The new Matilda Movie has been out in cinemas since 25th November, and already critics are raving. With an 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it is shaping up to be a family favourite for years to come. 

The film mimics the plot of the stage musical, which premiered in 2010, which in turn mimics the plot of Roald Dahl’s 1988 novel. It follows a young girl Matilda who discovers that she has telekinesis at an early age as a result of her enormous intelligence. She then proceeds to get revenge on her abusive parents and the horrible headmistress at her school, all while forming a close bond with her teacher, Miss Honey. 

The new film stays pretty true to this narrative, all while incorporating the musical sequences from the stage show. We are introduced to baby Matilda while a doctor sings about the miracle of new life and her unsuspecting parents lament about why bad things happen to ‘good’ people. We are given a tour around her prison-like new school accompanied by schoolchildren who somehow manage to fit the alphabet into their warning song. And the terrifying Trunchbull compares throwing a hammer for the Olympics to teaching in a primary school. 

But while the comedic moments really illuminate the excellent acting of both the adults (Emma Thompson and Steven Graham included) and the children (Alisha Weir stars as an excellent Matilda), it is the emotional moments that make this movie really shine. 

Viewers will find themselves getting tearful as a young Jenny Honey embraces her absent father, and even more so as the fathers vengeful ghost causes the Trunchbull to relinquish her hold on Crunchem Hall. 

It's hard not to shed a tear as the film ends with the cheerful sight of Miss Honey reclaiming her childhood home and lying with Matilda on the roof of an old wagon, no longer in the shadow of the Trunchbull. 

With an amazing soundtrack, great cast and a gorgeous aesthetic, Matilda might just be one of the best family films of the year.