Revolting Children
| "Revolting Children" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Matilda the Musical cast | |
| from the album Matilda the Musical (Original London Cast Recording) | |
| Language | English |
| Released | 2011 |
| Recorded | May 2011 |
| Studio | AIR Studios |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:32 |
| Songwriter(s) | Tim Minchin |
"Revolting Children" is a song from the 2010 musical Matilda.
Synopsis
[edit]The children stand up and revolt against the cruel principal Miss Trunchbull. Financial Times said "in [Matilda's] ultimate uprising with chums at school, [the children] re-define what it means to be called “revolting children” by Trunchbull".[1]
The New York Times explains:[2]
"Revolting children" is what their headmistress had been calling them. And now, led by a polysyllabic little girl with the gift of telekinesis, they’ve turned an insult into a battle cry. These very armed, revolting children have learned one of the first lessons of revolution: who owns the language has the superpower.
Composition
[edit]"Revolting Children" is a disco-inspired composition that relies on a lyrical double entendre regarding the word "revolting", which can mean either disgusting or revolutionary. The song also mentions within the lyrics Revolting Rhymes, which is a nod to the Roald Dahl collection of poems with the same name.
Critical reception
[edit]The School Library Journal wrote "You can’t help but love songs with double meanings like the oh-so appropriately named 'Revolting Children'".[3] The New York Times deemed it a "rousing final number"[2] and "an anthem of liberation", suggesting "which Mr. Darling has choreographed with a wink at Bill T. Jones’s work on “Spring Awakening”".[4] Time Out wrote, "The final number, 'Revolting Children,' plays on the notion that minors can be both repugnant and a source of social upheaval: 'Revolting children / Living in revolting times / We sing revolting songs / Using revolting rhymes.' There’s a lesson for you tweens: You’ve inherited a lousy culture, so why not make a song and dance about it?".[5] The British Theatre Guide deemed the song "memorable",[6] while Chortle called it "triumphant".[7] The Hollywood Reporter wrote the students "reclaim Trunchbull's scorn as an anthem of rebellion".[8] Entertainment Weekly argued there was slowing down in momentum in the second act "between that growing-up song and the anarchic, Spring Awakening-like final number, Revolting Children". Echoing what many reviewers said about Minchin's witty lyrics being lost due to lack of diction, it said of Revolting Children: "that song is one of several whose tongue-twisting lyrics seem like a mouthful for very young performers less trained in enunciation."[9] Matt Patches of Polygon named the film adaptation's rendition of the song and its musical sequence as one of the best movie scenes of 2022.[10]
Parodies and covers
[edit]In the 2014 version of the theatre spoof Forbidden Broadway, a cast member playing director Matthew Warchus and dressed as Miss Trunchbull sings 'I love exploiting children/I love exploiting shows/I whip their little asses and line them up in rows' to the tune of "Revolting Children".
References
[edit]- ^ "Matilda, Shubert Theatre, New York – review". Financial Times. Nikkei, Inc. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^ a b Brantley, Ben (31 January 2012). "Sugar and Spice, and Something Sinister". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ Bird, Elizabeth (7 March 2013). "Review of the Day – Matilda: The Musical". School Library Journal. Media Source Inc. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^ Brantley, Ben (11 April 2013). "Children of the World, Unite!". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ "Matilda - Shubert Theatre - Plays & Shows - Time Out New York". Time Out New York. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^ "Theatre review: Matilda the Musical at Cambridge Theatre". The British Theatre Guide. 1 January 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^ Powder Blue Internet Business Solutions. "Theatre review: Matilda at the RSC : Features 2010 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Retrieved 10 September 2014.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ David Rooney (11 April 2013). "Matilda: Theater Review - Hollywood Reporter". The Hollywood Reporter. MRC Media & Info. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^ "Matilda Review - News Reviews and News - Stage - EW.com". EW.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^ "The best movie scenes of 2022". Polygon. 27 December 2022.