Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical review: Fails to deliver for the whole family
The classic tale gets a new cinematic outing based on the musical, with lyrics from Tim Minchin.
While the Danny DeVito film Matilda is a modern classic, you’d hope this outing based on the musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic tale would be far removed enough in style to avoid any direct companions.
Sadly, Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical does not succeed at being satisfyingly distinct – instead, it's a somewhat grating version of the beloved tale, despite the long-running success of the stage musical it's based on.
Most will be familiar with the plot: Matilda Wormwood (Alisha Weir) is the genius child of two uninterested parents (Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough) who finds herself sent to a school run by the malevolent former Olympian headmistress Agatha Trunchbull (Emma Thompson).
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But this cinematic outing feels very much like a cartoonish and simplistic take on Matilda finding acceptance and love for her smarts (and handy telekinesis) with the help of her devoted schoolteacher Miss Honey, portrayed here by a luminous Lashana Lynch. Sadly, the film is lacking the moving nuance and touching sweetness of the Mara Wilson iteration, which rendered something quite meaningful from Dahl's story.
The ordinarily excellent Graham and Riseborough are underserved in roles written with no additional layers (unlike in DeVito's film), Thompson likewise hams up the Trunchbull role and again it's impossible to positively compare her turn to the naturalism of Pam Ferris’ brutal iteration which felt so outlandish but so real at the same time. (Additionally, there's still a discourse to be had about actors wearing prosthetics to take on the role of larger characters - often when they are portrayed as "monstrous" or villainous.)
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Meanwhile, the songs themselves from comedian/composer Tim Minchin are of middling success. Some of the more children-heavy numbers are rousing enough to make an impression, but sadly the ballads – best delivered by Lynch's Miss Honey – elsewhere struggle to hit the right emotional notes. The musical set pieces work best in the school location and when the film ventures into a more exciting visual flare.
Generally, the production design can feel a tad amateurish despite the calibre of talent involved and the whole affair can come across as incredibly sterile, even if it visually feels closer to the work of classic Roald Dahl illustrator Quentin Blake than the previous screen version.
A chord of success, however, comes from how well the film conveys the unlimited and colourful imagination of its heroine, often through the medium of storytelling with mobile librarian Mrs Phelps (a charming Sindhu Vee), a strand also has the most success when trying to make the humour land for the whole family.
Otherwise, Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical will offer some charm and chuckles for young children but the music and writing fail to deliver for a wider audience (outside of existing fans of the musical), inevitably inviting disappointing comparisons with the cunningly rendered adaptation from DeVito.
Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical is released in UK cinemas on 25th November 2022, while it will be released on Netflix outside of the UK on 5th December 2022.
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