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Only Netflix knows how many people have watched Matilda the Musical, the second adaptation of the 1988 Roald Dahl novel. Still, the movie did go viral on social media for its “Revolting Children” scene where hundreds of performers came together to create an incredibly complex show of defiance for the movie’s main antagonist.

Moments this complicated are only possible thanks to explicit instructions from the production team and total buy-in from the cast tasked with delivering the desired performance. Matilda‘s choreographer Ellen Kane gave an interview where she delved into the process of how the scene was filmed. 

‘Matilda the Musical’s ‘Revolting Children’ scene attempted to capture the feelings of an uprising 

The scene that caught the eye of so many people from Matilda the Musical doesn’t involve the titular main character. Her fellow student at Crunchem Hall Elementary School Hortensia (Meesha Garbett), also known online as Red Beret Girl, led it.

She and hundreds of other kids saunter, strut, and somersault through the halls in protest of their strict headmaster Agatha Trunchbull (Emma Thompson). Their moves have inspired celebrities like Missy Elliott, JoJo Siwa, and regular TikTok users to share the scene and create their own dance moves in response. 

Kane, who previous work includes choreography work on theater productions of Legally Blonde, Billy Elliott, and Groundhog Day, spoke to Variety about how the “Revolting Children” sequence was put together. She and director Matthew Warchus decided against using any movements seen in the 2011 stage version of Matilda, allowing them to create something new in a different medium.

Warchus wanted the scene to feel “like a flood, like dams bursting” to represent the children’s fight for their rights. Kane also added elements of parkour to routines. “It’s about revolution and kids finding their voice. It’s about empowerment; essentially smashing down what was in order to create what will be,” she said.

Andrei Shen, Charlie Hodson-Prior, Meesha Garbett, Rei Yamauchi Fulker, Alisha Weir, Winter Jarrett Glasspool, and Ashton Robertson cheer at the BFI London Film Festival as part of the Matilda The Musical cast
Matilda The Musical cast: Andrei Shen, Charlie Hodson-Prior, Meesha Garbett, Rei Yamauchi Fulker, Alisha Weir, Winter Jarrett Glasspool, and Ashton Robertson | John Phillips/Getty Images for BFI

It was essential to the creative team that the scene featured boys and girls working together to appeal for social change. The scene starts with Bruce Bogtrotter (Charlie Hodson-Prior) leading a separate set of kids in a dance before Hortensia later picks up the baton. 

The ‘Matilda the Musical’ kids went through an arduous audition process to be in the film

Nearly 300 children were involved in the making of Matilda The Musical. Finding that many kids who can dance at the level needed for the movie is hard enough. But the audition process was interrupted by the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. During lockdown, the creative team asked children to send videos of themselves performing their favorite dances for a minute. Then, they reviewed the candidates to see who was a good fit for the project. 

Working with child actors is always tricky because they can only work a certain amount of hours. Getting them to understand all the necessary information and putting it into practice is a lot to ask of preteens. When shooting eventually began last May in Ireland, social distancing restrictions added further awkwardness to rehearsals. Kane explained:

“I had to tape lines on the floor, which the children could not cross. They knew exactly what step they needed to stand on. They knew when they moved, and when they didn’t. When I came to shoot it, it had to be split up and then pasted together.

That was an issue because if they were in the wrong place, they would disappear in the frame. And so when you look at it, you will think it was filmed at the same time, but it had to be pieced together because of COVID.”

The scene is excellent, but is Netflix’s ‘Matilda the Musical’ worth watching in its entirety?

It’s a testament to the filmmakers and the children that the movie feels as seamless as it does.

The critical consensus is that Matilda the Musical is a worthy update on the original source material for a new generation. It has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Kane’s choreography has been widely praised, as have the songs written by Tim Minchin that soundtrack the dancing scenes. 

The performances of the kids and adults are also impressive, especially from Alisha Weir, who plays Matilda. She was only 11 when they shot the movie, but that doesn’t stop her from following in the footsteps of Mara Wilson by bringing an unnatural amount of intelligence and presence to Matilda the Musical despite her young age. 

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