The Original vs The Adaptation: What Happens When Matilda Becomes a Musical?

By Jhazzmyn Jhane

I don’t know if I ever imagined the story Matilda as a musical, but I was not disappointed in watching the 2022 adaptation. Matilda is the story of a young girl who has an extraordinary mind and powers. She uses her powerful mind to fight her abusive parents and the school principal who bullies the students. Both versions of the movie capture the story — they even include the chocolate cake scene (one of my favorite scenes in the movie) — but there are some details that are enhanced in the 2022 version, and I find them enthralling.

The movie Matilda (1996) is an adaptation of the popular book by Roald Dahl. We go through Matilda’s journey of starting at a new school with a terrifying principal and her substandard life at home. The original movie was released in 1996 and starred Mara Wilson as Matilda, Danny DeVito as Mr. Wormwood (he also directed and narrated the movie), Rhea Perlman as Mrs. Wormwood, Pam Ferris as Principal Trunchbull, and Embeth Davidtz as Miss Honey (Matilda’s teacher). Matilda (2022) is an adaptation of the musical that was first performed in 2010. The musical was created by playwright Dennis Kelly, with music by lyricist Tim Minchin. The cast of Matilda (2022) includes Alisha Weir as Matilda, Stephen Graham as Mr. Wormwood, Andrea Riseborough as Mrs. Wormwood, Emma Thompson as Principal Trunchbull, and Lashana Lynch as Miss Honey. The musical version shows that there are truly no limits to remakes. If it did not make you want to dance in your seat, you need to go back and watch it again.

One of the most obvious differences in the original and the remake is the musical element. The story is not at all lost in the addition of the music. In fact, the music helps to drive the story and speak more to the inner dialogue of various characters. It gives me a special appreciation for this version of the movie because not only does everyone have to be great at acting, they have to have great singing voices and dance moves. Sometimes, though, having music, dancing, and acting can be a lot of moving parts and feel a bit overwhelming. I had to keep my eyes glued to the screen, which I’m sure the Wormwoods would approve of, in order to capture everything in the musical version of Matilda.

Another aspect of the 2022 version of the movie that stood out to me was the British accent. The original Matilda characters have American accents, as it was filmed in California. The characters in the musical all have British accents, and the movie was largely filmed in England and Ireland. Roald Dahl was from Oxford, UK, so I feel like the 2022 version pays homage to him in that way, and it stays true to the book in regard to the setting. The settings likely had to do with the directors. Danny DeVito, an American actor, directed the 1996 movie, whereas Matthew Warchus, who’s British, directed the 2022 movie.

Sindhu Vee plays Mrs. Phelps, the librarian. She gets a larger role in the musical version of Matilda. We can often see her in scenes where Matilda is telling the story of the escapologist and his acrobat wife. It’s a story that comes to Matilda’s mind in pieces. We later find out that the escapologist and his wife were Miss Honey’s parents. Phelps is often seen looking engrossed in this story that Matilda continues to weave from what comes to her mind. She often leaves her meetings with Mrs. Phelps on a cliffhanger. We are all left wondering what the next part of the story might be. At first, I found myself confused and unsure about how the storytelling fits into the larger story, but they do a great job of tying it all in by the end. I enjoyed seeing more of Mrs. Phelps and how she played a larger role in Matilda’s life and gave her a safe space to be herself. I also liked the added story of the escapologist and his wife. It adds context to Miss Honey’s life story.

Another added bonus in the musical movie is that we really get to see the scope of Matilda’s powers throughout, but especially at the end. She uses her mind to build the figure of the escapologist out of the metal chains of the Chokeys that Principal Trunchbull set up for Miss Honey’s students. She also fixes Trunchbull’s hair into pigtails (which Trunchbull earlier mentioned she hates) and picks her up by the pigtails to throw her off of the roof of the school building. The musical movie certainly took it to another level with Matilda’s telekinetic powers. The fact that this tiny girl is able to do all of these things with her mind is astonishing.

In the 1996 version of the movie, and in the book, you may have noticed that Matilda had a brother, Michael. There is no brother in the 2022 version. This is one way that the 1996 movie stays truer to the book. I found the decision to eliminate Michale’s character not to make much of a difference because we don’t get a lot of Michael in the 1996 movie anyway. He’s another nuisance in Matilda’s life, and she already has enough of those at home and school.

I can’t talk about the differences in the two movies without noting the diversity of the cast of the musical version. Miss Honey is a Black woman, Mrs. Phelps is an Indian woman, the escapologist and his acrobat wife are also Black. We see more representation in this movie with some of the main characters which, as we know, matters and makes a difference. Seeing people who like you in major roles is inspiring. Aside from little Lavender in the 1996 version, we don’t get as much diversity in the cast. So, I appreciated this about the 2022 version.

The last difference I observed was the ending of each movie. They both end with Matilda’s parents agreeing to let Miss Honey care for her. Matilda gets a happy ending in a loving home. Each movie also includes a montage. However, we get to see a bit more at the end of the musical version. As Miss Honey and Matilda sing a duet, we also get to see the students at the school in the final number. You can’t have a musical without a big closing number! The ending of Matilda (2022) feels grander, but I also like the simplicity of the 1996 ending. As long as the ending is happy, I am happy.

All in all, both movies are wonderful. They stay true to the book with some components and add their own twists in other areas. I enjoyed the musical adaptation of Matilda. I’m still a fan of the OG version, though. It’s a classic! Now that I’ve read the book and seen both versions of the movie, I hope to one day catch it onstage.

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Sources:

Allen, Joseph. “'Roald Dahl's Matilda: The Musical' Takes Place in England - Where Was It Filmed?” Distractify, Distractify, 27 Dec. 2022, https://www.distractify.com/p/where-was-matilda-the-musical-filmed. 

DeVito, Danny, director. Matilda. TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Releasing, FilmFlex, 1996. 

“Matilda.” IMDb, IMDb.com, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117008/locations. 

“Matilda.” IMDb, IMDB.com, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3447590/. 

Warchus, Matthew, director. Matilda. Sony Pictures Releasing, Netflix, 2022.

Meet the Writer

Communication from Georgia Tech and an M.A. in Gerontology from Georgia State. She is a poet, gerontologist, and communicator, in no particular order. She works for the Alzheimer’s Association. Jhazzmyn enjoys spending time with loved ones and taking walks.