1996 Matilda is an angel child that gets into a bit of mischief but only wants what's best for her favourite teacher. 2022 Matilda will gladly commit arson if you piss her off.

The thing about Matilda punishing her dad in the movie, and the book, I think, is that he said "When a person is bad, that person deserves to be punished." So, Matilda concluded that since her parents are people, and they were bad, then by her dad's own logic, he deserved to be punished.

“Because everyone thinks I hate everything, which to be fair is true.” MOST RELATABLE THING EVER OML

Fun fact:there's a scene in both movies. They're missing a scene from the book, which is the parrot prank where matilda borrows her friends talking pet parrot where she pretends there's a ghost in the house to scare her parents

I feel taking away her brother in the new film makes her seem just angry at her parents but in the first film you could see how she felt like she didn't belong with her family as a whole

i feel like the weak point of the musical is the relationship between Matilda and Miss Honey, which is one of the most important parts os the original movie. Here, when Miss Honey adopts Matilda i was like "why? they barely know each other", but in the original movie it makes a lot of sense because the script makes a priority to sell to the audience that they had a real connection from the beggining.

For the cake scene, in the live musical they can’t have an actor eat a gigantic cake on stage so they have to have a distracting fast pace song so they can have the cake and by the end of the song the cake is gone. They probably just wanted to keep that aspect in it.

12:30 When I was a kid, I would always fast forward this scene because it scared the hell out of me and I could never explain why.

I love how in the original, pivotal scenes like being thrown by your pigtails, or being yelled at by your dad, the camera mirrors Matilda’s eye level, really resonating with the young audience and making sure you FEEL that scene on a different level. It does more than just show parents this is how your kid feels, it FORCES you to feel it.

5:56 No, "When I Grow Up" is not just about "kids wanting to eat candy". It's about children who are having a terrible childhood dreaming of being free and happy. The idea that someday they'll be strong enough to protect themselves and others and smart enough to find a way out of problems they're facing.

To be fair, stage musicals (upon which this is based, not the 90s movie) can have little to no dialogue. It is a series of songs sometimes vaguely connected by a few spoke sentences to get from one song to another. It’s why you can buy the original cast recordings of most Broadway stage musicals and know the whole story just from the songs. Stage Musicals are about the the songs. And in honor of it’s stage musical origins, it would make sense that the performances are a bit larger then life.

Personally I interpreted the revolting song as the children not being afraid to misbehave anymore and finally being allowed to be kids

I have no nostalgia for the original movie because I didn't watch when I was young, but I have such a soft spot for it after hearing how Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman were like second parents to Mara Wilson when her mom died.

Okay but my favorite line from the original movie doesn’t get recognized enough. When Amanda is spelling difficulty and trunchbull’s response is “Why are all of these women married??”

i felt like the pig tail throwing scene made sense, because it shows her desire to be right about everything, it reminds me of a teacher I once knew

I agree, in this rendition of Matilda, the story was too focused on the subplot about Miss Honey's backstory. You hardly even get to see Matilda develop her powers and use them. She uses them twice in this movie and then that was it. Also, this Matilda is giving me The Orphan vibes. 😂

One of my favorite scenes in the original film is when her mom is about to sign the adoption papers she sympathetically admits she wish she could've bonded with her daughter. Like, even the horrible parents have dimension to them. Her saying those lines legitimately pull at my heart.

I think its worth noting that the director (who directed both the stage and movie musical), didn't watch the original movie so its purely based off the book. Anything choice made that is different/the same in the two movies is because they're based off the same book, but the musical is not based off the movie.

"The amount of songs." Seriously? It's a musical. You say you seem to know but four minutes of dialogue feels almost more than most musicals take. What I've learned going to a lot of musicals, if you're going to a musical for the story first, you should just go to a play.

The US movie of Matilda was based on the book. The English Stage Production was also based on the book (NOT the US movie). The Netflix Musical is based on the Stage Production. Different interpretations of the same source material. I like them both.

Honestly I was more invested in the story Matilda was making up than the actual movie

Fun Facts? : -I did Matilda Jr Musical this summer and then the adaptation came out -The Adaptation actually didn't include all the songs from the original so there are a fewer songs in the movie than the actual stage production

If I were to be honest, I love the part in PE where Matilda started singing (another song 🙃) about how everyone is yelling and how everything is loud and her rage grows but then it’s quiet, because I relate with it so much, my parents fought a lot and it was mostly because of me, I never knew that a childrens musical remake would make me cry.

One thing I personally loved about this version is the portrayal of Hortensia. In the original movie (which is my all-time favourite movie btw), she is kind of drab. In this movie, she is a total badass; the Grace Vanderwaal bob, a broken arm, the lollipop... I would not want to go up against her.

I think part of the reason for casting a (slightly) older actress as matilda is that we've learned in recent years how harmful the industry is to child actors, especially really young ones. out of the ones you mentioned, so many of them have spoken about how damaging those experiences were to go through at such a young age, and you can see how it affected their lives even years after it was over (like macaulay culkin, lindsay lohan, etc.) Even Mara Wilson herself has talked about how hard it was on her. And in a musical adaptation where you need to be a true triple threat to sing and dance as well as starring... I wouldn't wish that pressure on any 5 year old. So I'm not mad at them casting a slightly older actress if it means she was emotionally better prepared to handle all of that.

I don't think you understood "when I grow up" the whole point is that miss honey is grown up but still can't fight the demons that she needs to. It's a beautiful metaphor for how some people have dreams and some people just dream about escaping a hellish childhood

9:00 That musical number was made because on Stage they didn't make a kid eat all that,so the Number was fast and bright to distract you from the eating of the cake

When I grow up and the quiet song made me cry the most

One of the things I love about the original film is how much Matilda still loves her family, even when her dad is a crook and cops come after her dad, Matilda still go out of her way to protect her father and family

Let us just take a minute to appreciate Amanda's scream as she is thrown by her pigtails. edit: MHM BUT WHY DID THIS COMMENT GET SO MANY LIKES?

wait until someone tells him that they cut a load of songs from the original musical for this film😭

info on when I grow up- basically, the kids singing are saying how when they grow up they will have more freedom. notice how they say “I will be _____ enough” that is because of miss trunchbull implying that they aren’t good enough, or the motto “babinatum eat maggitum” also implying that she hates kids. anyhow, I found this video so funny even with a different perspective/opinion on the film. :)

The original Matilda was terrifyingly weird

The kids spelling “Difficulty” on the original movie lives priceless on my mind. Ms. Trunchbull’s “Why are all these women married” 🤧😹

I understand that this one is based off of the Broadway musical, but I still had issues. The lack of development with miss honey and her family- Its just harder to connect with matilda as a character. Also it really bothered me that it felt open ended with matilda and the Librarian idk maybe im missing the point😭💀

The original Ms. Trunchbull literally was played by the perfect actress. There is nobody that could have performed that role better than she did!

I think one of the biggest problems I had with this film is the relationship between Matilda and Ms. Honey. Instead of building their relationship they just focus on songs and the circus story. The cottage scene feels really out of place because Ms. Honey and Matilda barely know eachother. In this movie, even though it's not in the book, I feel like Ms. Phelps should've adopted her instead, because they were much more compatible. And at the beginning of the movie you see them already acting like bestfriends. The film did this dumb "oh she accidently knows her life story and this wasn't in the book" thing instead of focusing on the MAIN CHARACTERS relationships! Idk that just made me kind of upset I'd still rate this movie like a 7/10

I personally prefer the actual stage version because of how creative the choreography and stage gimmicks are (I love the choice of casting all the older kids as actual adults)

Say what yall will but in any versuon, Amanda Thwip being launched inti the sky will always be the funniest thing ever 💀

people dont realise how good this bloody editing is

I have seen Matilda on broadway and I have to say the way the music flows, the choreography, and the sets are amazing. The when I grow up song in that is beautifully done. So impressed by the talents of children in a Broadway production like that.

I think actually this film is a fantastic middle point between the movie and the stage version. A lot of the 'new' stuff you've mentioned is a huge part of the stage production, and considering how different the two are, i think this adaptation does a fantastic job of incorporating elements of both. Some songs from the stage version got cut, and others got moved about or re-worked so that they are in slightly different contexts than they originally were, so that might be why some of them feel a bit jarring, but i heavily recommend going and watching the stage version or finding some clips of it online - you'd have a new appreciation for the choices made in the movie!

The bit where THE TRUNCH throws the kid, I appreciate that you layered Sigma’s boss theme from Mega Man X4 over that. Good to know another Mega Fan of Mega Man.

As much as I remember about the stage production there was a lot more character development about her dad. I feel like they had to cut a lot of it out to fit into a movie length and still keep all the songs.

You have to remember this was primarily made for a British audience where practically everybody knows the story of Matilda like the back of their hand.

I loved the original Matilda movie, I watched it over and over as a kid. That soundtrack and Danny Devito narrating is just so comforting lyrics nostalgic to me. I agree that the low camera angles really did make it feel like the movie was shot from a child's perspective. The scene where all the kids are playing at lunch and find a salamander is just pure distilled childhood right there.

2:47 The PERFORMANCE seemed effortless, but Pam actually had to sit for prosthetics and her body suit as well.

Dude 4:10 got me dying on the floor 💀

As a person who’s watched the musical irl. I can definitely say that most of the stuff in this musical movie is just a part of the musical 😭😭 including the whole miss honey backstory thing

As someone who’s seen the musical I do think it’s funny you thought there were to many songs and no character arc for matilda because many of the songs that were cut were the songs that completed how it’s actually mis honey’s character that grows over the story. The only songs in that outline they left in were the hammer, my house, and when I grow up, since pathetic and loud got cut.

the part about the introduction to matilda's hobby really hits me so hard

Imagine having dwarf parents and then they fell you "im big your little"

The one thing I think the original did better was the goodbye between her and her dad and family. The original dad was scummy and abrasive but it felt like although he didnt get his daughter he did want her to be a part of the family or at least be 'normal' like them. So when they went their separate ways, you could at least get the feeling that he does love her and accepts that while he doesn't understand her, she deserved to be with those who do. The new one was straight up a jerk through & through, who made it clear he didnt enjoy having her around which made me wonder why he and his wife even kept her instead of putting her up for adoption or something, the ending goodbyes between them is a bit more jarring because he suddenly shows affection (what ever that was) where up to that point, there really was none. Edit: also, the og one is Danny DeVito. Fight me. >:(

What hits home for me with Mathilda, is that it's a real-world response to fairytales. There is this little girl, and she is abused by her parents, and a horrible headmaster, but she gets a fairy Godmother who is kind, and loving, and helps her grow. But instead of how it is in the fairytales, Ms. Honey isn't a magical, all-powerful Glinda. She's a person with her own struggles, and suffers the same abuse that Mathilda is suffering, despite being grown up. And so the audience learns that even grown-ups don't have all the answers, and that even kids can be the hero, the all-powerful magical being. And that's the draw. The CHILD is finding the bravery to help the ADULT get free from the abuse she hasn't been able to escape by herself. Suffice it to say, I don't think it's a concept that lends itself to being explored in musical form, and I'll probably not be watching the new movie.

"I think it's a very good musical movie, but I don't think it's a very good matilda movie" Yeah I get that.

All the songs are an absolute bop

The parents (especially the mom) get a lot more stage time in the Broadway musical and features vignettes of Matilda trying to teach them about books when they berate her

Honestly, even if you think the original movie was better or not, the point of the new one isn’t to remake the one that people hold so dearly to their hearts, it is a movie remake of the musical, Matilda. This allows fans of the musical to see a representation of it on screen and I believe that this movie achieved that very well as the songs have amazing choreography, singing and the overall look of the movie is really cool.

I can't believe he forgot about the part where the kid burps and the burp fumes travel in a cloud across the room to Miss Trunchbull and she sniffs at sniffs and licks her lips at a child's magic cake burp. That part made me pause the movie and questions what I was doing with my life.

I'll say it again. I love all of the, not dumb, but not like deep deep analysis videos, but i think its also awesome when Alex puts in these deep segments/really thoughtful analysis of shows/movies and their impact

Matilda in the musical used reading as an escape from her traumatizing life, which makes the line “reading is like a holiday in my head” make a lot more sense. Also, the creator showed more to the fact that Matilda was traumatized when she sang a song about disassociating while getting yelled at by miss Trenchbull. Traumatized people, like Matilda, sometimes will unwilling disassociate when something bad is happening to them, because it's your brain's way of protecting you from experiencing another traumatizing event. So I think the creator wanted us to know her love for books was because she was trying to escape reality.

One thing really bothered me. Matilda's powers. In the book she needs to practice just to keep a bit of chalk up and she's exhausted after spilling the glass of water. I thought she was kinda overpowered in the first film but it's nothing compared with this one. She is bassicly a god, I mean really, a gigant chain monster? That would have put her in a 10 year old coma if it was in the book

As someone in the musical, I was so excited when this came out and it was to nice to see songs from a musical that me and my freinds took part in.

I was kinda shook when I started this video because it seems you changed your format a bit. I personally like analysis/commentary videos and with the updated animation it flowed nicely. It was just the intro that threw me because I was not expecting this kind of content. I'm also pleasantly surprised that you fit all this in under 19 minutes.

Hats off to Danny DeVito for directing the 1996 Matilda! He did a great job!

The new one is very flashy (which makes sense for Broadway) but that makes it feel like a fever dream of a movie. The first one felt like it had more depth and things were paced out and shown better for a movie/book adaptation. They are two different mediums though, I just prefer the earlier one.

i would really encourage you to listen to 'quiet' from the musical again, and maybe read the lyrics. Matilda is incredibly neglected by her parents and traumatized and uses school and learning to dissociate from this. The musical focuses more closely on the elements of the book of Matilda gaining control of her environment because she feels so unstable and like she has no control.

1:57 👹👹AAÄHHH FRESH MÆT👹👹 **Intense inhale**

As a big fan of the stage musical- the reason why Matilda is telling the stories rather than sitting and reading them- is because the directors realised that watching someone on stage reading a book would not be the most visually interesting and best use of the medium of theatre. In the show Matilda goes to a physical library to see Mrs Phelps where she comes up with her story, and you know from the context that she already has a close relationship with the library and books.

The song about growing up 'When I grow up' is actually a classic Matilda the Musical song so it was kinda necessary in the movie. I remember being in a musical theatre group when I was 8 and this was a song we sung cause it was popular. However some of the new songs aren't as necessary.

One part of this movie that wasn’t resolved was that the dad cheats gangsters outta a car and they have to flea the country to avoid being killed, like it probably isn’t hard to figure out that Maltilda is their daughter, so the parents giving her away kinda feels a bit sinster. But in the original movie, it’s cops the family are running from. And by legally freeing Matilda it shows the family has at least some kindness in their hearts. Also there’s the mum is actually a character in the 90s movie. She knows she cannot understand her daughter, she knows that they are completely different people But she still picks up that pen knowing she’s giving her daughter a better life

my onnnly three complaints about the musical are 1) i felt like the ending (when the kids get rid of trunch, and ms honey asks her dad if she can adopt matilda) was too rushed. I feel like they spent the most time on the beginning / middle of the musical that the end was just too rushed & less emotional 2) not showing the house scene where matilda scares the crap out of trunch 3) the "much too good for children" line 💀 it's probably my favorite quote from the original movie

I commented this elsewhere but what I loved about Matilda was how, at its heart, it’s about recognizing abusive and neglectful adults. It is whimsical and otherworldly when the parents are mean, or the director is crazy. When it’s only Matilda and miss honey, it is cute and charming, because it is the right place for Matilda to be. Idk the musical lost the “found family” aspect of the story, and how one shouldn’t tolerate abuse, even when it comes from your own parents

The movie actually cut out a few songs that are centered and focused on Ms. Honey's development as a character which is why I believe the song "When I grow up" exists (Just because it highlights that adults are still scared of bullies themselves contrary to what children might believe). As a matter of fact, I think that the main character in the Broadway musical should be Ms. Honey since she gets more development than Matilda. I think it focused more on her ability to stand up to her own bully Edit: just thought I should add I haven’t actually seen the musical but I have been a big fan of the track for years and it is the impression I got by just listening to the songs.

I LOVE the new format.. or what you did different in this video because I could tell you put a lot of effort into using new sort of shots and angles.. so yeah keep going we notice!!!

he always finds a way to make me laugh uncontrollably

The original play was longer, so there was obviously more time for the story to take place. All this stuff was in the original play, and there is only one new song right at the end of the film. You think there are too many songs? They cut out a few!!! (Btw crying over the loss of Michael and 'Telly')

While Mara Wilson will always be Matilda to me, Alisha Weir did a phenomenal job, given how demanding the role is, and how Matilda is in almost every scene. Also, she's Irish in real life, and dons a convincing British accent.

My dad and his girlfriend took me and my brother to go see this musical last night because of how much we all love the Original movie and book, and I will say, I liked it more than I thought I would due to the fact that I hate musicals. I have the same complaints as Alex though. But it was fun and I got to meet the actors.

If there's one thing this movie does right, I like how matilda's story is essentially her coping mechanism for all the (unseen) abuse she gets from her parents. It's gives her just a little bit of depth.

am I wrong or does every time Alex brakes and laughs it’s like 12x times funnier

13:41 Really Cracked me up

I've heard the soundtrack for the OG musical like million times and if they had included all of the songs (also included them completely) the message at the end would be so different. Like for example the beginning with the song Miracle, the doctor also sings some poignant lyrics mocking how parents treat all children like perfect angels and implies that basically makes them all awful brats and that it's the parents' fault. Like one of the key lyrics is "Is it is some modern miracle of calculus, That such frequent miracles don't render each one un-miraculous?" Another bit of that song missing is showing how Ms. Wormwood is annoyed at Matilda being born not just bc she is born but rather bc she was supposed to have a tango contest that exact same day, adding nuance to her character. Honestly, if the had just kept that (without even including the other things missing from the original musical) the story presented would be so much different

I loved the book as a kid, so I was assuming it would be similar to the book and it wasn't, which felt like a great disservice (cutting out the brother, the relationship with her parents and a more in-depth development of Miss Honey). My favourite part in the book is when she first discovers her powers and spends literal months pranking her brother and parents - it felt like such a great payback. I haven't seen any of the films include that.

I think the flipped dynamic between Matilda and Ms Honey in the musical, where Ms Honey is the one to learn a moral lesson from Matilda, is more impactful. It makes sense for a grown woman who has experienced a lifetime worth of mistreatment to learn a lesson from a child whose idealism hasn't been worn away yet. Children intuitively have very strong senses of what is and isn't fair. They often know the world's not fair, it's just that they haven't yet stopped believing that it can be. The song, "When I Grow Up" perfectly encapsulates this. All the children dream of perfect futures, although they'll still have to "fight the creatures that you have to fight beneath the bed". As Ms Honey recites those lyrics, she's backed by Matilda, a child who has always known that life isn't fair, singing of one's responsibility to do what's right, with the former finally taking on the responsibility of a grown up as one to fight for their own fair treatment, in her case by her aunt.

Alex, you're hilarious and amazing - always innovating! Loved the new animation at 1:17 and the acapella tune at 5:59. Thanks for all you do and Happy New Year!

I did a mini production of this musical at my high school and there were only 7 boys (6 year 7’s and 1 year 9 me) and 23 girls some of which I’m friends with to this day. So when I watched this in cinema’s every time a familiar song was on I was just whispering it to myself quietly.

It’s not a remake, it’s a different adaptation of a stage play of a book! Matilda was my first book I bought myself at 11, it’s not changing anything that’s gone before.

The thing is the new movie wasn’t actually based off the old version, it was more based off of the actual musical. I don’t think you ever mentioned that, but it really is fun to see a musical get turned into an actual movie Edit: Sorry to start a war- but somebody DID tell me it was said in the beginning. I know that now, but it was just like the whole video was being called nonsense because of the added songs. It also changed a lot from the original broadway musical which I feel would be more accurate to compare from.

I hadn't really noticed before that in the original movie the camera shots are lower! I think that's such a good observation of an incredible detail the movie made to show things from the perspective of kids 😊

There's this game called Rocket League and apparently you can Type "Everybody Dance" while in a match. This movie reminds me of that.

What really bothered me was the whole "two wrongs don't make a right" thing. Because the lady repeats it and I'm thinking Matilda is gonna learn THAT lesson but at the end... not really, revenge always worked for her. EDIT: Ok,since obviously my comment is being misinterpreted: I'm not talking about the moral of the movie. I agree Matilda was in the right and we obviously need to make a stand. My comment was about the WRITING. I'm not saying that should be the lesson, I'm saying putting that line there and repeat it makes the audience think it's going to have some effect on the story. It's like saying "hear this, pay attention to this, it's gonna come back later!" But it doesn't. And that's BAD WRITING

I think the movie and plot being rushed and loosing part of the whole story is due to the movie being just about 2 hours, while the stage production is longer giving a bit more space for the story and in between songs. But since the movie had to cram all characters and songs in and still be a watchable length they had to sacrifice a lot, leaving at times only the bare bones of the story left. “Revolting Children” is not supposed to prove Trunchbull right, it’s supposed to show them taking back their free will and minds, the ability to think and stand up for themselves. They are finally able to just BE children and be a bit naughty or act out without fear of literal torture in retribution. This is kind of lost with how it’s performed in the movie

THIS had me SHOOK when I heard how good the songs were, but what really caught my eye was the choreography and how synced the children were-

My friend plays Amanda thipp and I find it amazing how she still came to school,Once she came to school with the hairstyle,the accessories, everything (everything but the uniform because our school has their own uniform)and she told the class everyone when ballistic

I absolutely agree about the pacing. It really felt like we didn't get to know any of the characters throughout the movie. Especially with so much time spent on the story Matilda is telling which is such a weird addition to the story. Like why does she know Miss Honey's life story randomly? It's never explained. It's just random.

16:34 “Haven’t I just told you you could neva be on my wigga Matildas level, she a real gangster” - Alternate reality Trunch

ok here we go, another thing I thought when i was watching the end (when Matilda's family are escaping the country because her dad did an illegal), the 2022 version kinda shows it to be all emotional and that her dad is gonna miss her and straight after an intense musical number, she's like "no... i wanna stay cuz all my friends and hopes and dreams are here even though I've just been traumatized by a megalomaniac of a headmistress" and her dad is like "aww... ok you can stay here then i guess 😥" But in the 1996 version she's got it all sorted out, like she literally *ALREADY* had the adoption papers and her dad was like "aight, I you're staying here. bye then." and just left like, the parents really had no holding value in the 2022 movie and were basically just side characters; and yea it makes for an emotional ending, but i feel like it makes the audience torn, and its not as satisfying as the 1996 version where its like "FINALLY! HER PARENTS ARE GONE!!" its like "aw. k bye then." also she doesn't have a brother in the 2022 version which i feel like kinda changes the family dynamic because at least in the 1996 version her parents were at least parents to one child (her brother) but in the 2022 version they're just like "oops. i guess we have a kid now. oh well they can just exist and we'll call her names on occasion." unlike the 1996 version in which they actively make her life a living hell had to rant. sorry. thank you for coming to my TED talk.

My guess is that the stage version was probably more singing than talking. I know when I introduced Hamilton to some people they were surprised even knowing it was a muscial that there was no talking dialogue.

Having never seen the stage musical prior to this movie, I liked the added elements, particularly the storyline of the Escapologist and the Acrobat, and how it's paid off later on.