Matilda: The Musical

My children are currently rehearsing for this musical with their theatre group so we were looking forward to this.

The songs are all there and brilliantly performed. The staging and filming is so stunning to watch. Emma Thompson plays a good Miss Trunchabull. We all know the story of Matilda so I won't go into that but this is a film for the whole family to enjoy. Don't wait for it to stream on Netflix, this film really benefits from a big screen and awesome sound stage.

I would happily watch this film again, it was an excellent feel good film. The cast were perfect in each of the roles and choreography was brilliant.

Having seen the stage show several times I was intrigued to see how this would. What this film will suffer from is being compared to the theater version on which it is based.

It is inevitable that to make the transition things would need to be cut, but sadly a lot of what is missing affects the surroundings of Matilda (e.g. The Wormwood's obsession with TV, how odious they are.) Some of what remains speeds by quickly and so doesn't have the impact it really should (e.g. The 'green hair' setup is blink-and-miss-it.)

Sadly, Emma Thompson as Trunchbull didn't work for me; there is more to this nasty character than just shouting at the children and I didn't feel she was intimidating as it needed to be. During 'The Hammer' this is perhaps most noticeable; she sings well but it is much the same delivery throughout - 'shouty' and lacks the cold-hearted simple delivery you get on stage. The accent changes a few times and I couldn't get away from thinking 'That's Emma in a suit' rather than 'what a sinister and intimidating character.'

Minchin's songs though are at least as bright and bouncy as the stage show counterparts. Alisha Weir is a fantastic Matilda and Lashana Lynch as Miss Honey really gets the backstory of the character.

The screen version allows a lot of playful direction too that cannot be achieved in a theater so there is much visual delight to gain from seeing this. A particular highlight is how the Trunchbull is frightened off at the end, which enabled it to be much more 'frightening' than the stage version.

Overall, an enjoyable viewing but you can't help but go away comparing it to the stage show if you've seen it.

I was watching this thinking how much Alisha Weir's performance in the title role reminded me of Emma Watson's "Hermione" from back in 2001! Feisty and intelligent, she is sent by her parents to the "Cruncher Hall" school where she encounters "Miss Trunchbull" (Dame Emma Thompson). Now this is a teacher who would not have looked out of place working with King Herod at Christmas! The children live in fear of her, as do the staff - but as "Matilda" starts to bond with "Miss Honey" (Lashana Lynch) and realises her true potential, well - a rebellion is soon in the offing! It's a strong story this - Dahl addressed many issues of neglectful parenting, bullying, intimidation and sexual stereotyping and Tim Minchin puts much of that sentiment effectively to music with a clever and entertaining lyric. The almost unrecognisable Dame Emma is on top form exuding an almost ridiculous degree of menace as helped by her array of cctv cameras, she rules the school with a rod of iron. Weir really enters into the spirit of things - she puts her heart and soul into the enthusiastic, mischievous and engaging character and with some enjoyably choreographed ensemble dance numbers this all delivers well. It still has a bit of the theatrical to it, some of the production doesn't quite make the best use of the flexibility the big screen offers, but the toe-tapping "Naughty" and "Revolting Children" help put a smile on your face for a surprisingly quickly-paced two hours.

The kids were great! The acting, singing, and dancing was all on point. Emma Thompson was also amazing and did a wonderful job.

The other adults on the other hand were sadly forgettable. Even miss honey didn't feel like a main character. I grew up with the old 90's movie Matilda and miss honey was very important and you could feel that she loved Matilda with their acting. This miss honey had a beautiful voice, but it felt like there should have been more scenes with her teaching and talking to Matilda.

I was entertained almost the entire two hours of film which is what i consider good. It's not perfect but it was still fun.

I have mixed emotions about this. Firstly, I am a BIG fan of the west end musical so I was comparing throughout the whole film. There are many good points of the film. The musical numbers have been greatly throughout , and you can tell it's been greatly considered in how to transfer a stage production into a movie and to present the same emotive experience for the audience. I think the choreography was executed perfectly and the casting was phenomenal. HOWEVER (a big however) The film personally didn't grab me in the way the stage production has. It felt rushed in parts (which is understandable as they are trying to fit a 2. 5 hour production in 2) so the intimate moments between the musical numbers were lost, leaving you feeling slightly detached from the characters. I also couldn't help but reminisce about the 1996 adaption and it's authenticity. This movie was clearly a 'Netflix movie'. A bit uneedingly cgi/green screen happy which irritates me and contributes to the detachment I was feeling throughout. Overall, it was a good try, however the wow factor was lost. I want to think that perhaps I am an adult not understanding the current trends and seeking nostalgia rather than a film that is suited to what the kids want these days. After all this is a kids film and perhaps this was perfect for what they needed.