Based on Roald Dahl’s award-winning book, this heartfelt film adaptation directed by Danny DeVito about a little girl with magical powers with awful parents (and an even worse teacher) has been an enduring favorite with audiences of all ages. Academy Award® nominated composer David Newman conducts his enchanting score live with a full symphony orchestra while the film is narrated live by Danny DeVito! If you miss this, you will be slightly less happy for the rest of your life!
The film was released in August 1996 by TriStar Pictures and earned raves from the more astute critics: "A sprightly fairy tale full of delight... effectively alternates warmth and sentiment with robust satire and knowing humor," said the Chicago Tribune. Matilda has enjoyed a cult following for two decades now, and the brilliance of the movie inspired other writers to create a Broadway version which has gone on to its own success.
For music, DeVito turned to his longtime collaborator, composer David Newman, who has scored all six of DeVito's features as director (including the popular comedies Throw Momma From the Train and The War of the Roses, and the acclaimed drama Hoffa). Newman says “Matilda holds a special place in my heart. The story of a little girl fighting to become herself, in a world determined to stop her, and to save the teacher she loves, Miss Honey, was so evocative that the music simply flowed. We recorded the score on and off for a few months, and it held a unique place for me the entire time — the collision between a child's point of view and the adult world working against her felt like a direct summons for music to be part of the telling.”
