YMMV / Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • This comes with giving Miss Honey and her parents a Race Lift. Was Agatha's jealousy of her step-sister just regular run-of-the-mill spite, or was it rooted in racism?
  • Did someone actually take Agatha's horses away? Was she forced to become a hammer thrower by her parents, and would this be another reason why she hates her step-sister?
• Complete Monster: Agatha Trunchbull is the despotic headmistress of Crunchem Hall and the abusive step-aunt of Ms. Jennifer Honey. In the past, Trunchbull forced her pregnant stepsister and brother-in-law to perform a deadly acrobatic act, which resulted in her stepsister falling to the ground, and her eventual death while giving birth to her daughter. Trunchbull abuses her step-niece, and it's heavily implied that she killed her brother-in-law when he went to confront her about it. As Headmistress, Trunchbull would subject the students to horrible torture, with her regularly sending them to the claustrophobic outhouse known as the Chokey. When Trunchbull promises to forgive Bruce Bogtrotter for eating her cake If he ate every last crumb of another cake, she sends him to the Chokey anyway after he finishes it. After Matilda destroys her Chokey, Trunchbull forces Matilda's class to do a spelling bee and threatens to send them to a new Chokey, and when they stand up to her, Trunchbull unveils a dozen Chokeys to put the students in. An utterly horrible woman, Trunchbull admits she's cruel and likes troublemakers because she can break them, both emotionally and physically.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Hortensia (also known as Red Beret Girl) is extremely popular amongst fans, given how excellently she pulls off the choreography.
• Funny Moments: Miss Honey’s overly enthusiastic “GO ON, BRUCIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!” during the chocolate cake scene, and the awkward silence that follows.
• Memetic Mutation: Multiple videos have appeared in You Tube of "Revolting Children" synched to Rob Zombie's "Dragula".
• Nausea Fuel:
  • The kid’s ears being stretched by Trunchbull after her solo number. ONSCREEN. Just………ewwwwwww.
  • Bruce Bogtrotter belching is disgusting enough, and so is the Trunchball sniffing the air and proclaiming it to smell like chocolate.
• One-Scene Wonder: Matt Henry as the Doctor. He's only in the opening number, but he absolutely nails his solo.
• Questionable Casting: Emma Thompson's casting as Trunchbull drew criticism from multiple fronts: while she's tall, she's not as bulky as some previous Trunchbull portrayers, and not as strong a performer. The usage of fatsuits for Thompson and Charlie Hobson Prior (Bruce Bogtrotter) was also seen as fatphobic, when plus-size actors could have portrayed the role instead of Thompson and Prior putting the weight on and off as a costume.
• Signature Scene: Just like in the stage version, “Revolting Children” shines as the musical’s big Eleven O'Clock Number. The hallway dance became especially popular after it was officially posted online.
• Special Effect Failure:
  • There is some extremely obvious greenscreening in the film, particularly the end when the Trunchbull is sent flying out of the building and across the school grounds.
  • There are some shots during "Revolting Children" where it's obvious to viewers that Charlie Hobson Prior (Bruce Bogtrotter) is wearing a fatsuit.
• Spoiled by the Format: When the Escapologist announces that his wife is pregnant and the acrobat's stepsister insists that they uphold the contract and perform, the subtitles indicate that Matilda and Agatha are speaking, even though it won't be revealed that Miss Trunchbull is the Escapologist's stepsister-in-law (and Miss Honey's aunt) until nearly 45 minutes later.