Practical over digital

Jon M. Chu wanted Wicked to be as “immersive” as possible, and so opted to use practical sets and effects instead of CGI where he could.

For example, the tulip field that leads to Munchkinland was entirely practical, with the filmmaker hiring the nearby Belmont Nurseries in King’s Lynn, England, to plant nine million tulips specially for the movie.

Much of Emerald City and Shiz University was real too, with the green metropolis set being the size of four football fields!

As for the train that whisks Elphaba and Glinda to Emerald City, that too was entirely practical. It was custom-built for the movie and weighed 16 tons!