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Roald Dahl's Matilda: the Musical

2022

Matthew Warchus

Alisha Weir, Emma Thompson, Stephen Graham, Andrea Riseborough ...

5.9

1,688

Musical. Fantasy. Kids. Comedy. Drama An adaptation of the Tony and Olivier award-winning musical. Matilda tells the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a sharp mind and a vivid imagination, dares to take a stand to change her story with miraculous results.

	Media	Author	Review
		Guy Lodge Variety	"A good-humored, humane and appropriately accommodating update of a story that, now to a few generations of readers and viewers, feels very much like their own"
		Hannah Shaw-Williams SlashFilm	"With lush, fun cinematography, creative staging, and some true powerhouse music and dance numbers, the strengths of 'Matilda' more than make up for its weaknesses"
		Nicholas Barber BBC	"As close to Stephen King as it is to Dahl, it's only a couple of tweaks away from being the year's most disturbing gothic horror movie (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Stephanie Bunbury Deadline	"With Minchin’s lyric lines as arabesques around the scenes, the constant surprises in his rhyming and the explosions of orchestration that give the big numbers such impact, it is something else"
		El Hunt NME	"Bettering the original film was always going to prove a lofty challenge, but by capturing all the anarchy and joy of its theatre production instead, [it] offers something just as entertaining, and a little different (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Ella Kemp IndieWire	"Strictly for theater fans (...) [It] loses sight of the original spikiness of Dahl’s book in favor of a cleaner, more harmonized portrait"
		Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"Amusing, exhilarating and the tiniest bit exhausting (...) Matilda is a tangy bit of entertainment, served up with gusto2 (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Leslie Felperin The Hollywood Reporter	"The team manages to hit most of the right notes with this perky, peculiar adaptation (...) Emma Thompson offers up a master class in threading the needle while still under a ton of uglifying latex"
		Neil Smith Total Film	"As lively and entertaining as [it] is, though, you can't help feeling something key has gone missing in the journey from stage to screen – that little touch of magic that transforms the accomplished into something exceptional (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Charlotte O'Sullivan London Evening Standard	"The best moments are extraordinary (...) Emma Thompson as Miss Trunchbull will haunt your dreams (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Nikki Baughan Screendaily	"A visually colourful yet thematically dark adaptation (...) This 'Matilda' is not just a big movie about a little girl finding her voice, but about the need to speak up against injustice, wherever its found"
		Lewis Knight Radio Times	"'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 (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Shannon Connellan Mashable	"Armed with a bunch of revolting children, a superb grown-up cast, a strong tiny lead, and Minchin's consistently wonderful songs, Warchus and Kelly have successfully brought the West End musical to the screen."
		Olly Richards Time Out	"Whether for little kids or very big ones, this 'Matilda' is fantastically fun. Great songs, great performances and plenty of baddies to boo (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Helen O'Hara Empire	"A sugar-fuelled thrill, this boasts a fine young cast and pleasantly pantomime adult roles. Tweens are going to love it (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Wendy Ide The Guardian	"Immensely enjoyable reworking of the stage hit (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Graeme Guttmann Screen Rant	"A magical movie that does the stage show justice (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Robbie Collin Telegraph	"Emma Thompson gives 'Matilda The Musical' a deranged villain to remember (...) Like Dahl’s book, everything in this film, from tenderness to terror, is so exuberant. (...) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Simon Thompson The Playlist	"This is a beautiful, confident, and big-hearted experience that is way better than it needs to be and more than does justice to the legacy of Dahl’s creation"
		David Katz Cineuropa	"Younger viewers would get the biggest kick out of this (...) Many readers felt 'seen' and inspired by Matilda, who saw through the hypocrisy and jadedness of all of the adults around her. Here, Warchus seems to be pitching down"

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