If Wicked the musical were an animated film

Heidi Jo Gilbert put together this terrific story board of Defying Gravity for an animated version for the Broadway musical Wicked (4.44 stars on TheaterAdvisor). We caught up with her to ask her about her inspiration for making this video.

TA: Tell us a little about yourself, where you are from, what you do, who you are.

Heidi: My name is Heidi Jo Gilbert, I grew up in Sandy, UT. I moved out to Southern California to go to animation school at CalArts, and have been here ever since. I’ve been bouncing around the animation industry since I graduated. Been at Pixar, Disney, and Nickelodeon, doing hand-drawn animation and storyboards. I love animation! I love musical theater.

TA: What inspired you to make this animation of Wicked?

Heidi: Wow I don’t really know where to start with that question. If I had to give the short answer I’d just say my love for the story and my passion for hand-drawn animation. But if you want the long story…

I first discovered Wicked from my twin brother. He got the album for Christmas the year it came out. I didn’t know anything about it …but when I looked through the album and saw Stephen Schwartz and Idina Menzel my interest was peaked. I obviously knew Stephen Schwartz from his animation work. And I had seen Idina Menzel on broadway as Amneris in Aida and I loved her. I fell in love with the music and the story. But I think the idea of an animated Wicked first came when I was going to school at CalArts. There was a small group of us Wicked nerds. I think we really annoyed a lot of the other students with our constant stream of Wicked talk. I don’t even remember where the idea came from, it was just like this hive mind. We just had to make it into an animated film! It had to be hand-drawn and we had to be involved! Ha ha! We didn’t think about all the obstacles, how we’re still just students, how hand-drawn animation was dying, how Universal owns the rights. We just loved the story, loved the music, and just had this dream to see it animated. We all got jobs at Disney after graduation. Three of us just never let go of the idea, me, Jennifer Hager, and Minkyu Lee, two of my best friends from school. I got laid off from Disney when production on The Princess and the Frog was wrapping. I had all this time on my hands, and the freedom to work on whatever I wanted. Minkyu had done these awesome character designs and visual development for Wicked for one of his portfolios. I just kind of thought to myself, nothing is ever going to happen until we just do something. So I just invested my whole heart into storyboarding that sequence. Everyone has their dream projects. This would be mine. I love that the story is about the friendship between two girls, and not just a love story. I like that it’s not really a happy ending. I just think animation would be the perfect way to tell that story onscreen. And I also think hand-drawn animation needs a story like that to tell. I just love them both so much and that’s what inspired me to do it. I know it’s a long shot, but it’s just coming from a sincere desire to see that story animated and the hope to be a part of it!

TA: When, and how many times, did you see the show?

Heidi: I’ve seen the show so many times I’ve lost track! I saw it for the first time in 2005. I’ve seen it at least 3 times in NY. And probabably another 5 or 6 times in LA. My friend Jen and I also traveled to London just to see Wicked when Idina Menzel was reprising her role as Elphaba! I never saw the original cast other than Idina in London. I would love to see Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda. Although, I did get to see her concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall where she sang “Popular.”

TA: Were you involved in musical theater growing up, at school or otherwise?

Heidi: Only a little, I was in the high school musical but I wasn’t a lead or anything. I loved musical theater, but my dream was to be an animator.

TA: Are there other musicals you’d like to turn into animated films?

Heidi: Yes, but I think Wicked is the one that lends itself the best to an animated adaptation. I love Les Miserables. And I have confidence that the medium itself could pull off that story, but I’m not sure if there would be an audience for it. That story is so complex. And so dark at times. It would be really hard to pull off.

TA: When will you have Wicked finished and ready for worldwide release?

Heidi: Ha ha! Well, Universal, give me the go ahead. If I get Mr. Schwartz on board, cast Menzel and Chenoweth as the voice actors. I’ll take Jen and Minkyu along with a lot of other artists on my crew, and I’ll have it done in 3-4 years just like any other animated movie!

But honestly if nothing else happens, I’d at least like to finish storyboarding all of Defying Gravity just for myself. Maybe No Good Deed. Also we have this awesome vision for the opening of the movie. Jen also had a cool idea of storyboarding a sequence where they meet the Wizard for the first time, incorporating elements from the original Wizard of Oz. So many possibilities!

TA: How often do you go to the theater? Did you see much growing up?

Heidi: I go probably a lot more often than the average theater-goer living outside of NY. I visit NY a lot and go to shows every time I go. They only have one theater in Salt Lake City. I saw a couple of shows there growing up.

TA: What are your favorite shows?

Heidi: Wicked and Les Miserables are my all-time favorites.

TA: Who are your favorite actors/actresses?

Heidi: On Broadway? So many! Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, Lea Salonga, Lea Michele, Sutton Foster, Susan Egan, Jodi Benson, Adam Pascal, Michael Ball, and I LOVE Anthony Warlow’s voice. I could listen to him sing constantly. As far as writers/composers go, obviously Stephen Schwartz, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, Frank Wildhorn.

TA: If you could meet one person in the theater industry who would it be?

Heidi: Stephen Schwartz! Or Winnie Holzman. I would love to pick their brains about Wicked, and also just about their process of writing. Writing the songs and shaping the story. Story telling is so mysterious sometimes! I love listening to other writers/storytellers talk about how they deal with similar challenges of telling a story. And I’d love to hear about the challenges they overcame while making Wicked.

TA: Has Stephen Schwartz seen your video?

Heidi: I don’t know! I haven’t showed it to him. I’ve always wanted to, but didn’t ever know how to present it. I always wanted it to be just perfect! I’ve always felt like he’s the one I have the best chance of appealing to. Reading his story about how he came to be involved with Wicked. I just relate to it so much. From what I understand, he heard the story or read the book, loved it and had to find out who had the rights. When he found out it was Universal, he went to Marc Platt to try to talk them out of doing a live-action movie (even though they had already started working on it) and begged them to turn it into a stage musical. Marc Platt had a background in theater so he listened! Now here I am, in love with this story trying to contact Stephen Schwartz to talk him out of making a live action movie (even though they’ve possibly started working on it)! Trying to convince him to turn it into an animated film. Stephen Schwartz has a background in animation so maybe he’ll understand! Ha ha! It’s so funny to me that my story seems so similar to his. (With the exception that he’s Stephen Schwartz! And I’m just a little animator/story artist) but I believe the passion is the same. He just loved the theater and the story and pursued it. I’m just trying to do the same thing with hand-drawn animation. It could really benefit from a story like this.

Universal has plans for the film adaptation, but maybe Heidi’s work will start to sway them to think about making an animated film version.

COMMENT QUESTION: Would you like to see the film as an animated movie or a live action film?