Based on the award-winning 2010 stage musical originally produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company that was inspired by Dahl’s most successful novel, Matilda, this film enjoyed an exclusive and hugely successful theatrical release in the UK last November prior to its worldwide Netflix release on Christmas Day. I’ll admit that I am not a huge fan of musicals but it’s easy to see why this delightful adaptation of the Dahl classic has done so well at the box office and also via streaming. The production values are simply spectacular along with the many entertaining performances of the infectiously catchy songs by Tim Minchin. The opening musical number will immediately grab your attention with a large-scale production involving intricate tracking shots, loads of dancers with complex choreography, and a playful color palette filled with myriad soft pastels. We also first meet Matilda’s parents here, the Wormwoods, played hysterically by Andrea Riseborough and Steven Graham, who usually inhabit grittier, more dramatic roles, but appear totally at home in this charming musical.

Emma Thompson is also unrecognizable in her makeup as Agatha Trunchbull, the evil headmistress of Crunchem Hall, where Matilda attends school. While Thompson’s physical transformation and performance are remarkable, the story is most engaging when revolving around Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch), a teacher who develops a special bond with the delightfully precocious Matilda, played impeccably by Alisha Weir. Lynch may be better known for her action-packed roles in the Marvel universe, the latest Bond film, or The Woman King, but she portrays Miss Honey with an endearing vulnerability and humility.

Matilda the Musical is full of fantastic performances of Minchin’s songs but the production of “When I Grow Up” is especially memorable, with emotive and appealing visual imagery and touching lyrics poignantly performed by the entire cast of children that had me humming the song long after I had finished watching the film. Another highlight is the performance of “Revolting Children,” with its frenetic choreography featuring scores of children and a massive scale of production that covers the entirety of the interior and grounds of Crunchem Hall for this brilliantly energetic composition.

Video quality is exceptional. The opening scenes are eye-catching with their many pastel shades of rooms in the hospital where Matilda is born and the medical staff’s uniforms creating a fairy-tale-like atmosphere, filling the screen with a sense of whimsy. This color scheme is carried over to the décor of the Wormwood’s home, which is a deliciously tacky, memento-filled homage to the 1970s, and the carefully curated set decoration is a visual feast.

While the indoor scenes look crisp and detailed even with their pale pastel coloration creating a surreal atmosphere, when Matilda attends Crunchem, the colors and lighting of outdoor scenes appears extremely natural with a gorgeous-looking picture. The children’s uniforms are mostly drably gray, but there is an authenticity to the textures and the varying shades of the woolen garments that looks spot-on. The red detailing, such as piping, really pops but still looks organic when contrasted with the other, more somber tones. As the children walk across the school grounds, the manner in which light reflects off the many shades of green in the uneven grass mixed with a few weeds looks smooth and natural. Not only is the Dolby Vision color grade nearly perfect but the HDR highlights give the visuals a filmlike quality by providing plenty of detail to display a bright, sharp picture with just the right amount of contrast.

The actors’ complexions also look totally realistic, especially during extreme closeups. The pores and faint blood vessels and even the stray hairs on Trunchbull’s chin, though her face is enhanced with prosthetics, look completely convincing, as do her crooked and yellowing teeth. The superb video quality showcases the tremendous artistry and attention to detail in the makeup transforming Thompson into the monstrous Miss Trunchbull.

The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is very good although it is used infrequently for discrete directional effects, but when it is, it is done so effectively. For example, when Trunchbull speaks over the PA system, her voice reverberates ominously and omnipresently all around the children. The songs are well recorded with a solid presence in the front speakers, but the stereo effect is also enhanced significantly by the use of the surround and height channels. This provides additional depth and width to the presentation so that the sound filled the entire front hemisphere of my room and stretched well outside of the speakers and back behind them.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical has rousing musical numbers, marvelous production values, outstanding performances, and excellent picture and sound quality. There are some dark themes as with other Dahl stories, including a few intense scenes, so it might not be suitable for very young children. Nonetheless, it is a simply wonderful and immensely enjoyable film.