Matilda the Musical Streams on Netflix Beginning December 25

Santa's already come this year—perfect time to be "a little bit naughty!" Netflix's screen adaptation of Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly's West End and Broadway musical Matilda hits the streamer December 25. Read reviews for the movie musical here.

Based on the 1988 children's novel by Roald Dahl, the film stars Emma Thompson as Miss Trunchbull and newcomer Alisha Weir in the title role, alongisde Lashana Lynch as Miss Honey, Sindhu Vee as Mrs. Phelps, and Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough as Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood.

Much of the musical's stage creative team have returned to adapt the Olivier-winning musical, which features music and lyrics by Minchin and a book by Kelly, for the screen. Matthew Warchus again directs, with Kelly adapting the screenplay, costumes by Rob Howell, and music director Christopher Nightingale serving as score composer and executive music producer. Minchin has also contributed a new song expressly for the movie, "Still Holding My Hand."

The film has already seen a limited release in movie theatres. A world premiere screening opened the BFI London Film Festival October 5, after which the movie hit U.K. movie theatres November 25. The movie received a limited movie theatre release in the U.S. beginning December 9. Today's streaming premiere is the film's first wide release.

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Matilda the Musical premiered at the RSC's Stratford-upon-Avon home in 2010 before transferring to the West End in October 2011 and winning seven 2012 Olivier Awards. The subsequent Broadway production won four Tony Awards and a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre for the four girls sharing the title role. It has since toured North America, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and Ireland, South Africa, and China and played its first non-English language production in Seoul, South Korea, in 2018; the West End run is still running at the Cambridge Theatre.