10 Best Movie Characters Like Wicked’s Glinda

Director Jon M. Chu’s blockbuster movie Wicked centers on Elphaba Thropp and the events that led to her becoming known as the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda is a major part of this story. The majority of Wicked: Part I takes place at Shiz University and outlines Elphaba’s relationship with the other students and the professors. While much of this time is focused on her understanding of the inequality of different groups in Oz, just as importantly, Wicked is a story of the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda. Through their enemies-to-friends arc, Elphaba and Glinda form the heart of the film.

Wicked‘s cast is led by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda respectively, and each actor gives an incredible performance that has redefined their character. As a result, both Erivo and Grande have garnered Oscars nominations for their performances. The two characters are perfect opposites who later make perfect best friends, making them very enjoyable to watch. In particular, Grande’s performance as the bubbly, outgoing, and popular Glinda made her a scene-stealer, though several characters in other films bear a great resemblance to her.

10

Cady Heron – Mean Girls

Cady Has The Same Innocent Popularity That Glinda Finds At Shiz

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Mean Girls‘ Cady Heron has some definite similarities to Wicked‘s Glinda, including how both of them change as the movies progress. Cady Heron begins high school after being homeschooled for most of her life, and she initially makes friends with several outsiders but quickly becomes popular after befriending the school’s most notorious mean girls. Though Glinda begins her time at Shiz as the most popular student and Cady first becomes popular by joining the most popular group, they each maintain a sort of innocence in their popularity at the beginning of each film.

The two characters have similarities both in their initial perceived kindness and in their ultimate decisions to be good friends.

When Cady and Glinda both find popularity, they each believe that it is their kindness that allows them to maintain that popularity. However, as Mean Girls progresses, Cady becomes mean herself, leading her to ultimately question the importance of popularity in the movie’s ending. Similarly, by Wicked‘s ending, Glinda realizes that her popularity is less important to her than being true to her friends and herself. Thus, the two characters have similarities both in their initial perceived kindness and in their ultimate decisions to be good friends.

9

Giselle – Enchanted

The Lovable Princess Wins People Over With Her Kindness

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Giselle is not the typical Disney princess. Throughout Enchanted, she slowly comes to learn that the real world can be difficult, but she never loses her positivity and her desire to be kind to others. The biggest similarity between Giselle and Glinda is that both share an overwhelmingly sunny and bubbly personality despite circumstances often looking glum. Wherever they go, people seem to follow along and happily befriend them. Though the real circumstances prove far more serious than both first imagined, they grow to understand the world but still search for the positive.

Ariana Grande Butera as Glinda singing in Munchkinland in Wicked

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While Patrick Dempsey’s Robert takes on the more Elphaba-like role of questioning everyone’s positive response to Giselle and often nay-saying her perspective on true love, like Glinda and Elphaba, Giselle and Robert ultimately prove to be the perfect pair. Glinda and Giselle each help their respective partners to see the world in a more positive light and open them up to new opportunities that serve to deepen their relationships.

8

Sharpay – High School Musical

Sharpay’s Musical Goals Are Similar To Glinda’s Magical Ones

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First and foremost, Glinda and Sharpay both know how to own a scene. They both command attention and for good reason, considering they are both such great and entertaining characters. While the High School Musical movies initially set Sharpay up as the villain character, she is actually one of the best characters. Both Glinda and Sharpay know that their singing is great, and their talents deserve to be recognized. Where Sharpay’s goal is to gain the leading role in the school musical, Glinda’s goal is to become a great witch, and both have clear plans for how to make it happen.

Glinda from Wicked

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When Glinda first arrives at Shiz University she already knows what she wants. Likewise, Sharpay has been practicing for the musical auditions. Though both Sharpay and Glinda dislike their fellow students, Gabriella and Elphaba, at first, by the end they come to recognize that they work better as friends. Alongside the similarities of their goals and personalities, they each have a love of pink that is difficult to rival and very fun to watch.

7

Effie Trinket – The Hunger Games

Effie Has A Similar Attitude And Faces Similar Choices To Glinda

Peeta and Katniss giving the three finger salute while Effie speaks at the microphone in Hunger Games Catching Fire

Though at first glance Effie Trinket and Glinda may not seem to have too much in common, they have a surprising number of similarities both in their personalities and in what happens to them throughout their respective movies. Both Effie and Glinda begin their movies as very attention-grabbing and confident characters. They like dressing up and being in a position of popularity over those around them. However, as Wicked and The Hunger Games continue, they both begin to question the things that they have always known.

Effie happily represents the people of the Capitol just as Glinda happily represents her wealthy and well-liked family. However, Elphaba eventually brings Glinda to understand that not all people and animals are treated equally in Oz. Likewise, Effie’s attachment to Katniss and Peeta brings her to understand the injustice of the Hunger Games, which prompts her to later change her behavior. In the later films of the Hunger Games series, Effie must choose the same way that Glinda does, to either stay with her privilege and popularity or side with her friends to create change.

6

Elle Woods – Legally Blonde

Elle’s Positive Demeanor And Perseverance Allows Her To Succeed

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Just as Elphaba remarks in her letter home at the beginning of “What Is this Feeling?” that Glinda’s main fault is being blonde, so too is Elle Woods’ problem in Legally Blonde. At the beginning of Legally Blonde, Elle is portrayed as somewhat silly and shallow, similar to how Elphaba sees Glinda. When she is accepted to Harvard Law, Elle is made fun of by her classmates, despite being in the same program, and made to feel like she does not belong.

Wicked has received 10 2025 Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects.

Both Elle and Glinda maintain a positive mindset and work hard to accomplish the things they want, especially considering that both had previously met with easy success in their lives. They are used to getting what they want, but going through trials at their respective schools makes Glinda and Elle work even harder. Glinda is eventually allowed into Madame Morrible’s sorcery class and Elle eventually proves herself to her classmates, showing that they are both willing to work hard for what they want, and they can look great while doing it.

5

Rapunzel – Tangled

She Pushes Through Obstacles Just Like Glinda

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Glinda’s personality and views change quite a bit throughout Wicked as she comes to learn more about the world from Elphaba and see through the lies that she had always been told. Likewise, Rapunzel in Tangled has to learn how to make her way after living a very sheltered existence under the watchful eye of her evil mother. Both Glinda and Rapunzel work through the obstacles that they encounter while still maintaining a positive attitude.

Both Glinda and Rapunzel are very strong-willed characters who have dreams for their futures. They are willing to branch out from what they have known in the past to achieve their goals. Likewise, they are both very charismatic and have a way of making those around them happy and open to positive suggestions. While Rapunzel and Glinda both have very different journeys and learn very different lessons, they approach their lives with the same sunny outlook and positivity that helps them achieve their goals.

4

Queenie – Fantastic Beasts

Queenie Faces A Difficult Decision Of Which Side To Choose

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Queenie’s outlook in the first Fantastic Beasts film is very similar to that of Glinda in Wicked. They are both happy-go-lucky despite the negative things happening around them. Glinda and Queenie both instantly light up any room they enter and help make those around them happier. As they gradually come to learn about the troubles that their friends face, both Glinda and Queenie decide to take action and help their friends.

An edited image of Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda in Wicked with a gold background.

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Additionally, both Queenie and Glinda are faced with difficult choices. Following the ending of Wicked and Glinda’s decision to stay behind, 2025’s Wicked: For Good will have to explore how Glinda balances knowing that Elphaba is good while also outwardly pretending to be against her. Likewise, in the later installments of the Fantastic Beasts movies, Queenie struggles to choose a side, though she is ultimately reunited with her sister and love interest after finally realizing the truth.

3

Waymond – Everything Everywhere All At Once

Waymond and Evelyn’s Dynamic Is Surprisingly Similar To Glinda And Elphaba’s

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While Wicked and Everything Everywhere All at Once are undoubtedly quite different, Glinda is surprisingly similar to Waymond in certain moments. At the beginning of Everything Everywhere All at Once, Waymond seems fairly quiet and does not receive much attention from his wife, Evelyn, making him initially dissimilar from Glinda. However, as the movie progresses and other reality Waymonds appear, his similarities to Glinda become more clear.

Out of everyone in his family, Waymond is by far the most positive and supportive. Though he has hesitations and sad moments due to his lack of communication with his wife, in general, he has a cheery disposition that is quite similar to Glinda’s. Both Glinda and Waymond have a much more positive outlook on life than their counterparts, Elphaba and Evelyn, and both Wicked and Everything Everywhere All at Once benefit from this contrast. Glinda and Waymond both brighten the screens with their appearances and have become fan favorites.

2

Daphne – Scooby-Doo

Daphne Is Strong-Willed And Positive Like Glinda

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Sarah Michelle Gellar’s portrayal of Daphne in the 2000s live-action Scooby-Doo movies has become iconic over the years and is certainly a great comparison to Glinda in Wicked. In contrast to the earlier version of Daphne, who largely functioned as Fred’s partner without having many sleuthing skills of her own. The Scooby-Doo movies made her both cool and very smart. Like Glinda, Daphne is the most fashionable member of the gang and is effortlessly popular. However, beyond their shared fashion sense and coolness, Glinda and Daphne are both involved in each movie’s most important decisions.

Glinda putting makeup on Elphaba in Wicked

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When other members of the Mystery Gang are off doing their own things, Daphne is always on call and ready to do some sleuthing. Just like Glinda, she is very confident both in her appearance and in her abilities. While other characters may doubt her abilities, she always knows who she is and is unwilling to compromise on that. Both Daphne and Glinda have good hearts and are faithful friends.

1

Cher – Clueless

Cher May Be Clueless But Her Kindness Is Similar To Glinda’s

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While Wicked and Clueless are very different films, Glinda and Cher are two very similar characters. At the beginning of both Clueless and Wicked, Cher and Glinda are both very popular but quite clueless about what is going on in the world around them. Outside their own lives and concerns, the two characters do not seem to notice or understand much about the people they interact with or their feelings. They are bright and bubbly and only learn to truly sympathize with others throughout the movie.

The second half of Wicked‘s story, Wicked: For Good, will be released in theaters on November 21, 2025, and will even feature two new songs.

Glinda and Cher may be known for their great outfits and their aloofness, but under that surface, they are both smart and strong women. Throughout Wicked and Clueless, each character learns something that she has never thought about before and is the better for it. Despite their outward vanity, Cher and Glinda both have great hearts and learn about what is important in friendships and the world, making their characters in Wicked and Clueless great matches.

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Wicked

PG
AdventureFantasyMusical

Release Date

November 22, 2024

Runtime

160 Minutes

Director

Jon M. Chu

Writers

Gregory Maguire, Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox, L. Frank Baum

Cast

  • Headshot Of Cynthia Erivo

    Cynthia Erivo

    Elphaba Thropp

  • Headshot Of Ariana Grande In The 2024 Met Gala

    Ariana Grande

    Glinda Upland

  • Headshot Of Michelle Yeoh In The Gold House Hosts 2024 Inaugural Gold Gala at The Music Center.

    Michelle Yeoh

    Madame Morrible

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    See All Cast & Crew

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