Spoiler Warning: This discusses pivotal plot points

Wicked: For Good is finally out, and it looks like it’s bringing in some much needed box office life after a middling year of duds and flops. Yet, while the film is on its way to be one of this year’s biggest hits, many Christian parents find themselves struggling over whether or not Wicked really is “for good” or more nefarious. Crosswalk offered some cautious advice to Christian parents looking to take their children to the theaters, noting the films darker tone compared to the beloved 1939 classic. However, it did note the redemption arc of the movie’s lead, Elphaba, better known as the Wicked Witch of the West. “She wasn’t wicked forever. Isn’t that good news?” noted Crosswalk.

Christian mom influencer, Sara Burnett, however, warned her followers that she had walked out of the movie, noting the movie’s romantic scene and use of magic as causes of concern. “Now hear me out- we LOVE theatre & musicals. We love appreciating the talents and God given gifts that people have,” wrote Burnett. “Seeing the acting, the arts and all the creativity. But gosh I am not sitting in a movie that is casting legit spells over me and my family and allowing my children to watch scenes where men are sexually taking off women’s clothing and music that is talking about them laying in bed together. & I have a feeling that the spells cast in this movie weren’t just some made up words.. they had purpose in them!”

Popular Christian movie review site, Plugged In, also noted the love scene between Elphaba and her love interest, Fiyero, after he gilts his bride on their wedding day. “I was a bit shocked when I realized that For Good was rated PG. There’s some really dark content here: Pure, unadulterated hatred leads to more than one blood-thirsty mob,” wrote reviewer Emily Tsiao. “We witness brief but intense violence. And I was also grossed out by an unnecessarily long, sensual, romantic scene. (Nothing explicit, as the camera cuts away, but still acting as a prelude to premarital sex.)”

Plugged In further expanded on the role of magic in movies for Christians on Focus on the Family, noting the split between Christians on the merits of watching Wicked: For Good. “Many believers have sung the praises (perhaps literally) of this Broadway musical, in part because of its resonant themes of friendship, sacrifice and the painful consequences of being excluded for being different,” wrote Adam Holz, director of Plugged In. “Other Christians have expressed emotions running the gamut between confusion and outrage that any sincere follower of Christ could ever enjoy a story like this one. The protagonist is a witch!, they’ll point out. And, as we noted in our review, the spells that she casts feel very witchy indeed.”

Holz highlighted Scripture’s unequivocal condemnation of the practice of witchcraft. However, films and books like The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia are often beloved of Christians while dealing with magic. Harry Potter, too, has been a divisive source of entertainment amongst Christians. Holz noted that in the end, Christians need to rely on the Holy Spirit on whether or not such certain entertainment is allowable. “Whether we’re dealing with the subject of magic and witchcraft, or any other issue depicted in entertainment today, the goal is to grow in our discernment and understanding of how any given story might affect and influence us and our children,” wrote Holz. “Is it pointing us toward God and godliness? Or is it dragging us in the other direction?”