Credit: Universal PicturesOn November 22, Glinda, Elphaba, and everyone from the land of Oz will be brought to life on the big screen with the release of Wicked. Wicked will star Ariana Grande as Glinda, and Pinocchio (2022) star Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, AKA The Wicked Witch of the West. The film is based on the 2003 Broadway play, which launched itself into Broadway history the day it premiered.
Wicked has been in development for more than ten years, including being initially announced as a non-musical television adaptation at ABC. A number of actresses were considered for the lead roles, and then, in 2016, Universal announced that it would be turning Wicked into a movie. The film was supposed to premiere in 2019, but faced a number of setbacks, and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
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Finally, after more than a decade, fans are ready to head to the theaters and defy gravity.
In anticipation of the film’s release, a ton of must-have Wicked merchandise has hit stores across the county. Mattel even created gorgeous Glinda and Elphaba dolls. However, the dolls have created an unexpected controversy.
A website written on the back of the boxes accidentally directed fans to Wicked.com — a pornographic website — instead of WickedMovie.com, the website dedicated to the film.
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Fans were shocked that such a mistake could be made, and in a new statement, Mattel said that it was addressing the issue and “immediate action” was being taken.
“Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the U.S., which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page. We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this. Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children. Consumers who already have the product are advised to discard the product packaging or obscure the link and may contact Mattel Customer Service for further information.”
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Hours after news of the massive misprint went viral, the dolls were removed from every Target store shelf. They were also removed from Walmart, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Best Buy, DSW, Amazon.com, and other major retailers.
Mattel has not said how long it will take for the repackaged dolls to hit store shelves. With the holidays quickly approaching and the film’s premiere just days away, you can be sure Mattel is working overtime to fix the packaging and ship the dolls out.
However, not everyone is upset about the misprint. Some are even hoping to make some money off of it. Glinda and Elphaba dolls in the misprinted boxes are selling for more than $400.
Wicked will premiere on November 22 and is expected to do big business for Universal. The film was originally supposed to come out on November 27, but Universal moved up the movie’s release so it would not compete against Moana 2. Disney’s highly anticipated sequel is set to be one of the biggest films of the year.
Will you be seeing Wicked when it hits theaters on November 22? Do you think this major misprint error has cost someone their job? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!