FILM · 2022 · UK
Matilda: The Musical
17 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
17 Interesting Facts About Matilda: The Musical
Interesting Facts (13)
- #001
Mara Wilson, who played the title character in Matilda (1996), turned down a cameo role because she did not want to fly to England for just one day of shooting. Pam Ferris (Miss Trunchbull in the original) was also offered a cameo, but reportedly declined because it clashed with rehearsals for a stage play.
- #002
In the stage version of the musical, Trunchbull is traditionally played by a man. Bertie Carvel originated the role, but here it is played by a woman, Emma Thompson.
- #003
Early in the film, a sign reading "No giraffes" appears in the schoolyard. Later, when the students and Miss Honey take over the school's management, a giraffe appears.
- #004
When the film was scheduled to go into production in late 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had closed cinemas. Sony was not sure cinemas would be allowed to reopen soon, so they pre-sold the film to Netflix. Production was delayed by six months and did not begin until May 2021, by which time cinemas had reopened. Its premiere was in UK cinemas in November 2022, and it came to Netflix internationally that Christmas.
- #005
The film is set in an unspecified period, identifiable by its mix of cars and other products from different decades.
- #006
Matilda's older brother Michael and Mrs. Wormwood's dance partner Rudolpho do not appear in this film.
- #007
It is adapted from the musical of the same name that ran in the West End and on Broadway.
- #008
About 13 minutes in, when Mr. Wormwood enters Matilda's room, he is standing under an orange light and, together with his green hair, it makes him look like an Oompa Loompa.
- #009
The child playing Bruce wears a fat suit.
- #010
This film had a particularly long preparation period, and there were plans for a film based on the musical dating back to 2013. Filming was planned to begin in late 2020 and to be released at Christmas 2021. Filming was postponed to early summer 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and at that time the film was planned to be released in cinemas in summer 2022. However, Sony changed its mind and decided to release the film in UK cinemas in November 2022 and internationally on Netflix at Christmas.
- #011
Dexter Fletcher was at one stage attached to direct.
- #012
At about 23:11, the problem Matilda is working on is Question 4) x^2 -12x+44=9. It is not clear what Matilda is working on below this problem. All you have to do to find what x is is use FOIL. Using this method, the factors are (x-7) and (x-5). This means x equals 5 and 7.
- #013
The film's musical version received the same audience ratings as the original but its production was significantly cheaper and it also made a profit for the studio.
Characters & Cast (2)
- #014
Ralph Fiennes was initially cast as Miss Trunchbull.
- #015
Anne Hathaway was the producers' first choice to play Miss Trunchbull in the early pre-production stages. However, ongoing uncertainty about the production while COVID-19 travel restrictions were still in effect led her to reluctantly drop out of the project, and the producers decided it would be easier to look for a UK-based star for the role instead. Hathaway did, however, appear in another Roald Dahl adaptation, The Witches (2020).
Easter Eggs & References (2)
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Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work