One of the best things about the version of Oz portrayed in the Wicked movies is the wonderful talking animals. But how real could they actually be?

Wicked: For Good is finally here, so it’s time to return to that magical land of Oz to celebrate one of the most beloved (and commercially successful) musicals of our era. And we don’t JUST mean Wicked, but also MGM’s original, beloved Wizard of Oz. OK, who are we kidding, we’re mostly here to talk about Wicked and Elphaba again.

Last time we went to Oz, it was to discuss why everyone’s favorite (don’t call her) wicked witch, Elphaba, had green skin, and what kind of scientific possibilities and reasoning there might be for that unique color in the real world. But this time, we’re discussing the talking animals of Oz! Ever wonder how close we might be to a dryly-witted talking goat like Dr. Dillamond? Or whether animals might be capable of speech in general?

The answers might surprise you, as they did us. But also, we hadn’t quite considered how our lives would change if animals could express themselves the same way humans can. Wouldn’t your lifestyle be a little different if animals could speak to you? How have these talking animals been portrayed elsewhere in pop culture, anyway? And while we’re at it, we’ll share behind the scenes details about how a moment in Wicked brought out the best in some real animals out there.

Check out the latest episode of Does it Fly? to learn more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK_ppck3cDQ

SUGGESTED VIEWING

By now, we assume that you have seen the first Wicked movie, because it made all the money and thus we assume everyone on the planet has. However, it would be helpful to understand this episode if you did. We had not yet seen Wicked: For Good at the time we recorded this episode.

But just as we did in our previous Wicked episode, we’d like to suggest MGM’s original The Wizard of Oz (1939), Sidney Lumet’s The Wiz (1978), and the surprisingly disturbing Return to Oz (1985). Get on your brooms and go!