It’s been 85 years since Dorothy landed in Oz on the silver screen. After 20 years on Broadway, “Wicked” finally arrives on the same screen in extravagant, sprawling fashion, bringing with it a certain kind of magic, wonder and plenty of toe-tapping tunes.

Screened in Dodge College of Film and Media Arts’s Folino Theater on Nov. 14, the attending audience was ablaze with excitement. People dressed up proudly and somewhat extravagantly as the two lead characters, clad in the witch duos trademark pink and green. Multiple contests took place and poster raffle winners were announced as cheers rang through the auditorium. Regardless of where you watch “Wicked,” expect energy from the crowd. And we’re happy to report that director Jon M. Chu’s musical delivers the same charge. This is a superhero movie for theater kids. It’s going to be popular, rife with moments bound to elicit gasps and applause, and it’s beautiful to behold. If you have any affection for the original Broadway production or musical theater in general, you’ll find something to appreciate and latch onto here.

Set in the land of Oz, “Wicked” follows Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) — later the Wicked Witch of the West — who is shunned by her peers and much of her family for her green skin. She ventures to Shiz University to usher her sister into the next stage of her life; once there, she first encounters Glinda (Ariana Grande) —  later the Good Witch— who is pampered and endearingly lackadaisical, but with an appetite for what the future holds. While at Shiz, Elphaba accidentally demonstrates her penchant for magic in a fit of frustration, which catches the attention of teacher Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). Morrible asks Elphaba to enroll, which kicks off a rivalry between her and Glinda that soon blossoms into a friendship that will change all of Oz forever.

The musical numbers will have you and the person next to you tapping your feet and humming (or belting) along, fighting the urge to get up and dance. Erivo and Grande’s powerhouse musical performances had people practically levitating in their seats, dare we say defying gravity. The film is a perfect blend of the spectacle of a Broadway production and the magic of cinema. Stunning choreography and lively ensembles of the stage seamlessly fitting in with inventive setpieces and imagery that would be impossible on a live stage.

There’s a long, wildly unpredictable line of pop stars breaking into acting in movies, and sure,  Grande’s career first started on television. Nevertheless, carrying a film of this size felt like a risky bet to put on Grande. Let us tell you, though, she delivers in spades. Glinda isn’t a terribly complex character — her lack of introspection or “outrospection” is part of her charm — but Grande nails every moment, fully embodying her every facet. She gives heft to a character who dances through life with the ignorance of someone in a floating bubble. A caricature becomes a portrait in Grande’s hands and we don’t think words can stress how funny she is in this movie. It’s no secret that she has a sense of showmanship that’s brought her such fame, but she’s tapping into a screwball comedy kind of register in her affectation and mannerisms that we didn’t see coming, but were delighted by.

Erivo is similarly excellent, albeit on a very different frequency than Grande, which only works to cement their shifting dynamic throughout the film. She doesn’t get to have nearly as much fun as Grande and is forced to do a lot more brooding. She’s got goosebumps-inducing vocals and she grounds a movie full of flying monkeys and talking animal professors in the turmoil of Elphaba as she navigates her weakness slowly becoming her greatest strength. There are few thrills in “Wicked” greater than Erivo belting out a song, and it feels like the whole movie is building to her rendition of “Defying Gravity,” which helps bring the film to a thunderous, soaring climax.

The allegory of “Wicked” is nothing all that dense or complex, but in these times of division, there’s something heartening about watching polar opposites come together in the name of opposing those who commit wrongdoing regardless of their standing in the hierarchy of Oz.

There’s an irony that in a film about the alluring nature of powerful gifts, the performances of Erivo and Grande take something of a backseat to all the Oz-related lore the film must squeeze into its second half. “Wicked” suffers badly from prequel trappings. Some of its callbacks to “The Wizard of Oz” are fun, but did we really need a prolonged scene explaining how they chose what color to make the Yellow Brick Road or how the flying monkeys got their wings? These call-outs to the original film hit with a thud and more frequently than they should. Probably not, and at a hefty 161-minute runtime, these moments drag the pace to a momentary halt.

Turning the Wicked Witch of the West into a fully realized human is no small feat, and the movie goes to great lengths to humanize and bring depth to Glinda and Elphaba. As the train leaves the station and heads to the Wizard, it’s as if the movie is doing the same, and where it goes is nowhere near as fleshed out or well-conceived as the sections that show the opposing witches’ humble beginnings. Jeff Goldblum can only drone on about the hierarchy of Emerald City for but so long before our interest starts to wane.

What they won’t tell you before you sit in your seats, however, is that this isn’t just “Wicked” — this is “Wicked: Part One.” You’ll have to return next year for the concluding half of the story, but with aligned expectations, what you’ll be left with is a pitch-perfect adaptation of the first act of the Broadway musical. Audiences won’t feel cheated, however, as this ends on a perfect note in the most literal sense.