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FILM REVIEW: ROALD DAHL’S MATILDA THE MUSICAL (PG) ESP RATING: 4/5


Warning: You'll have certain songs stuck in your head for days!


Chances are you’ll have a soft spot for 1996 film adaptation of Matilda – starring and directed by Danny DeVito – as it’s a kids’ classic.


And perhaps the love of that film has made you apprehensive as to whether we needed another – and I hear ya’ as I too was wary.

It seems like Hollywood is more focused on giving us paint-by-number remakes as opposed to taking a chance on anything original. But you needn’t have worried though, for this instalment of Matilda is not trying to be like its big-screen predecessor – this is very much its own thing.


For starters, Matilda the Musical is... well, a musical – as the clue is in the title. This alone is enough to provide a fresh spin on the Roald Dahl favourite. Director Matthew Warchus (Pride) takes the reins to convert the hugely successful stage adaptation – complete with extremely catchy music and lyrics courtesy of Tim Minchin – into impressive movie form.

With a charming cartoonish and larger-than-life quality, you’ll no doubt get that inner-child feeling you’d get had you been watching Matilda at the West End. So much so, I almost clapped after a couple of stand-out musical numbers.


The movie focuses on the title character (played by Alisha Weir). While her hateful parents (Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough) spend more time scheming than showing any affection to their daughter, Matilda chooses to escape the harsh realities by reading her beloved books.



The girl is so neglected that her parents even forget to send her to school. But once the authorities investigate this matter, they send her to Crunchem Hall – which is ruled by the terrifying Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson). Thankfully Matilda’s kind-hearted teacher, Miss Honey (Bond Girl Lashana Lynch from No Time to Die), takes the girl under her wing and together they aim to bring the headteacher down a ‘peg or two’.



At almost two hours long, this may be a little overstretched for younger audiences but other than that, most musical lovers will no doubt get swept away in the magic.


Everyone on screen looked like they were having a great time and that energy was undeniably contagious!


And with those enchanting ingredients mixing together so spectacularly – this will undoubtedly make Matilda a family favourite over the festive period.


ESP Magazine Rating: 4/5


Mikey Clarke



Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough, Out Now

Cast: Alisha Weir, Lashana Lynch, Emma Thompson, Stephen Graham, Andrea Risborough & Sindhu Vee

Running Time: 1 Hr 57 Mins

Director: Matthew Warchus


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