The strange story of why Wicked: For Good’s ruby slippers aren’t ruby slippers at all

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The ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz are incredibly famous – a pair recently sold for $28 million, according to BBC News. However, the slippers appear different in the musical Wicked. In Wicked, we see they aren’t ruby red at all, but silver, both in a quick scene featuring Dorothy and when they are given to the character Nessarose.

If you’re unfamiliar with the backstory of Wicked, you might think this seems like a plot error. However, the filmmakers are actually staying true to both the original Wizard of Oz book by L. Frank Baum and the novel Wicked by Gregory Maguire, which inspired the musical.

Both of the books describe the special shoes given to Nessarose as silver. Her father originally purchased them from a traveling craftsperson and then decorated them with silver beads, according to the author. However, The Wizard of Oz famously changed the shoes to ruby red, and then Wicked reverted them back to silver. What prompted these changes?

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Let’s start with The Wizard of Oz. To take full advantage of the then-new Technicolor process, Noel Langley, a co-writer of the film, suggested changing the characters’ silver shoes to ruby slippers. This would make them more visible against the yellow brick road. The slippers were then designed by MGM costume designer Gilbert Adrian, who used burgundy sequins to create their famous appearance.

Looking back, changing the slippers was a smart move – they really made an impact, right? But it always bugged me that Wicked, both on stage and in the movie, decided to ditch that iconic ruby red look. Turns out, there wasn’t much choice in the matter. It was a necessity, not a creative decision.

There’s a story going around that the Wicked films changed the iconic slippers from ruby to silver to avoid copyright issues. Warner Bros. now owns MGM and, therefore, the rights to the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. Since Wicked is produced by Universal, using ruby slippers could have caused legal problems. However, the original book by Baum is now in the public domain, meaning filmmakers can freely borrow elements from it without legal concerns.

Director Jon M. Chu hinted last year to Variety that they faced restrictions on what they could include from the original story, specifically regarding the ruby slippers. He explained they avoided using the iconic shoes, instead giving the character Nessa crystal slippers – a detail consistent with the books by Frank L. Baum and Gregory Maguire, as well as the stage show.

The ruby slippers weren’t the only difference from the original Wizard of Oz, but it’s the most obvious one. The creator explained that while the phrase ‘yellow brick road’ isn’t protected by copyright, the road’s unique spiral shape is. They couldn’t recreate that spiral, so they opted for a circular road to emphasize that it doesn’t have a definitive end.

Similar to the stage show, where the shoes are silver, the movie Wicked: For Good cleverly references the iconic ruby slippers. This happens when Elphaba magically enchants Nessarose’s shoes, allowing her to float – a moment seen in the trailers. As Elphaba casts the spell, the shoes begin to glow red, mirroring a lighting effect used in the musical to make the shoes look like ruby slippers.

In an interview with Variety, cinematographer Alice Brooks explained that the use of red symbolized Elphaba and Nessarose making poor decisions. The bright red color of the slippers was deliberate; Brooks noted they appeared to grow increasingly intense, with red becoming the most striking color in those scenes.

The description is reminiscent of how Gregory Maguire portrayed Elphaba’s first glimpse of the shoes in his book. He wrote that they appeared “like boiling corpuscles of blood under a magnifying glass” in the firelight.

Although Wicked: For Good doesn’t feature the famous ruby slippers, it stays true to both L. Frank Baum’s original story and the classic film starring Judy Garland.

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Wicked: For Good is out now in cinemas.

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2025-11-21 21:20