Theres not a shadow of doubt in my mind that Roald Dahl was responsible for producing some of the finest childrens books ever written. His stories were dark yet extremely funny, knowing yet never patronising, and positively bursting with imagination. Youve guessed it Im a bit of a fan. More importantly, Danny DeVito obviously is as well, otherwise how can you account for how perfectly he captures the Dahl spirit in this marvellous big screen adaptation of the classic Matilda?
This isnt the cutesy, kiddy-winky matinee-filler it might at first appear. Though Mara Wilson undoubtedly scores a sky-high rating on the adorability index as the sparkly-eyed little girlie of the films title, shes surrounded by the kind of characters you certainly wont see popping up in a Winnie the Pooh flick any time soon.
Her schools headmistress, Agatha Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), is a giant, hog-like woman who throws children around by their hair and lives by the motto use the rod, beat the child. Her father (DeVito) is a crooked car dealer who uses Super Super Glue to attach faulty bumpers and is having his every move watched by the FBI. Even her mum (Rhea Perlman) would rather gossip on the telephone or watch the gogglebox than listen to her daughter.
It takes nicey-nicey teacher Miss Honey, a woman who loves the children in her class (and not in a creepy way) to finally take notice of Matildas unique abilities. And, as it turns out, calling Matilda unique is putting it mildly.
DeVitos marvellously macabre directorial style suits the tale right down to the ground, while the casting is spot-on. Ferris regularly steals the show as the grunting Trunchbull, DeVito himself is on top comic form as a bad dad, and the kids involved all play their part without fault.