump, Grande cant even contain her excitement. She can be seen cheering from the other platform.

#8: Glindas Perfume Bottle

The Oscar-winning sets of Wicked were full of old-fashioned, whimsical, and downright ridiculous props. One of these crafted items was so amusing for Glinda actress Ariana Grande that she had a hard time keeping it together. The characters perfume bottle came with an extra special atomizer bulb that made a truly distracting, high-pitched wheezing sound when sprayed. In this hilarious outtake, she insists the crew needs to hear the sound it makes, proceeding to spray it repeatedly all over herself. The wheezing of the perfume bottle has Grande gleefully cracking up after the take is over.

#7: Falling Off the Rail

Not everyone on set could defy gravity. During the song Popular, Glinda is meant to do a death-defying walk along the railing overlooking the Shiz University quad. Luckily, most of that was achieved through CGI. But it did require Grande to balance on the railing underneath a mat to break her fall. That came in handy. Grande actually does take a spill in this behind-the-scenes footage. While shes not hurt, its her reaction thats priceless. She goes out of her way to clarify that she nailed the take used in the movie. The fall, she insists, was not when she was doing the actual stunt.

#6: The Flower

He may be the internets boyfriend, but Jonathan Bailey isnt always as smooth as he is on screen. During a press tour stop with People Magazine, Bailey and Ariana Grande almost fell over themselves laughing about an on-set gaffe involving a flower. In character as Fiyero, Bailey attempted to put a lovely little flower in Glindas hair. Unfortunately, it didnt go so well. The two made jokes about the blooper, but someone online found the clip. Bailey tries to shove the stem of the flower in her hair, but cant quite get it to stay in place. He rushes the camera and shakes the flower in mock frustration as his co-star cackles. Although theres no sound, its almost funnier that way.

#5: Elphaba Backstage

Elphaba is not exactly a character who belongs in the modern real world. The heavy green makeup and intricate braid Cynthia Erivo wore while in character as Elphaba took hours to apply. So, she couldnt exactly take it on and off between takes. It required massive patience, and a lot of sacrifice as far as comfort. In various backstage videos of Erivo, she can be seen walking around all the very modern, ultra-realistic trailers and equipment in her entire fantasy get-up. Its kind of hilarious to see her walking around set in her makeup, costume, and totally out-of-character but wearing a comfortable pair of shoes.

#4: Ive Been Through

On an episode of Wicked co-star Bowen Yangs Las Culturistas podcast, he and Ariana Grande fondly remembered some of their favorite outtakes and alternate takes. Although Yang expressed some reservations about doing bits with the star, clearly she was game. One alternate take that was eventually released sees Grande asking Yang how hes been. He responds by simply saying, Ive been through. This cryptic and dramatic answer became a go-to response on the set. Unfortunately, there doesnt seem to be any trace of the infamous strawberry bush blooper yet, but maybe theyll release it by the time part two comes out.

#3: Unfinished CGI

Glinda and Elphabas frantic escape from the Wizards lair is pretty frightening in the movie. Once you see the scenes that were cut before all the digital effects and CGI-flying monkeys have been completed, you cant quite look at it the same way. This edited clip is an alternate take of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande racing through the halls of the Emerald City set. You cant say theyre not giving it everything. Without all the effects, though, Grandes flailing arms and screeching as she dodges fake monkeys just reads as hilarious. It just goes to show how much movie magic theres still left to do after the actors do their thing.

#2: Defying Gravity

The performers of Wicked were tasked with a lot of live singing. But if you thought Cynthia Erivo was exempt from that due to her high-flying climactic number, youd be dead wrong. Defying gravity is exactly what she has to do to perform the movies most famous song. Attached to a huge harness and being thrown around, turned upside down, and tossed across a bluescreen soundstage, all while having to stay in tune and belt to the rafters. Director Jon M. Chu expresses his amazement, wondering aloud if its ever been done before. Were wondering the same thing.

#1: Popular Outtakes

Although Galindas big solo is chaotic energy personified, the real thing was a well-choreographed, polished sequence. Outtakes and deleted scenes reveal just how much room Ariana Grande was given to riff. In her puffy pink nightgown, she cycles through all sorts of physical comedy bits with her wand and lessons on being popular. Co-star Cynthia Erivo has the biggest challenge. She has to stand there and not laugh. From the clips weve seen, she mostly succeeds but every now and then it seems like Grande finally got her to break. With all this improvisation, its easy to imagine just how many ruined takes were probably left on the cutting room floor.

Are you excited for part two? Let us know in the comments.