Here Are All The Songs From "Matilda The Musical" Ranked By A Superfan

🎵 Sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty! 🎵

If you didn't already know, yesterday Matilda The Musical arrived in cinemas across the UK. As a BIG fan of both the original 1996 movie and the RSC stage show, I'm pretty excited by the whole thing!

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Now I know OG Matilda is a cult classic that has a place in many people's hearts, and fair enough, I say. But don't sleep on the musical adaption! Created by Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly, the show premiered on the West-End back in 2011, and has been running ever since. I daresay, it's the best thing on the West-End, imho!

Having seen the film already, I've taken it upon myself to rank the songs that appear in the movie adaptation only (some songs didn't make it over to the film, so I've left those out). Here is every song in Matilda The Musical the movie ranked according brilliance...

13. "Miracle"

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So, I get what they were doing here with the callback to the 1996 film and Matilda in her cot, but I wasn't feeling this number to be honest. It just felt a little generic and cringe, and the stage version is MUCH better.

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12. "I'm Here"

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For some reason, on the stage, this song is just amazing! It really affects you, and adds to the whole musical because you get to see how broken Magnus is over his wife's death, and how guilty he feels about neglecting his daughter. Unfortunately, it's quite brief in the movie, so that emotion doesn't really come across.

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11. "The Smell of Rebellion"

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I'm not a huge fan of this song anyway, and even the great Emma Thompson doesn't improve it hugely. Shout out to that fun bit with her on the swing though!

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10. "Chokey Chant"

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You know what, it's well done and the kids are AMAZING, but it's just too short to make an impact. Also, I sound like a broken record, but it's really well done on stage and hard to beat, tbh!

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9. "Bruce"

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I do like this song and the way it was choreographed in the movie was really fun to watch, but it's just not as good as some of the others on this list. That's all really!

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8. "Naughty"

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Okay, so this is really the first time we get to meet "new" Matilda. Alisha Weir is astonishing in the movie, and this song brilliantly captures one of the key themes of the original film and the book – balancing the scales between good and evil by getting even!

I think there's something in this version of Matilda that positions our gal as more of a "superhero". Perhaps it's that we live in a post-Marvel world now, but when she sort of flips onto the roof during this song, I couldn't help but think, "that's a bit wild, 1996 Matilda would never". I'm not mad about Matilda being more superhuman, so to speak, and I think Alisha's performance is super endearing in this number, but for nostalgia's sake I've moved it down the list somewhat.

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7. "The Hammer"

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I challenge anyone on this Earth to not have one single good thing to say about Emma Thompson. She's not only a fantastic dramatic actor, but she can also do character comedy super well. This is a great song, and both Emma and the school children are so brilliant in it. Again, it's just not ~as~ good as some of the others!

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6. "School Song"

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This really impressed me! I'm not going to lie, I don't really remember this song in the stage show, but in the film I loved it. The choreography is ace, I loved the letters appearing on the doors, and shout out to Meesha Garbett as Hortensia for one fierce performance!

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5. "Quiet"

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Ahhhh, this song is so brilliant! It's such a good moment in the stage musical, and I think Alisha does great job of carrying that through to the film version.

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4. "When I Grow Up"

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So this is one of the most famous songs associated with Matilda the Musical. I think the movie version of "When I Grow Up" is a perfect example of when something new retains the essence of the original version, but also manages to change in a way that makes it fit-for-purpose AND good.

The sequence with the kids imagining their future careers is adorable and highly entertaining. Considering the staging with the swings is quite a memorable part of the West-End show, this version manages to do its own thing in a brilliant way. I also loved that Miss Honey joined in in this one! <3

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3. "Still Holding My Hand"

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Okay, this one is a brand new song that doesn't feature in the stage musical, and it's a tearjerker!! The ~perfect~ way to end the film, I just loved it.

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2. "Revolting Children"

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I mean, this is just SUCH a good song! I have to say, the West-End version of this is impeccable, and the movie has BIG shoes to fill, in that sense. I was totally dancing in my seat when this came on, and everyone involved was superb. I did miss some of the vocal jamming that Bruce does on stage though 😅.

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1. "My House"

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I am a HUGE Lashana Lynch fan-girl at this point. She really turns it as Miss Honey, and this song is an amazing demonstration of not only her acting, but her voice too. I was super moved by it, and I defy anyone not to be! This song is such a great track anyway, but Lashana breathed new life into it, and I was HERE for it.

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Do you agree with my ranking? Let us know in the comments!

You can watch Matilda The Musical in cinemas across the UK today, and on Netflix in summer 2023!

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