The first reviews are in for Matilda The Musical's big screen adaptation, and it's landed a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The anticipated movie stars the likes of Emma Thompson as the villainous headteacher Agatha Trunchbull and No Time to Die star Lashana Lynch as Miss Honey, as well as newcomer Alisha Weir as Matilda.
Premiering last night (October 5) at the BFI London Film Festival, Matilda – which is based on the stage musical with songs by Tim Minchin – has been called everything from "fantastical" to "exhausting", though particular praise has been given to Thompson.
Digital Spy's Ian Sandwell called the movie "a fantastical and exuberant adaptation of the stage show", saying that "it smartly trims it down".
However, it "does have similar issues, namely too many songs that aren't distinctive enough ('Revolting Children' remains the one earworm)".
The movie was called an "absolute blast" by Deadline, arguing that from the start "it is clear that [director Matthew] Warchus and the team have not merely adapted the theater musical but rethought it, top to bottom. Clever staging gives way to visual extravagance".
The Hollywood Reporter said Matilda "manages to hit most of the right notes with this perky, peculiar adaptation", though noted the problematic nature of a story of child abuse set in a whimsical world.
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"Maybe the film has just enough bright shiny objects and tightly synchronized dancing-child chorus lines to stop anyone from caring about all that problematic whatnot. In any case, it mostly works," they add.
In a positive review, The Guardian said that "Emma Thompson and Tim Minchin make a very tasty combination in this DayGlo movie musical for the London film festival’s opening gala – amusing, exhilarating and the tiniest bit exhausting".
They added: "Matilda is a tangy bit of entertainment, served up with gusto. Like the Wotsits and the Curly-Wurly shown in various scenes, it’s pretty moreish."
The Times also praised Thompson's performance a Trunchbull, saying this "energetic yet uneven Roald Dahl adaptation depends solely on Emma Thompson".
"The movie is a bracing illustration of the difficult gap that exists between a raucous Olivier award-winning musical and a two-hour film version that more easily exposes narrative incoherence, tonal inconsistencies and incomplete characterisations," it added.
However, the BBC said the film is "only a couple of tweaks away from being the year's most disturbing gothic horror movie".
"Nervous youngsters should probably stick to the book or to Danny DeVito's 1996 film of it. For that matter, so should nervous adults," they added.
Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical is released in UK and Irish cinemas on November 25, and will be released on Netflix UK in summer 2023.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
