Matilda: O Musical

Fittingly this is a British cast and filmed in the UK. Roald Dahl would have been proud. The exception to the rule being Tim Minchin. But his music transposes from stage to film excellently, allowing for an even greater visual feast playing with his clever lyrics.

My biggest issue with the 1996 version being Danny DeVito playing Mr Wormwood as well as being the narrator. But this film avoids the obvious pitholes and is a huge step away from the original, music aside.

The casting is well thought. Emma Thompson playing Miss Trunchbull with little effort it seems as she is obviously enjoying every evil second of it. I don't mean to be mean to Ms. Thompson, but it really didn't look like she was wearing much in the way of prosthetics, but I mean this in a good way. Nanny McPhee simply looked like Emma Thompson wearing loads of plastic.

You know Stephen Graham always delivers but my only criticism is that he was on screen too little. Andrea Riseborough was new to me, but again, too little screen time. I guess being a musical, they had to devote more time to the musical numbers. The two main hitters being "When I grow up" and "Revolting Children" These were well presented and brilliantly re-worked for the big screen.

When I first saw Alisha Weir (Matilda) I was a bit worried that she wouldn't deliver, the role of Matilda being a lot more complex than it first appears. But I was very quickly blown away by her ability to bring pathos and the next minute show that she was no pushover no matter the consequences. I was also glad that she was not your typical stage kid. Her performance being understated and effective in the process.

The standout performance was for me Lashana Lynch as Miss Honey. She deserves awards galore for this role. If she doesn't make you cry then you are made of stone.

This will undoubtedly be a classic and there is the appetite for strong female protagonists right now - Wednesday Addams put that meal on the table! A great family favourite made even better than the original.

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.

There is so much to enjoy about Matilda the Musical.

It captures that certain kind of magic that only a musical can. It is rammed full of top class performances (Emma Thompson shines, and Alisha Weir is terrific in the lead role). The plot is very well put together and is full of outrageous fun and effective comedy. It captures the quirkiness and wonder of Roald Dahl's story perfectly.

The only real drawback for me is the songs. I only found myself properly enjoying the final song and dance. The rest just weren't really my cup of tea. Had there been a couple of more powerful or catchy songs I definitely would have given this film another star or two. I also though some of the acting was hammed up just a little too much for my liking.

Undoubtedly though Matilda is a very entertaining and fun film that will be sure to put a smile on your face.

THANK YOU Netflix for not letting this go straight to streaming. You just cannot beat the cinema experience and with a score and orchestrations like this you need that Dolby surround sound to appreciate the fullness.

I saw the film as a kid, and as I love musicals, I listened to the soundtrack on Spotify last week and can totally understand why this won so many awards. I would suggest that The Greatest Showman actually copied some of their score as there are so many parities.

The casting is first class, there is not a bad link anywhere in the production and what can I say about Emma Thompson, she is one gifted actress and always commands the screen, never more so than here. She would say that actors don't saves lives and it's just a job, but she does it SO well, in the world of awards she totally deserves one for this and ALL her work. Miss Honey had a beautiful voice and amazing actor too, the child lead was equally as outstanding.

I found the story very moving and tears were rolling down my face when 'Quiet' started. Yes, I'm a bloke, and unashamedly get emotional at things like this.

A part of my job as a community nurse is Safeguarding children and, although I found the film funny when I was young, not so now, however it was done very responsibly and sent out the right number of messages about 'telling someone'. I found parts very dark, that originally, I would have been able to view as humorous.

Kids don't ask to be born do they.

Most people were crying at times, especially at the end so take your tissues!

The filming was done in bright colours which makes a change from the drab brown screen.

The musical numbers were superbly choregraphed and the orchestrations made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

I will see it again with my family next week, it is THAT good.

Netflix did an amazing job with The Prom too, but sadly they let that go straight to streaming, I really hope they learn from this and stop just streaming all the really good stuff, which is few and far between anyway, obviously.

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.