Trailer
Synopsis
Matilda Wormwood (Alisha Weir) is a little girl with big curiosity, a sharp mind and a vivid imagination - and the worst parents in the world. While her parents (Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough) content themselves with trashy TV and dodgy money-making schemes, she loves to lose herself in the pages of her beloved books.
Where they are loud, selfish and unkind she is a quiet observer, thinking up small and cheeky acts of rebellion and revenge. On meeting her inspirational teacher, Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch), Matilda is encouraged and begins conjuring her own fantastical tales. Excited to attend Crunchem Hall, Matilda is surprised to find the school is an ominous and oppressive place led by the huge and villainous Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson). As well as kind Miss Honey, the bright lights among the meanness are story-loving librarian, Mrs. Phelps (Sindhu Vee), and Matilda's newfound school friends.
Filled with an overwhelming sense of justice, Matilda dares to take a stand for what is right and teach Trunchbull a lesson she won't forget. Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical is an inspirational musical tale of an extraordinary girl who discovers her superpower and summons the remarkable courage, against all odds, to help others change their stories, whilst also taking charge of her own destiny. Standing up for what's right, she's met with miraculous results.
K Mnz
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I loved this musical! I grew up with the 90s version of Matilda but if I had to choose, i definitely choose the musical version. I feel that the musical was extremely well put together when it comes to lyrical content and musical form. Like for example, the musical when Matilda is first introduced to the new school, it was a cool ah ha moment that by the time we get to the last half of the song we discover that the older kids was teaching Matilda the ABCs from the very start of the song in a cryptic “beware” kind of way. I also loved the “Bruce” song because it had the Elton John/ London circus feel to it. And of course the “revolting children” was great because it took what trenchbull meant to be a degrading label to a title that the children embraced in an empowering way. And I just want to point out to all those people who gave such low ratings how can you not appreciate the choreography of those kids dancing in the school yard? That was crazy awesome And those of you who complained about the movie having too much color, obviously it was an artistic choice to be colorful because the musical takes place in England and their famous musical era was the Beatles and that 60s/70s vibe was in that similar color scheme. Anyway I highly recommend this movie
Navy Dendrolivano
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
It appears many people went into this thinking this was somehow related to the 1996 adaptation by Danny DeVito. It’s not The 1996 film is an adaptation of the 1988 novel by Roald Dahl. The 2022 film is an adaptation of the stage musical which itself is its own independent adaptation of the novel. The two films aren’t meant to be taken as related material. They are both great and well-crafted individual adaptations of the original book in their own right. That aside, the 2022 musical film is one of the best movie musicals I’ve ever seen. It rides among the ranks of 2021’s “In the Heights”, 2007’s “Hairspray”, and 1965’s “The Sound of Music”, all of which are based on existing stage shows. This film showed what a good film adaptation of a musical can and should be. Also, while this may apply more appropriately to the stage show that I now look quite forward to seeing, I was very impressed by the way they crafted the story for the stage and film, especially as it related to the novel. They cut three songs from the stage show (one each for Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood, and a short introductory piece for Miss Honey) and added a newly created finale piece. It seemed to flow quite well without wasting time as it moved between scenes, whilst avoiding successfully a feeling of being rushed. Many movie musicals can fall into a number of pitfalls, among them including: the hiring actors for principal roles who can’t sing or dance, songs shoehorned in that don’t serve the plot, or even choppy, weak storylines that can make movie musicals an unpopular choice. I really love the way they crafted Miss Honey’s character for this adaptation, and Lashana Lynch’s fantastic voice is tear-jerkingly beautiful in “My House”, while Alisha Weir kills Matilda alongside the inimitable Emma Thompson in an impressive singing role as the Trunchbull. I want to give specific praise to the messaging. The musical as a whole places emphasis on the idea that one is not a victim of one’s circumstances. Sure, awful things do happen to good people, but that doesn’t define them, and it shouldn’t change their attitude foe moving past their trauma and pain to have a growth mindset. This premise is plainly introduced in the second song, “Naughty”, from Matilda herself, and slowly and quietly built upon throughout the film. Even Ms. Honey has to learn this by the end of the story and experiences growth and improvement to become the person she needed to be for her students.
Chanel henderson
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
I wrote a very long review on my IG I'll try to keep this one reasonable length. I love the original film the main thing this one lacks was heart. This Matilda was sassy and was already punishing her parents she had no character growth/arc. The parents were terrible and not DeVito/Pearlman terrible but comic book characters terrible. TOO MANY DAMN SONGS out of the 12 only 5 of them were good I was exhausted by like the 5th song and I love musicals. Revolting Children had me lit not gone lie. I loved Lashana Lynch as Ms. Honey (I already knew people were going to complain about the color swap) but sure these people aren't racist they're just committed to source material as they (Caucasians) always say. Anyway, Lashana was the best part of the film. I like Emma Thompson, but she was a terrible as Trunchbull why they have her in them Frankenstein boots? These kids were demons none of them were sweet and innocent but Bruce Lavender and Amanda. Speaking of Bruce, he wasn't even fat he was just pudgy. Only time I shed tears was during Ms. Honey song "Enough for Me" and Ms. Honey/Matilda song "Holding My Hand" only good dongs were Bruce, When I Grow Up, Revolting Children, Enough for Me, and Holding My Hand.