Wicked: All About the 9 Million Tulips Planted for Munchkinland and Where They Are Now

Mar. 15, 2025

The set of Munchkinland, featuring millions of tulips.Photo:Nathan Crowley

Nathan Crowley

Wicked’s Munchkinland set had some serious flower power.The film’s production designer, Nathan Crowley, had nine million tulips planted to create the look of the magical village in the musical, a prequel toThe Wizard of Oz.Crowley says he and director Jon M. Chu wanted the set to be “wondrous and colorful” and came up with the idea that the munchkins would be tulip farmers.“And the tulips are the colors of the rainbow, so that all ties in with themes of its history,” Crowley tells PEOPLE, nodding tothe famous song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”from the originalOzmovie.Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in ‘Wicked.'.Universal PicturesHe and Chu also wanted to use real tulips — not CGI. “Everyone looked at me like I was mad,” he recalls.“I go into these production meetings, I try to convince everyone. I didn’t tell them we were growing nine million. I said I want to grow a lot of tulips. I didn’t know how many we were growing, but I knew we had to grow enough that they went into their horizon,” says.According toVariety, Crowley worked with Norfolk, England, tulip farmer Mark Eves to get all the bulbs he needed. And at around four cents per bulb, the tulips were comparable in price to the cost of special effects, according to Crowley.And once filming was finished, the flowers weren’t wasted.Crowley toldVarietythat Eves was able to reuse the bulbs.Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Granda in ‘Wicked.'.Universal Pictures“Tulip farming is about putting the bulbs in the ground, you grow the flowers and you chop the heads off,” he told the outlet. “The bulbs get bigger, and the next season, you put the bulb in the greenhouse, and that’s where you get your flowers. So he took the bulbs and grew them.”Wicked, an origin story ofOz’s Wicked Witch of the West, starsCynthia Erivoas Elphaba Thropp, a misunderstood and shy green-skinned young woman who meets the bubbly Glinda (Ariana Grande), the future Good Witch, at Shiz University.The polar opposites strike up an unlikely friendship before external forces threaten their bond.PEOPLE’s ‘Wicked’ special issue.Universal PicturesThe hit movie —which earned $114 million on its opening weekendin North America, the third-highest film debut of the year — is based on the long-running Broadway musical that originally starredIdina MenzelandKristin Chenoweth.Part 1 ofWicked, which costarsJeff Goldblum,Bowen Yang,Michelle Yeohand Jonathan Bailey, covers the events of the musical’s first act.Part 2 debuts in theaters in 2025.Buy PEOPLE’sWickedspecial editionhere.

Wicked’s Munchkinland set had some serious flower power.

The film’s production designer, Nathan Crowley, had nine million tulips planted to create the look of the magical village in the musical, a prequel toThe Wizard of Oz.

Crowley says he and director Jon M. Chu wanted the set to be “wondrous and colorful” and came up with the idea that the munchkins would be tulip farmers.

“And the tulips are the colors of the rainbow, so that all ties in with themes of its history,” Crowley tells PEOPLE, nodding tothe famous song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”from the originalOzmovie.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in ‘Wicked.'.Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures

He and Chu also wanted to use real tulips — not CGI. “Everyone looked at me like I was mad,” he recalls.

“I go into these production meetings, I try to convince everyone. I didn’t tell them we were growing nine million. I said I want to grow a lot of tulips. I didn’t know how many we were growing, but I knew we had to grow enough that they went into their horizon,” says.

According toVariety, Crowley worked with Norfolk, England, tulip farmer Mark Eves to get all the bulbs he needed. And at around four cents per bulb, the tulips were comparable in price to the cost of special effects, according to Crowley.

And once filming was finished, the flowers weren’t wasted.Crowley toldVarietythat Eves was able to reuse the bulbs.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Granda in ‘Wicked.'.Universal Pictures

“Tulip farming is about putting the bulbs in the ground, you grow the flowers and you chop the heads off,” he told the outlet. “The bulbs get bigger, and the next season, you put the bulb in the greenhouse, and that’s where you get your flowers. So he took the bulbs and grew them.”

Wicked, an origin story ofOz’s Wicked Witch of the West, starsCynthia Erivoas Elphaba Thropp, a misunderstood and shy green-skinned young woman who meets the bubbly Glinda (Ariana Grande), the future Good Witch, at Shiz University.

The polar opposites strike up an unlikely friendship before external forces threaten their bond.

PEOPLE’s ‘Wicked’ special issue.Universal Pictures

The hit movie —which earned $114 million on its opening weekendin North America, the third-highest film debut of the year — is based on the long-running Broadway musical that originally starredIdina MenzelandKristin Chenoweth.

Part 1 ofWicked, which costarsJeff Goldblum,Bowen Yang,Michelle Yeohand Jonathan Bailey, covers the events of the musical’s first act.Part 2 debuts in theaters in 2025.

Buy PEOPLE’sWickedspecial editionhere.

source: people.com