Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical
• a review of Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 7 December 2022.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

Matilda (Alisha Weir) came into the world as an unwanted child to her selfish and mean parents. She is a child with extraordinary abilities who loves to read books, much to the annoyance of her parents, who would prefer her to watch trashy TV shows. Matilda has a friend in the local librarian, Mrs Phelps (Sindhu Vee), to whom she tells her wildly imaginative stories. One day, Matilda and her parents are visited by the local authority and teacher, Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch), with whom Matilda forms an instant bond. They decide that Matilda needs to attend school.

Matilda is excited about starting school at Crunchen Hall but is shocked to find that it is run by the most fearsome head teacher, Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson). The students all live in fear of her and her extreme forms of punishments. One of which is isolation in the Chokey – a wooden contraption out in the woods and enclosed by chains. Matilda’s high intelligence makes her question what is happening at the school and dares to stand up to Miss Trunchbull. Matilda becomes even bolder when she realises she has the power to move objects with her eyes. Matilda becomes an inspiration to the other students who eventually all revolt against the authoritarian and extremely nasty, Trunchbull.

Cruelty to children; Neglect of children; Telekinesis powers.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

• Mr and Mrs Wormwood constantly fight about money and other matters.
• Mr Wormwood yells at Matilda.
• Miss Trunchbull picks up a student by her pigtails, whorls her around in the air and throws her over a wall. She gets one of the students to check whether she’s still alive.
• Matilda watches her Mum and Dad fight.
• A student is made to eat a whole cake because he stole a piece. He is then sent to the Chokey.
• The escapologist frees his acrobat wife just in time before a device explodes, but she slips from his hand and falls to the ground. She breaks every bone in her body. She goes on to have her baby but dies afterwards.
• Father picks up Matilda and throws her into her attic bedroom.
• Miss Trunchbull pulls a child out of the mud and drops her on the ground. She picks another child up by the feet and drops him too.
• Miss Trunchbull picks a boy up by his ears which stretch really long.
• With her powers, Matilda gathers all of the chains from the Chokeys and they resemble a large monster which smashes all of the Chokeys.

Material that may scare or disturb children

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

• Miss Trunchbull is an extremely fearsome character – very large and ugly-looking. She wears what looks like an army commander’s clothes.
• A circus is shown with a lion that roars and a pram with shark’s teeth.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

• Mr and Mrs Wormwood are very horrible to Matilda. They make it obvious they don’t want her and call her names such as idiot and pig.
• Matilda has to sleep in an attic bedroom.
• Matilda tells Miss Phelps a story about an escapologist, who is shown tied up in chains.
• Miss Trunchbull calls Matilda a gangster. She thinks all children are maggots, imps and hobgoblins.
• Miss Trunchbull says that she likes troublemakers because they make such a sound when they snap.
• A scene when a girl’s father comes home and finds her locked in the basement is quite sad and intense. It is raining and there is thunder and lightning. They both cry.
• Matilda’s conjured-up chain monster is quite scary – it looks like it will grab Miss Trunchbull by the throat. It doesn’t but her hair grows up into pigtails and she flies around the room, though the roof, over the yard and crashes onto the ground.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged eight to thirteen, including the following:

• Mrs Wormwood states she doesn’t want to have a ‘stinking baby’. She then screams as she is taken off to the labour ward.
• Mr Wormwood clearly wanted a son and not a daughter.
• Mr Wormwood tells Miss Trunchbull that Matilda’s a troublemaker and a naughty goblin.
• Matilda is scared of her parents and hides from them by climbing onto the roof of the house. She walks along the ridge.
• The school gate locks behind the children and they feel they are trapped inside.
• The older students scare Matilda and her friend, Lavender, by telling them horror stories about the school.
• Miss Trunchbull operates a machine in her study which spies on all of the children.
• The escapologist is due to perform a great feat, escape his chains in time to free his wife, an acrobat, who has a burning wire tied around her which will explode when it reaches a device. He says the act has been cancelled because his wife is pregnant. However, his evil sister-in-law insists that they are contracted to perform the act and it must go on. This is quite an intense scene.
• The escapologist asks his sister-in-law to help him raise his daughter. She is evil, however, and treats the daughter badly. The father comes home on one occasion, and finds her locked in the basement. He cries when he tells her how sorry he is and promises to never let it happen again. However, he is never seen again after that night.
• Miss Honey believes her guardian killed her father.

• Nothing further of concern.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

• Kellogg’s Corn Flakes
• Curly Wurly
• Walkers.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

• References to pregnancy and childbirth.
• Mrs Wormwood dresses in a provocative manner.

Nudity and sexual activity

• None noted.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

• Drinking cocktails at home.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Like Hell.
• Name calling such as:
  • Idiot
  • Snotball
  • Evil incarnate
  • Pathetic
  • Snivelling.

In a nutshell

Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical is a cinematic version of the recent musical stage play, featuring the music of Tim Minchin. The cast of actors are wonderful, including Emma Thompson as the most fearsome Miss Trunchbull. The core of the story is a dark tale of child abuse, neglect and cruelty. However, the triumph of the human spirit comes through Matilda, who overcomes and defeats all of her powerful enemies through strong willpower, intelligence and extra sensory powers. The movie is best suited for children aged 10+ due to the themes, violence and scary scenes. For these reasons it isn’t suitable for children under 6, it isn’t recommended for under 8’s and parental guidance is recommended for 8–9 year olds.

The main messages from this movie are that sometimes you have to disobey those in authority when you know they are wrong; and that you have determination over your own story.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• That reading a book is like taking a holiday in your head.
• Children need love, respect and care.
• Independence.
• Using your brain to solve problems.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• Matilda says that not all stories have happy endings, which is true in real life. It might be an opportunity to discuss sad times.
• Matilda and Miss Honey are both badly treated as children. Parents could talk about the fact that some children need outside help to make their lives better.