I am not exactly sure how this blog post will go or why I am writing it because Matilda, the book, is on my top favourite books since I was a kid and Matilda (1996), the film, is one of my favourite films since forever - and the film that always made me stop whatever I was doing to watch it whenever it was on TV. So, yeah, as with all things I love I will probably lose all my words and all I'll have to see is "love it", "read it", "watch it", probably in all caps!
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| ★★★★★ (for both) |
"So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone."
I grew up in a library, so inevitably I discovered Matilda at a very young age and that's how I found a connection like no other with a fictional character, someone who loved books and found magic in them the same way I did. Except she also had some very cool powers...
This is my... 100th reread of this book probably, but each time I surprise myself that 1) I never get bored reading it and 2) I am happy with all the changes the film made - because it's always playing in my head while I read it.
The Book: Little Genius Prankster
"I'm right and you're wrong, I'm big and you're small, and there's nothing you can do about it."
I recently reread the book and I honestly forgot how much of the book is about Matilda playing pranks (aka punishing her parents) and how hilarious that is. The parrot scene? Completely forgot about it, but I had a blast rereading it.
Roald Dahl is magnificent - and he clearly understands children and how they see adults with all of their nonsense and problems and peculiar behaviours. I felt seen as a kid and I still find myself in this little bookworm even now at 30 years old (that might also be because I do not see myself as an adult and think adulthood is pretty much playing pretend, at least in my case).
The book starts with little Matilda and follows her as she deals with her weird parents who don't understand what a gifted child they have and her first year of school, where she makes friends and meets Miss Honey, but also the scary headmistress Trunchbull.
Matilda is a dark book, especially if we think about Miss Honey's past and how she had to live before meeting Matilda or how Matilda's parents treat her when they don't simply neglect her. But it's also a book about perseverance and standing up for yourself - Miss Honey does not let her story affect her teaching and Matilda gets revenge on her parents any chance she gets.
The Film: I Think I Like It Even More Than the Book!
Look, I absolutely love the book... but the film is PERFECTION! The casting is perfect, the directing is amazing (Danny DeVito did an amazing job), the music is superb, and all the changes from the book make sense and add to the story!
"The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. She went on olden-day sailing ships with Joseph Conrad. She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and to India with Rudyard Kipling. She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room in an English village."
The removed a few of the pranks Matilda did before going to school (including the fun parrot one), but expanded more on Miss Honey and Trunchbull storyline, they reversed how the parents look physically - and that was a genius move because I cannot imagine anyone else playing Mr and Mrs Wormwood, and, of course, the talented Mara Wilson is the best Matilda out there - I know this year a musical will be released and it's going to be so hard for me to watch it, but luckily I like musicals and I hope I will enjoy it, even though it's hard to top the OG Matilda. But, of course, the best performance in this film goes to Pam Ferris as Miss Trunchbull, she bring the character to life and then some. It also helps that they developed the Miss Honey-Miss Trunchbull backstory even more.
I love the humour, the darkness, the wittiness of this film and it is, no doubt, the best family film out there. It aged wonderfully and makes me happy and nostalgic each time I watch it. I could find flaws with the book, but not with this movie - I sometimes wonder why can't all books be so honourably adapted for the little screen.
A BOOK?! WHAT D'YOU WANNA FLAMING BOOK FOR?...WE'VE GOT A LOVELY TELLY WITH A 12-INCH SCREEN AND NOW YA WANNA BOOK!