'Matilda the Musical' review: This flattened adaptation is strictly for theater fans

It has been a widely accepted fact since 1988 that Matilda Wormwood is not a normal girl. She's smart — stupidly smart — and kind, and can also wield psychokinetic powers whenever she needs them. Her world is both fantasy and horror, trapped by cruel parents and misunderstood by a tyrannical headmistress at her school (Crunchem Hall) and sustained by her incredibly powerful brain. It's wonderful, but also quite weird.

It was the world written by Road Dahl, the unsentimental and exceptional children's author who always placed greater trust in young minds to handle dark humor than most other storytellers. It was exciting - and it was true, in the same way that children barely old enough to reach the counter always assured movie theater ushers that they were definitely, definitely old enough for this. horror movie that was in development when they were in diapers. Some are just wise beyond their years.

This level of trust in children is rare, and what Dahl's imagination gave the world was not meant to last forever. The story changed somewhat in 2010 with the smash hit 'Matilda the Musical', written by Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin and commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company - a musical that continues to sell out and steal hearts. a huge following, even more than a decade after its debut. He has great strengths and uses Dahl's work as a model, but he fundamentally has a different heart, one that now beats brightly in "Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical," a film title that sounds as paradoxical as the awful Miss Trunchbull enjoying a delicious little slice of sweet-sweet private chocolate cake, especially after confronting just how un-Matilda this version of "Matilda" really is.

The new film is as faithful to the musical as possible, with high-energy performances and unparalleled faith in this smart little girl. But both versions of "Matilda the Musical" lose sight of the original pizzazz of Dahl's book (something captured horribly well in Danny DeVito's 1998 film adaptation) in favor of a cleaner, more harmonized portrayal that puts forward catchy, clever songs (no doubt Minchin) instead of more complex accounts with education, revolution, cruelty and love just waiting to be dusted off.

"Matilda the Musical"

DAN SMITH/NETFLIX

Matthew Warchus takes the leap (which feels like a small playground jump) from stage to screen to direct the new Netflix production, retaining many elements of his stage creation. The director's experience in the theater shows this painfully, as the characters are lit flat (Lashana Lynch, giving a heartfelt performance as Miss Honey, particularly suffers from this), although they still perform the finest choreography. (even though these kids haven't learned to even spell that word yet).

Once again, we are well aware that Mr....