Sonic x Shadow Generations - Amazon UK, 27.99For $30, youre getting Sonic Generations remastered, paired with the ultimate Shadow experience in Shadow Generations. Its an incredible package and a contender for game of the year in my opinion. Whether you're a Sonic fan or not, this is a must-play experience and a bargain at this price.IGNs Jada Griffen reviewed the game, awarding it a 9: Sonic X Shadow Generations takes an already excellent game and spring jumps it to new heights at a blistering pace by doubling up the campaign length with creative level design, fantastic bosses, plenty of collectibles, and an appreciable graphical upgrade.Robert's Favorite Games Played in 2024 (So Far)Everything I've loved playing this year, which also includes some games I revisited, and even some oldies I played for the first time. See AllWhile the brand-new Shadow content isn't necessarily long on its own, it adds a nice change of pace to the collection of all-time great Sonic stages Generations already contained, and theres an exciting new story thats filled in as you explore the overworld for collectibles, activities, and challenges.This bulked-up remaster soars far and above previous enhanced versions we've gotten in the Sonic franchise, and hopefully will be the gold standard Sega holds itself to when it decides to bring back other Sonic games from the past.More Switch Black Friday DealsSwitchMetal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.1SwitchBalatro Special EditionSwitchUnicorn OverlordSwitchShin Megami Tensei V: VengeanceSuper Monkey Ball Banana RumbleSwitchThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of WisdomWhen Is Black Friday 2024?The actual date ofBlack Friday in 2024 falls on November 29, but the holiday deals season starts a lot earlier than that. Plenty of retailers have already been dropping deals online. More and more deals will roll out leading up to the event, which culminates in massive discounts on Black Friday. Retailers will not reveal their biggest Black Friday deals until the big day, but most general deals will be available well in advance, such as the impressive Sonic deal.Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

If you have the slightest familiarity with Wicked, you know Jon M. Chus film adaptation had to shatter the roof off when it came time to bring Stephen Schwartzs iconic song, Defying Gravity, to the screen. Marketing is supposed to sell you on a film, of course, but every trailer that featured the number in some teasing capacity undersold itas if hoping not to get expectations up. Yet for some fans, the choice left a sour taste in the mouth due to incomplete visuals and Cynthia Erivos voice not being as theatrical as the Ephabas who came before her. Now that the final product is here, though, it is safe to say Wicked the movie does justice to the song, placing it in a cinematic lens thats cathartic in its own way.This film version of Wicked depicts Elphaba as an introverted young woman who suppresses the emotional abuse shes suffered because of her green skin. Erivios approach is thoughtful and sensitive, portraying Elphie as a sweet, quietly misunderstood person. Elphie opens up about her wounds in scenes with Glinda (Ariana Grande), especially in the latter half of the movie as they become close friends. But she remains isolated as all other characters dismiss or ostracize Elphaba. Glinda (or Galinda) is the only person she can be honest and confide in. In this new context, its even harder not to sympathize with Elphie. I felt like a mother who wanted to shout, My poor baby!With all that internalized low self-esteem and loneliness, one might even briefly hope the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) can make Elphies dream of losing her green skin come true. But when she and Glinda meet the Wizard, her objectives quickly change. Elphaba makes a selfless request to free the animals from imprisonment as her one wish. Alas, Elphie soon learns that her only reason for being in the Wizards castle is for a test her mentor Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) devised: they want to see if she can cast magic from the impenetrable Grimmerie spellbook.When she learns the Wizard has no magic, and his and Morribles intentions are to use her as a pawn to spread his fascist propaganda rhetoric across the nation and silence animal activists, Elphaba becomes self-actualized. And the film goes to show the extent of Ozs totalitarian power in a way the stage cannot. Fans of the Broadway show are familiar with this dark turn, but it is a rattling display onscreen. Chu and company craft an intense and frightful action sequence where Gilda and Elphaba attempt to escape from the Emerald City guards and the flying monkeys that Elphaba was tricked into creating.All the emotional stirring tension throughout the film firmly places you in Elphabas shoes by this moment. You can tell that Elphaba and Glindas friendship has shifted. Elphie realizes that she only has herself to look up to after her worlds been shattered while Glinda tries convincing her to surrender to the authorities out of fear.By the time Defying Gravity commences, the impact of your emotional attachment toward Elphaba is stronger. To see Elphaba pace around the towers highest room during her number, coming to her sense of power, while Erivo powerfully sings Schwartzs soulful tunes, sends chills.Writers Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox take bold creative liberties to render the number in cinematic form. In the fateful moment where Elphaba jumps from the tower, she initially falls, even seeing herself as a kid in the reflection of the towers glass as she tumbles long after what was supposed to be the beginning of her high note on stage. In that moment, the suppression of her power and herself, which shes carried forever as a way to protect that young girl within from hatreds and bigotries, is finally released.After she reaches out to her reflection and finally accepts herself, the film cuts back to her reality, and her broom is in her hand. Its a striking display that only the power of movies can evoke. a visual cue that stylishly goes beyond its source material and grips you to the soul.Only after this palpable delay of the songs first crescendo, which the movies score has set anticipation for, does Elphie sing, When you find me, look to the western sky! And in that moment, she is facing down those who tried to oppress her. She liberates herself and the audience from their menace.It also helps that Wicked doesnt falter in handling the racial prejudice themes stemming from Gregory Maguires novel. Anyone who has ever faced racism can deeply connect with every note Erivo delivers in his moment. The films magical attention to character, even at the most pivotal moment within the story, truly makes the number come alive, rendering it a worthy reinterpretation that other stage-to-screen adaptations should take note of.Wicked is playing in theaters now.

This article contains major Gladiator II spoilers.Ridley Scott has made a triumphant return to the arena with Gladiator II, a piece of cinema with a capital C that has all the spectacle you would want from a sequel to his 2000 masterpiece. But just as with the Russell Crowe-starring original, Gladiator II doesnt simply coast on its epic military campaigns and brutal Colosseum battles. It wants to say something too.Its also clear that Sir Ridley is a fan of the classicsa fact you mightve picked up on in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. And in Gladiator II, he and writer David Scarpa mine similar subtext from ancient mythology. This is introduced in a pivotal scene early on in the movie in which Lucius (Paul Mescal) is first introduced to twin emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) as a champion-in-waiting, captured during Romes conquest of Numidia.After being forced to kill a fellow gladiator in a bloody brawl, Lucius refuses to speak to an infatuated Geta, opting instead to recite a poetic verse:The gates of hell are open night and day;Smooth the descent, and easy is the way:But to return, and view the cheerful skies,In this the task and mighty labour lies.Power-hungry gladiator wrangler Macrinus (Denzel Washington) attempts to diffuse tensions by claiming he has taught his foreign slave poetry, but Lucius outburstbe it designed to prove that he is no mere barbarian or to hint at his own Roman heritageis pointed enough to intrigue all parties.This specific Virgilian verse, which we later find out was taught to a young Lucius by his mother Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), carries much more weight to the story than a simple act of defiance, howeverThe Aeneid: Virgils Ancient Roman EpicAs revealed in the film, the verse hails from the poet Virgil and his epic The Aeneid. The poem follows the story of the Trojan hero Aeneas, who escapes the fall of Troy and is aided by his mother, the goddess Venus. Aeneas goes on to lead his fellow survivors on a perilous journey across the seas to Italy. There, he is fated to settle and lay the groundwork for what will become Rome several generations laterbut not before being reluctantly dragged into a bloody war against some none-too-welcoming locals.Constructed between 29 and 19 B.C. and commissioned (according to some) by the first Roman Emperor Augustus, The Aeneid was designed as a kind of national epic, inspired by the grand works of the Greek poet Homer (Books 1-6 can be roughly compared to The Odyssey, and Books 7-12 to the The Iliad). It not only promoted traditional Roman virtues of family, duty, and honor, but also suggested a heroic weight to the lineage of Augustus, whose reign ushered in a period of relative peace and stability.That means The Aeneid would have been around for over 200 years before the co-reign of Geta and Caracalla (209 to 211 A.D.), and definitely would have been established enough for Lucius to have studied it as a youngsternot that Scotts film is super concerned about pinpoint historical accuracy (but thats not a debate for here).The specific verse that Lucius quotes, meanwhile, is from Book 6, in which Aeneas goes on a quest to the Underworld to visit the spirit of his father, Anchises. It is uttered by the Sibyl, a priestess who guides Aeneas on his descent, and in very basic terms means that getting down, or dying, is easy; its coming back to life that is the real struggle.After many trials, Aeneas meets his father in the fields of Elysium and learns of his destiny to found a great city. He is, after all, introduced to the unborn souls of Romes future heroes.How The Aeneid Ties Into Gladiator IIs StorySo how does this relate to Lucius journey? On a basic level, it speaks to our heros near-death experience at the beginning of the film where his vision sees him stirring on the banks of the river Styx as his wife, who has been killed in battle during the Numidian campaign, joins the ferryman Charon (also encountered by Aeneas) to journey to the afterlife. Leaving her to return to life is a path beset by pain, violence and, yes, mighty labors.But there are other parallels between Aeneas and Lucius too. Under Geta and Caracallas debaucherous, tyrannical rule, the Rome of Gladiator II is in a sorry state, corrupt beyond measure and rotting from within. And Lucius, who eventually accepts his lineage as the descendant of Marcus Aurelius and a prince of Rome, ends up on his own quest to re-found the ailing city according to his grandfathers dream of a fair and peaceful empire.He even looks to his real father, Russell Crowes Maximusnotably last seen walking through a spiritual field of golden wheat and abundancefor guidance.The Aeneid is obsessed with the concept of pietasthat is, a sense of duty or devotion to ones family, country, and fate. An acceptance of obligation. A higher calling, if you will. To Virgil, Aeneas is almost the personification of this,leading his fellow Trojans to a new home despite great personal sacrifice along the way.Read more Likewise, Lucius has spent most of his life in exile, actively hiding from his destiny, only to grudgingly acknowledge it on his return to his old life. Scott himself alluded to this in an interview with Premiere, comparing the end of the film to The Godfather where a man ends up with a job he didnt want.He went on to reveal that, should there be a Gladiator III, it will find Lucius as a man who doesnt want to be where he is. Expect more mighty labors ahead

With iOS 18.2, Apple introduced an all new Mail app. It introduced mail categorization, a fresh coat of paint, contact photos/business logos for conversations, a new system for grouping emails, and more. All of that sounded nice when it was unveiled back at WWDC, but now that Ive actually spent some time using it, Im having some doubts.Mail CategorizationOne of the biggest features in the new Mail app is categorization, breaking down your emails into varying categories of Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions.This all sounds nice in concept, since itd declutter your inbox, and the Primary tab would contain everything thats important. In practice though, a lot of things were incorrectly categorized, and I found myself swiping over to the All Mail tab most of the time, that way I could see everything without having to deal with inaccurate sorting.And yes, you can choose to recategorize senders if you dont like how Apple chose to sort it. However, I find that a bit tedious compared to simply turning categorization off entirely.How to disable itApple thought about the fact that everyone might not necessarily like categorization, and provided a simple way to disable it.Click on the three dots in the upper right hand corner of the inbox, and you can swap from Categories to List View. This provides an All Mail experience, while still keeping the profile pictures and other design elements of the new Mail app.This setting is also inbox by inbox, so if youd like to have categorization on all inboxes, but a list view for others, you can do that.Priority notificationsLuckily for me, Apple already has Priority Notifications in the Mail app, which does a much better job at quickly highlighting whats important, without me feeling like Im potentially missing out on emails because of less-than-ideal categorization. This feature has definitely saved me a couple times. Obviously, this feature requires an Apple Intelligence capable device (iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, iPad mini 7, and M1 and later Macs/iPads) but its my preferred method of seeing whats important.Apple will also soon be expanding Priority Notifications to all Apple Intelligence capable devices in a future iOS 18 release, allowing you to keep track of whats most important, across all of your varying apps not just mail. However, thats not here quite yet.What do you think of the new Mail app in iOS 18.2? Let us know in the comments below.Follow Michael:X/Twitter,Bluesky,InstagramAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

I have an AirTag on my keychain to keep track of my keys, but obviously an AirTag is too big and bulky to fit inside a wallet. Thats what the SwitchBot Wallet Finder is for. (Wallet Finder is currently 30% off for Black Friday, so its an even better deal than normal right now.)Disguised inside a thin, credit-card form factor, the SwitchBot Wallet Finder connects to the Find My app on your iPhone, so you can follow its location, and it even houses a speaker so you can make it beep to help you find your wallet when it inevitably gets lost somewhere in your home.Read on for my review SetupSetup is super simple. Although it ostensibly supports its own app and Android, I have used it solely through the Apple Find My app built into the phone. I didnt even download the SwitchBot app at all. To set up, you open Find My, tap Add Item, and press and hold the button on the Wallet Finder card for a couple of seconds. You then choose a name and emoji icon to identify it later. By default, it suggested Benjamins Keys, but I renamed it to Benjamins Wallet, selected one of the wallet-adjacent available emojis, and pressed Continue and I was done. Then, it just slips into one of the empty card pockets in my wallet.How it tracks locationAs a reminder, Find My accessories do not have GPS. Instead, they broadcast a low-energy Bluetooth signal that nearby Apple devices like iPhones, iPads and Macs pick up on. The location is then transmitted securely and privately to the Find My network, so you can hopefully locate and retrieve your lost item.Even if you are miles away, as long as someone with an Apple device is nearby, the wallet will be locatable on the map in the Find My app.Theres also no ongoing subscription or other costs to worry about (unlike some competitors).As demonstrated by the success of AirTags, the Find My network works really well and the SwitchBot Wallet Finder is just as effective. If your item is stationary, and nearby one of the billion iOS devices in the world, it wont take too long for its location to appear in Find My. If the item is moving, location updates are slightly delayed behind real-time, however.You can also use the Find My app to mark your item as explicitly lost. Then, if someone else finds your wallet and wants to help give it back to its rightful owner, they can use the Identify Found Item feature in Find My which will present your contact information to help arrange returning it to you. The upcoming iOS 18.2 update even adds the ability to make a shareable link to send to others to help assist in tracking down your lost items.Finding nearby using the speakerUnlike an AirTag, the Wallet Finder does not incorporate an ultra-wide band radio. That means it lacks the Precision Finding feature that the AirTag offers when in close proximity.However, the integrated speaker in the Wallet Finder more than suffices for the job of finding your lost wallet. When in Bluetooth range, the card emits a reasonably loud tone. It is slightly less loud than the sound an AirTag makes, and naturally gets a bit muffed when ensconced inside a closed wallet, but it is still audible, more than enough for you to hear it from a good distance away.For the (embarrassingly common) case of when Ive misplaced my wallet somewhere inside my house, I can now just open the Find My app, press Play Sound, and instantly hear which room it is in.Find My also works with the Siri voice assistant, as an added convenience. For example, I can shout wheres my wallet? at my HomePod, and it will start pinging it for me.Safety and trackingJust like AirTags, the Wallet Finder is marketed as a device to help recover lost items. It is not designed to address problems of theft or nefariously track other people. If the card is separated from its owner for a period of time, the speaker will emit a noise to make people aware of its presence. It will also trigger Unknown Item Moving With You alerts on any nearby iPhones in the vicinity.Its also worth pointing out that someone else with the card in their possession can deactivate the Find My connection, by pressing the button in a particular shutdown sequence.ConclusionIf used for its intended purpose, the SwitchBot Wallet Finder is a very effective and great value for money. While obviously designed to be kept inside a wallet, it even has a built-in hole cutout if you did want to slip it on some kind of lanyard or keychain. I highly recommend it.Perhaps the only drawback to be aware of is that the Wallet Finder card has no means of replacing the battery. It is a single use consumable, rated for about 3 years of usage. But the contents of your wallet are valuable enough that it probably makes financial sense to simply buy another when it eventually dies. You just have to be okay with yourself regarding the environmental waste.Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

PhotongraphScientists Say They've Discovered the Shape of Individual PhotonsbyFrank LandymoreIt's "something that hasn't been seen before in physics."Nov 23, 12:30 PM ESTBen Yuen & Angela Demetriadou / University of BirminghamIt's "something that hasn't been seen before in physics."Everything Is IlluminatedLighten up, people: a fascinating new paper has dropped that describes the shape of a single photon, the smallest possible form of energy in an electromagnetic field that we commonly know as light.The work, published as a study in the journal Physical Review Letters, goes into extreme detail to predict how these quanta of light are emitted by atoms and defined by their environment. There are limitless possibilities for how those interactions could unfold, but the researchers say they've developed a practical method for predicting them."Our calculations enabled us to convert a seemingly insolvable problem into something that can be computed," said study lead author Benjamin Yuen, a physicist at the University of Birmingham in the UK, in a statement. "And, almost as a byproduct of the model, we were able to produce this image of a photon, something that hasn't been seen before in physics."Shaping UpAssigning a specific shape to a photon is a fraught task, because these massless elementary particles exhibit wave-particle duality, a curious trait of objects inhabiting the quantum realm, which is governed by spooky uncertainties.This means that scientists think of photons as behaving like both particles and waves, depending on how they're observed. Furthermore, photons are also understood as excitations in an electromagnetic field, or like a ripple of discrete energy.In short, they're very hard to pin down, and complicating matters further, there are infinite ways that light can interact with its surroundings and with the atoms that emit them.But the researchers say they were able to circumvent this by reducing those possibilities into discrete sets with the help of some classical mechanics or dividing them into "pseudomodes" thereby streamlining how they think of the photon interactions.Going the DistanceThe advantage to modeling a photon this way, according to the researchers, is that it can accurately describe how the tiny particles travel into a distant region of the electromagnetic field surrounding an object known as the far field. Previous methods had a disconnect between the near field and far field, providing an incomplete picture of systems of light at the quantum level."This work helps us to increase our understanding of the energy exchange between light and matter, and secondly to better understand how light radiates into its nearby and distant surroundings," said Yuen."Lots of this information had previously been thought of as just 'noise' but there's so much information within it that we can now make sense of, and make use of."This new understanding has very practical implications. For quantum physicists and material scientists, it could transform the development of nano-optic technology, leading to "improved photovoltaic energy cells, or quantum computing," Yuen said, and also advances in communications technology.And let's be honest: it's also an aesthetic delight.Share This Article

Nightmare Shot RotationScientists Find Evidence That Ancient Egyptians Were Tripping BallsbyVictor TangermannThey discovered a "cocktail of psychedelic drugs, bodily fluids, and alcohol" inside of a 2,000-year-old vase.Nov 23, 12:00 PM ESTGetty / FuturismThey discovered a "cocktail of psychedelic drugs, bodily fluids, and alcohol" inside of a 2,000-year-old vase.Bes UpA team of researchers from the University of South Florida has discovered the first-ever physical evidence that ancient Egyptians got messed up on rowdy cocktails of hallucinogenic drugs.The findings add evidence to centuries-old myths surrounding the rituals and practices of ancient Egyptians, whose empire lasted from around five thousand years ago until shortly into the common era.The team examined an ancient Egyptian "Bes" mug, which was donated to the Tampa Museum of Art in 1984. These mugs are decorated with the head of Bes, the ancient Egyptian god associated with protection, fertility, healing, and magical purification.As detailed in their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers identified the remains of psychoactive compounds while closely examining the interior of the mug."Theres no research out there that has ever found what we found in this study," said study lead and University of South Florida anthropology professor Davide Tanasi in a statement. "For the first time, we were able to identify all the chemical signatures of the components of the liquid concoction contained in the Tampa Museum of Arts Bes mug, including the plants used by Egyptians, all of which have psychotropic and medicinal properties."Ancient Jungle JuiceIt's a fascinating new wrinkle in a mystery that has been puzzling scientists."For a very long time now, Egyptologists have been speculating what mugs with the head of Bes could have been used for, and for what kind of beverage, like sacred water, milk, wine or beer," said Tampa Museum of Art curator Branko van Oppen in a statement. "Experts did not know if these mugs were used in daily life, for religious purposes or in magic rituals."Tanasi and his colleagues used advanced chemical and DNA analyses on samples carefully scraped from the mug's inner walls.They found the mug once held an astonishing "cocktail of psychedelic drugs, bodily fluids, and alcohol" in possible evidence of a magical ritual reenactment, Tanasi posited.Some of the hallucinogenic sources include wild rue and a water lily known to have been grown by ancient Egyptians, both of which were "traditionally proven to have psychotropic and medicinal properties," according to the paper."Egyptologists believe that people visited the so-called Bes Chambers at Saqqara when they wished to confirm a successful pregnancy because pregnancies in the ancient world were fraught with dangers," Van Oppen explained. "So, this combination of ingredients may have been used in a dream-vision inducing magic ritual within the context of this dangerous period of childbirth."More on ancient Egypt: Scientists Find Evidence of Advanced Technology Used to Build Egyptian PyramidShare This Article

Nov 22, 2024Ravie LakshmananCyber Espionage / MalwareA China-linked nation-state group called TAG-112 compromised Tibetan media and university websites in a new cyber espionage campaign designed to facilitate the delivery of the Cobalt Strike post-exploitation toolkit for follow-on information collection."The attackers embedded malicious JavaScript in these sites, which spoofed a TLS certificate error to trick visitors into downloading a disguised security certificate," Recorded Future's Insikt Group said."This malware, often used by threat actors for remote access and post-exploitation, highlights a continued cyber-espionage focus on Tibetan entities."The compromises have been pinned on a state-sponsored threat group called TAG-112, which has been described as a possible sub-group of another cluster tracked as Evasive Panda (aka Bronze Highland, Daggerfly, StormBamboo, and TAG-102) owing to tactical overlaps and their historical targeting of Tibetan entities.The two Tibetan community websites that were breached by the adversarial collective in late May 2024 were Tibet Post (tibetpost[.]net) and Gyudmed Tantric University (gyudmedtantricuniversity[.]org).Specifically, it has been found that the compromised websites were manipulated to prompt visitors to the sites to download a malicious executable disguised as a "security certificate" that loaded a Cobalt Strike payload upon execution.The JavaScript that made this possible is said to have been uploaded to the sites likely using a security vulnerability in their content management system, Joomla."The malicious JavaScript is triggered by the window.onload event," Recorded Future said. "It first checks the user's operating system and web browser type; this is likely to filter out non-Windows operating systems, as this function will terminate the script if Windows isn't detected."The browser information (i.e., Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge) is then sent to a remote server (update.maskrisks[.]com), which sends back a HTML template that's a modified version of the respective browser's TLS certificate error page that's usually displayed when there is a problem with the host's TLS certificate.The JavaScript, besides displaying the fake security certificate alert, automatically starts the download of a supposed security certificate for the domain *.dnspod[.]cn, but, in reality, is a legitimate signed executable that sideloads a Cobalt Strike Beacon payload using DLL side-loading.It's worth pointing out at this stage that the website for Tibet Post was separately infiltrated by the Evasive Panda actor in connection with a watering hole and supply chain attack targeting Tibetan users at least since September 2023. The attacks led to the deployment of backdoors known as MgBot and Nightdoor, ESET revealed earlier this March.Despite this significant tactical intersection, Recorded Future said it's keeping the two intrusion sets disparate owing to the "difference in maturity" between them."The activity observed by TAG-112 lacks the sophistication seen by TAG-102," it said. "For example, TAG-112 does not use JavaScript obfuscation and employs Cobalt Strike, while TAG-102 leverages custom malware. TAG-112 is likely a subgroup of TAG-102, working toward the same or similar intelligence requirements."Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE

The following post contains a discussion of Wicked and a few minor spoilers for the movie nothing that would come as a surprise to anyone who has seen the Broadway show.Forthe last year,I have lived with Elphaba and Glinda.Thats not their given names, obviously. But ever since we took our nine and seven-year-old daughters to seeWickedduring 2023s Kids Night on Broadway, my two girls have been obsessed with the show. We watch clips on YouTube. Theysingthe songs every night at bedtime. We wentback and sawthe show a second time. We listen to the soundtrack on long car trips. The kids sing the songs some more. I beg them to give it a rest. They continue singing anyway.Mydaughters have tagged along to family films before (and theyve even reviewed things for me once or twice) but theWickedmovie was a horse of a different color (green, obviously). This was the first time in my professional life that my daughters (and my wife, who is also a hugeWickedfan dating back to when she saw the show for the first time in 2003 with the original cast) all flat-out demanded they come to a press screening.After the four of us saw the film, I asked the kids what they thought about it and how it compared with the Broadway show.(Mom makes a brief cameo appearance during the discussion as well.)Ive slightly condensed some of the conversation, but these are their unvarnished (andmostly very positive) reactions to the film.WICKEDUniversalloading...READ MORE: 20 Sequels You Forgot ExistedDad: So which did you like more, the Broadway show or the movie?7 Year Old: Movie.Dad:What about you? Which is better, the movie or the 9 Year Old: The movie!Dad: The movie was better than the show?9 Year Old: The person who played Elphaba, was so amazing.She did so good on Defying Gravity. And I also liked how, becauseon Broadway she just it felt more real in the movie than in the Broadway show. And you always want it to feel more real.Dad: I think I understand what youre saying. The movie has all the special effects and the massive sets. Its not just ona stage.9 Year Old: Also, when we were sitting close [on Broadway], I could see[Elphaba] had green gloves on that went up her arms.Dad: And in the movie you didnt see that, so it felt more real?9 Year Old: Mmmhmm.Dad: Did you cry at all? Were there any moments that really got you feeling stuff?9 Year Old: No.7 Year Old: I didnt cry during the movie. I felt like I wanted to at some points, like Defying Gravity.Dad: Mom was crying. I looked over and she was wiping tears away.Mom: It was so good.WICKEDUniversalloading...Dad: What differences did younoticebetween the movie and the show?7 Year Old: The movie was more sad and more scary.Dad: Why more sad?7 Year Old: They were crying and upset that they had to leave each other. And the guards were trying to get them and stuff.Dad: So that made it scarier?7 Year Old: Yeah.Like when the monkeys were trying to get her. And the monkeys had wings.9 Year Old: That scared me wait, wheres my magic wand?Dad: Mom has it.9 Year Old: Oh phew.Dad:So the monkeys scared you?9 Year Old: The first time the monkeys came out and, like, crashed into the window. I was like Ah!Dad:Do you know what thats called? Thats called a jump scare. You want to know why?9 Year Old: Because you jump and youre scared?Dad: Pretty much. So if themovie was sadder and more scary, why did you like it more than the show?7 Year Old: It was more silly.Dad: Who was more silly?7 Year Old: Fiyero. So was Glinda. In Popular she was very funny. I also like when she spun around on the ceiling.Dad: Oh, you liked when she jumped up andhung on to herchandelier during Popular. Am I going to catch you trying to do that in our house?7 Year Old: No.WICKEDUniversalloading...Dad:You say you like the movie better than the show. But was there anything that was better in the show than in the movie?9 Year Old:What I didnt really like in the movie ... Fiyero ... well, two things. First: We meet Fiyero in the woods. I didnt really like that scene. I likedhow they did it better in the show.Dad:Okay, yes, they added a scene in there where Elphaba meets Fiyero before his first big song.[long pause]Dad: You said two things. Was there was something else about Fiyero you didnt like?9 Year Old: Uh ... no.Dad: What did you think of Dancing Through Life?9 Year Old:[Holding up bag of leftover popcorn] Can I eat this?Dad: Hold on.[9 Year Old grabs fistful of popcorn]Dad: Stop.[9 Year Old shoves popcorn in her mouth. Dad sighs.]Dad:What did you think of little Elphaba in the beginning? That was another thing they added for the film.9 Year Old: Cute. I liked her glasses. I wish you had those glasses.Dad: That would be an interesting look for me.WICKEDUniversalloading...9 Year Old:I didnt like that they didnt do the thing whereElphaba gives herteacherher lunch and then heeats the paper instead.Dad: Thats true. That got left out. Well, its probably hard to do that when its a CGI goat.9 Year Old: Whats a CGI?Dad:So in the movie, that wasnt a real goat. It was made with computers and special effects.9 Year Old: Dad, the goatin the show wasnt a real goat either.Dad: Okay, yes, but that was a human wearing makeup.9 Year Old: And a mask!Dad:And a mask. But it was a real person under the mask. In the movie, the goat was basically an animated character.9 Year Old: Yeah, that character didnt look real.7 Year Old: He looked weird.UniversalUniversalloading...Dad: Did you have a favorite scene or song?9 Year Old: I liked Popular, but Defying Gravity was my favorite. Popular was my second favorite because Glinda did like a split, kind of, and spun around and hung on to the whats it called? The chandelier.Dad:Yes, your sister likes that part too.9 Year Old: It was so cool.Dad: What did you think ofthe actors voices?7 Year Old: I thought Elphaba was very very good.Dad: She really has a beautiful voice, huh?7 Year Old: It sounded so easy in Defying Gravity when she did it.Dad: It really does.7 Year Old: It sounds so easy, but its really hard!Dad: Oh, I know. I know.WICKEDUniversalloading...Dad:You have been waiting for this movie. Did it live up to your expectations?7 Year Old: Even better.Dad: Did it seem too long? Because this movie is about as long as the whole Broadway show, andits just the first act of the show.7 Year Old: I feel like it is a little long.Dad: But was it too long?7 Year Old: [shakes head no] Even though it is pretty long, its so good that I didnt mind. I liked watching it. I didnt want it to end.Dad: Is it weird that it endsin the middle of the story?7 Year Old: Its kind of not as weird as I thought it would be. I thought they would do the end and just turn off the television. Like [mimics a remote control turning off a TV] done.Dad: So you guys arent gonna want to see the second one, right? We can just skip it?7 Year Old:[grabs Dad and pulls him down to herface] I WANT TO SEE IT!Dad: Would you rather see this one again or the second part?7 Year Old: This one again.9 Year Old: Second part.Dad: Would you rather see this one again or go see the Broadway show again?Both: [Simultaneously] This one again.Get our free mobile appThe 25 Best Sequel TitlesThese sequels all share one thing in common: They all have really good titles.Filed Under: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jon M. Chu, WickedCategories: Longform, Movie News, Movie Reviews

Musicals are all about presence, spectacle, high emotions, and lowered expectations of realism. It seems natural that that format would translate pretty well to film, and most of the time it does. But there were a few decades there where Hollywood studios were barely making anything but musical pictures. While the movie musical will never be quite as popular as it once was, there are still one or two big ones a year that keep the dream alive.There are times, however, when that dream turns into a nightmare. There are few experiences worse than sitting down to watch a musical adaptation of a famous show, only to realize half an hour or an hour or a full 90 minutes in that, oh no, this is really bad, and its only getting worse, and there are two more hours left. The bad movie musicals are spectacles in and of themselves, and while we wouldnt want to watch any of them ever again, theyre still fascinating examples of just how bad things can get if youre not careful.To celebrate the worst examples of the form, weve gathered the ten worst movie adaptations of beloved stage shows, each adapted from a Broadway or off-Broadway musical whose popularity was enough to convince some studio that they must create a filmed version of this thing that people like. A few of these have become cult classics in their own right, whether because theyre so bad theyre kind of incredible, or because fans are stubborn, and tend to like what they like even if the vast majority of people dont. Most, however, are hated for very good reasons, and well never let them forget it.The Worst Movie Adaptations of Famous Broadway MusicalsSometimes the dream of a movie adaptation of your favorite musical turns into a nightmare.READ MORE: The Best Movie Musicals For People Who Hate MusicalsGet our free mobile appThe Differences Between the Wicked Movie and ShowThe Wicked movie is faithful to the long-running Broadway show but it does make a few significant changes to its source material.Filed Under: Annie, Cats, Dear Evan Hansen, Mean Girls, The Wizard of Oz