Through British writer Roald Dahl’s many worlds, we encounter peculiar characters and dreamt-up words. The Dahl vocabulary is so vast that today there is an Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary brimming with the onomatopoeic sound of his unique language. And although the author has written several stories for adults, his most popular creations are the ones he wrote for children. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the children’s story by James Bond creator, Ian Fleming. Dahl believed, “A life is made up of a great number of small incidents and a small number of great ones”. On his birth anniversary today, celebrated as Roald Dahl Day, we curate four of our favourite film adaptations of his books that you can check out.

Matilda (1996)

Matilda is perhaps one of the most loved stories from Dahl’s oeuvre. It traces the journey of a six-year-old Matilda Wormwood, who is so neglected by her parents that they overlook her supernatural intelligence. Having spent moments alone, she develops a love of reading and learning. However, a nasty surprise awaits her when she is thrust into a school run by the evil Miss Trunchbull. Aided by Miss Honey, who recognises her sharp mind, Matilda sets out to avenge the bullying of her schoolmates by Miss Trunchbull. Danny DeVito’s 1996 film adaptation mixes moments of humour with those of tenderness, and captures the wonder of Dahl’s novel to perfection.
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