MATILDA THE MUSICAL

Despite a nearly two hour runtime there isn't a dull moment in the picture, which includes unbridled fantasy and an assortment of well-choreographed, witty and amusing song-and-dance numbers.

I have very fond memories of Roald Dahl's book Matilda, which struck a real chord with me when I first read it as a 10-year-old. So the fact that Matilda the Musical, an adaptation of the wildly successful West End show, managed to immediately transport me back to the joys I had reading the book, definitely counts in the movie's favour.

Despite a nearly two hour runtime there isn't a dull moment in the picture, which effortlessly stitches together the main narrative of the smart titular girl finding her inner strength, her unbridled fantasy and an assortment of well-choreographed, witty and amusing song-and-dance numbers.

The cast is on excellent form as well: Emma Thompson makes for a memorable Ms. Trunchbull, Lashana Lynch is a wonderfully endearing Miss Honey and as for the child actors: they show immense talent, especially lead Alisha Weir.

There is one major caveat to Matilda the Musical though: it caters purely to kids and has not a lot of crossover appeal to adults, which ultimately makes this a good but rather niche picture, that plays it a lot safer than it should have.

release: 2022

director: Matthew Warchus

starring: Alisha Weir, Lashana Lynch, Stephen Graham, Andrea Riseborough, Emma Thompson