Revolting Children

"Revolting Children" is a song from the 2010 musical Matilda.

"Revolting Children"
Song by Matilda the Musical cast
from the album Matilda the Musical (Original London Cast Recording)
LanguageEnglish
Released2011
RecordedMay 2011
StudioAIR Studios
Genre
Length2:32
Songwriter(s)Tim Minchin

Synopsis

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 sadistic 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 newly armed, formerly downtrodden creatures have learned one of the first lessons of revolution: who owns the language has the power.

Composition

"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.

Critical reception

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]

Parodies and covers

In the 2014 version of the theatre spoof Forbidden Broadway, "A cast member playing director Matthew Warchus sings “I love killing children/I love killing shows/I whip their little asses and line them up in rows” to the tune of “Revolting Children”.

References
  1. "Matilda, Shubert Theatre, New York – review". Financial Times. Nikkei, Inc. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  2. Brantley, Ben (31 January 2012). "Sugar and Spice, and Something Sinister". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  3. Bird, Elizabeth (7 March 2013). "Review of the Day – Matilda: The Musical". School Library Journal. Media Source Inc. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  4. Brantley, Ben (11 April 2013). "Children of the World, Unite!". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  5. "Matilda - Shubert Theatre - Plays & Shows - Time Out New York". Time Out New York. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  6. "Theatre review: Matilda the Musical at Cambridge Theatre". The British Theatre Guide. 1 January 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  7. Powder Blue Internet Business Solutions. "Theatre review: Matilda at the RSC : Features 2010 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  8. David Rooney (11 April 2013). "Matilda: Theater Review - Hollywood Reporter". The Hollywood Reporter. MRC Media & Info. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  9. "Matilda Review - News Reviews and News - Stage - EW.com". EW.com. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
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