Can Glinda’s Bubble Carry Oranges? 5 Thoughts on the Logistics of Oz Now that Wicked is Streaming

The Wicked movie has been streaming for a while now. A few people in this office have rewatched it about five or six or a thousand times. Obviously, we’re not musical theatre experts. We’re a Tennessee logistics company. Still, the Wicked fans in this office have noticed something interesting about Oz: the transportation. 

It got us thinking: How does shipping work in Oz? Shiz University clearly has plenty of goods, including books and food. Those things had to get there somehow. So we asked ourselves: If we were in a logistics company in Oz instead of a logistics company in Nashville and beyond, what modes of transportation would our clients use, and what would they ship? After all, the transportation methods in Oz are very different from the ones we’re used to. 

There will be Wicked movie spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution. 

1. Glinda’s Bubble Could Carry Produce  

image by @mcbrae via unsplash

We’re assuming that if we asked Glinda to borrow her bubble for logistics reasons, she’d give us a long, confused look and say no. We don’t blame her. But let’s imagine that bubbles became a common mode of transportation in Oz (in spite of what Elphie says about them in Act Two). Could they transport anything other than people? 

We think so. Specifically, we think they could carry small loads of produce. They would have to be less-than-truckload only, but we could make it work. 

The thing is, Glinda’s bubble is meant to be comfortable. She’s got an entire couch inside of it. If it was built for the person who is effectively Oz’s princess, it’s probably temperature controlled. It would work just like a round, floating reefer truck! And if Ozian winters get particularly cold, bubbles could be used for heated freight, too. 

2. Elphaba's Broomstick Could Handle Small Orders 

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Again, you’ll need to humor us on this one. We know that Elphaba’s too busy and too much of a fugitive to loan out her broomstick for logistics services. But let’s pretend that she would. Let’s imagine that it would help with an Animal rescue mission or something. 

Obviously, a broomstick can only handle LTL freight, but that’s okay. Sometimes, LTL freight is necessary. Plus, the ability to fly means that those orders would get where they need to go fast. 

Also, that broomstick is a lot sturdier than it looks, if we’re going by Wizard of Oz standards. Remember the tornado scene in that movie? The one where Ms. Gulch turned into the Wicked Witch of the West? Listen, if that broom can handle a literal tornado, it can probably handle anything. 

3. Fiyero’s Horse Could Carry Whatever He Wanted to Carry 

image by @taffy_apple via unsplash

Next up is Feldspur, Fiyero’s horse. Now, the thing about animals in this universe is that many of them can talk. When a creature is smart enough to teach a class, or at least hold a conversation, he should get a say in what he carries or doesn’t. In this case, the horse himself becomes the carrier. He could haul whatever he wanted to haul. We’ll respect his choices. 

4. The Bullet Train Could Carry Books 

image by @antoinebeauvillain via unsplash

As far as we can tell, the bullet train that takes Elphaba and Glinda to the Emerald City only goes back and forth between the city and the school. Otherwise, Glinda pulled a hilarious move when she sent Dorothy to the Wizard on foot. 

In any case, we know that the Emerald City has excellent access to books, since Elphie mentions libraries in One Short Day. And Shiz University probably needs to replace a lot of books. We’re assuming that not all of them went unscathed during that big musical number. 

5. The Yellow Brick Road Can Handle the Rest 

image by @rayfra via unsplash

And finally, we have the yellow brick road. In this first movie, it doesn’t exist outside of the opening scene, but we’re probably going to see a lot more of it in part two. It can handle Oz’s remaining logistics needs. 

We may not have the yellow brick road or flying broomsticks in our own world, but at Pearce Worldwide, we still help people get goods from point A to point B and beyond. Get in touch with us today if you’re ready to learn more.