Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical

2022 • 117 minutes

About this movie

Matilda Wormwood (Alisha Weir) is a little girl with big curiosity, a sharp mind and a vivid imagination — and the worst parents in the world. While her parents (Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough) content themselves with trashy TV and dodgy money-making schemes, she loves to lose herself in the pages of her beloved books. Where they are loud, selfish and unkind she is a quiet observer, thinking up small and cheeky acts of rebellion and revenge.  On meeting her inspirational teacher, Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch), Matilda is encouraged and begins conjuring her own fantastical tales. Excited to attend Crunchem Hall, Matilda is surprised to find the school is an ominous and oppressive place led by the huge and villainous Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson). As well as kind Miss Honey, the bright lights among the meanness are story-loving librarian, Mrs. Phelps (Sindhu Vee), and Matilda's newfound school friends. Filled with an overwhelming sense of justice, Matilda dares to take a stand for what is right and teach Trunchbull a lesson she won't forget. Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical is an inspirational musical tale of an extraordinary girl who discovers her superpower and summons the remarkable courage, against all odds, to help others change their stories, whilst also taking charge of her own destiny. Standing up for what's right, she's met with miraculous results. Directed by Tony Award-winning director Matthew Warchus (Matilda The Musical), the film is produced by Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan for Working Title, Jon Finn (Billy Elliot), and Luke Kelly of The Roald Dahl Story Company. Screenwriter Dennis Kelly adapts the Royal Shakespeare Company's production for the big screen, with original music and lyrics by Tim Minchin.

Ratings and reviews

Watched gala at Bfi. The premiere invited many schoolchildren in London to watch it and I was very moved. At the moment when every child rebelled against the principal, the audience burst into thunderous applause, really thunderous, and everyone was cheering, and I burst into tears for their rare naughty. At that moment, drama was linked to reality. What was the original intention of the movie? A lot of times we're shackled by rules, not just movies, but ourselves. When British children are offi