Wicked's Attention to Detail Shines in Captions

Like many people, I bought a copy of the movie Wicked as soon as possible. It was digitally released on December 31, 2024, just over a month after its theatrical release, so I was eager to finally watch it the way I prefer watching most media: with captions.

I watch roughly 95% of media with closed captions on. This has been my personal viewing preference for several years now. While I don't have severe hearing loss, I've found that it's much easier for me to absorb and understand information when it's in a visual format rather than an audial one.

Captions also allow me to sometimes pick up details I wouldn't normally notice in media, like when characters mutter quietly or if there are background conversations happening. Watching Wicked with closed captions wasn't a dissimilar experience, but the detail I noticed was a little different this time.

WARNING: spoilers ahead if you haven't read or seen Wicked yet.

Anyone who enjoys Wicked knows that Glinda the Good's name is kind of a running joke and a source of frustration for the character. Before she was Glinda the Good, the bubbly witch was simply Galinda Upland, a student at Shiz University and aspiring sorceress. Take note of the "Ga" in Galinda. It's the "Ga" that consistently tripped up Dr. Dillamond, a professor at Shiz who also happened to be a goat. Unable to properly pronounce Galinda's name, he called her Glinda throughout the story instead. Later, after Dr. Dillamond was forcibly removed from Shiz, Galinda decided to drop the "Ga" from her name and permanently go by Glinda in a performative act of solidarity with her former professor.

Glinda's eventual name change is reflected in the film's captions. This is such a wonderful detail that could have been overlooked when captioning the film, and I was delighted when I noticed it.

In the opening moments of the film, the Land of Oz is celebrating the Wicked Witch's reported's death with Glinda the Good. The character's name always appears in the captions as Glinda for these scenes.

It's not until Glinda begins reminiscing about how she knew Elphaba Thropp before she was the Wicked Witch of the West that the captions change. At minute 14 of the movie is when the first mention of Galinda appears in the captions, coinciding with a younger version of the good witch arriving at Shiz University. Glinda doesn't make a reappearance in the captions until 39:37 when Dr. Dillamond first mispronounces the character's name.

Galinda announces her name change an hour and 45 minutes into the film and drops the "Ga." Her former name is only mentioned twice after that, and the captions switch to exclusively referring to the character as Glinda once she and Elphaba leave for the Emerald City.

These may seem like minor details, but they really highlight the care and consideration the production team took when captioning Wicked. Plus, you'd probably be shocked by how many times I spot errors in movie captions or how often captions are just plain bad for some media. The attention to detail and precise language shown in Wicked's captions should be the standard for every piece of media when captions are created. Quality captions can make a huge difference in someone's viewing experience.

In total, Ms. Upland's name appears 127 times in the film captions, 60 times for Glinda and 67 times for Galinda (if I managed to count every mention correctly). Keep reading if you'd like to see a full list of timestamped name mentions in the film's captions.

Timestamp Legend

• Timestamps marked with a "D" mean that Glinda/Galinda's name appeared in the captions because she was mentioned in the dialogue or lyrics. Example - "Dear Galinda, you are just too good!"
• Timestamps marked with an "S" mean that Glinda/Galinda's name appeared in the captions to indicate she was speaking or singing. Example - GLINDA: And she had a mother, as so many do.
• Timestamps marked with an "FX" mean that Glinda/Galinda's name appeared in the captions as part of a sound effect like sighing, gasping, or shrieking. Example - (Glinda shrieks)

Glinda/Galinda Timestamps

• 00:00:29 - Glinda (D)
• 00:00:38 - Glinda (S)
• 00:03:08 - Glinda (S)
• 00:03:13 - Glinda (D)
• 00:03:16 - Glinda (S)
• 00:03:42 - Glinda (FX)
• 00:03:44 - Glinda (D)
• 00:05:48 - Glinda (D)
• 00:06:18 - Glinda (S)
• 00:06:39 - Glinda (S)
• 00:07:17 - Glinda (S)
• 00:07:24 - Glinda (S)
• 00:07:26 - Glinda (S)
• 00:08:45 - Glinda (S)
• 00:10:36 - Glinda (S)
• 00:12:21 - Glinda (D)
• 00:14:02 - Galinda (D) - Glinda begins remembering her time at Shiz University.
• 00:14:03 - Galinda (FX)
• 00:16:49 - Galinda (FX)
• 00:17:30 - Galinda (S)
• 00:21:34 - Galinda (D)
• 00:23:12 - Galinda (FX)
• 00:24:41 - Galinda (FX)
• 00:25:02 - Galinda (D)
• 00:25:35 - Galinda (FX)
• 00:25:52 - Galinda (S)
• 00:32:29 - Galinda (FX)
• 00:32:42 - Galinda (S)
• 00:34:18 - Galinda (FX)
• 00:34:48 - Galinda (S)
• 00:36:39 - Galinda (FX)
• 00:37:13 - Galinda (D)
• 00:37:22 - Galinda (D)
• 00:37:41 - Galinda (D)
• 00:38:50 - Galinda (S)
• 00:38:59 - Galinda (FX)
• 00:39:37 - Glinda (D) - Dr. Dillamond mispronounces Galinda's name for the first time.
• 00:39:41 - Galinda (D)
• 00:39:47 - Glinda (D)
• 00:40:26 - Glinda (D)
• 00:41:35 - Glinda (D)
• 00:41:38 - Galinda (D)
• 00:41:40 - Galinda (D)
• 00:41:41 - Galinda (D)
• 00:51:45 - Galinda (S)
• 00:53:21 - Galinda (S)
• 00:54:38 - Galinda (S)
• 00:55:29 - Galinda (FX)
• 00:55:33 - Galinda (S)
• 00:55:54 - Galinda (S)
• 00:56:03 - Galinda (FX)
• 00:59:33 - Galinda (D)
• 00:59:34 - Galinda (FX)
• 00:59:52 - Galinda (S)
• 01:00:58 - Galinda (FX)
• 01:01:32 - Galinda (FX)
• 01:01:45 - Galinda (D)
• 01:01:48 - Galinda (D)
• 01:01:58 - Galinda (D)
• 01:02:09 - Galinda (D)
• 01:02:27 - Galinda (D)
• 01:02:58 - Galinda (S)
• 01:03:00 - Galinda (S)
• 01:03:03 - Galinda (S)
• 01:03:11 - Galinda (D)
• 01:03:39 - Galinda (S)
• 01:03:57 - Galinda (D)
• 01:06:28 - Galinda (FX)
• 01:07:29 - Galinda (FX)
• 01:08:08 - Galinda (S)
• 01:08:31 - Galinda (S)
• 01:16:42 - Galinda (S)
• 01:17:39 - Galinda (S)
• 01:20:02 - Galinda (D)
• 01:22:55 - Galinda (FX)
• 01:27:04 - Galinda (FX)
• 01:27:36 - Galinda (D)
• 01:27:50 - Galinda (S)
• 01:31:33 - Galinda (FX)
• 01:38:33 - Galinda (S)
• 01:40:58 - Galinda (FX)
• 01:42:57 - Galinda (S)
• 01:43:36 - Galinda (S)
• 01:43:44 - Galinda (FX)
• 01:45:01 - Galinda (D)
• 01:45:09 - Glinda (D) - Galinda announces that she's changing her name to Glinda.
• 01:45:22 - Galinda (D)
• 01:45:23 - Glinda (D)
• 01:45:26 - Glinda (D)
• 01:45:29 - Glinda (D)
• 01:45:58 - Galinda (D)
• 01:45:59 - Glinda (D)
• 01:55:53 - Glinda (FX)
• 01:56:29 - Glinda (FX)
• 01:57:48 - Glinda (D)
• 01:58:36 - Glinda (S)
• 01:59:08 - Glinda (S)
• 01:59:33 - Glinda (S)
• 02:03:00 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:03:08 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:03:13 - Glinda (S)
• 02:03:41 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:03:45 - Glinda (S)
• 02:04:04 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:06:24 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:07:01 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:09:10 - Glinda (S)
• 02:12:05 - Glinda (S)
• 02:13:42 - Glinda (S)
• 02:14:26 - Glinda (S)
• 02:14:34 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:14:39 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:14:45 - Glinda (D)
• 02:14:48 - Glinda (S)
• 02:14:54 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:14:56 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:15:02 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:15:12 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:16:16 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:16:17 - Glinda (S)
• 02:17:37 - Glinda (S)
• 02:21:26 - Glinda (S)
• 02:23:30 - Glinda (D)
• 02:24:24 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:24:54 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:26:21 - Glinda (FX)
• 02:26:37 - Glinda (S)