Regular readers of my movie review column will have noticed a definite scarcity of reviews recently. While this can be partly attributed to being very busy, it's also the fact that the movies I've seen recently (Celebrity, Notting Hill and Cruel Intentions) have all been pretty uninspiring: attractive people, mildly amusing lines, reasonably predictable plots. All this changed when I watched Matilda on television recently.

Ok, so this is a video release rather than a theatrical release but Matilda was so much fun that I just had to write a review. It's the story of a very special six-year old girl called Matilda, who has special powers. The actual plot of the story doesn't really matter all that much; more important is the fact that it's based on a Roald Dahl book and it keeps very much to the spirit of the book. It felt like a Roald Dahl story.

Central to making this a great movie were the performances, with only Rhea Pearlman's Zinnia Wormwood ringing a little false at times. Everyone else was perfect, especially Pam Ferris as Agatha Trunchbull, the horrible school principal and Mara Wilson as Matilda. I don't know how the States manages to keep finding all these great child actors - I guess its the size of its population.

Even more wonderful was the central message of reading and learning through books and playing rather than through watching television. (Yes, I realise I was watching the movie on television but as soon as it was over, I turned it off and read a book!) The absolute delight of Matilda (as both Mara Wilson and Sara Magdalin, Matilda aged 4) when reading books was inspiring. Her thrill in discovering the library was a joy to behold.

All of which makes this sound like a very stuffy movie, preaching the benefits of reading. It isn't. There's lots of moments of fun, from the sublime ("Punished for being smart?") to the ridiculous (Miss Trunchbull swinging one of the girls around by hair plaits).

I will confess that I'm a sucker for good kids' movies, especially since they seem to be very few and far between. Matilda, however, was such a delight that I would happily recommend it to anyone. Rent the video, then curl up on the couch and prepare to spend a bit over ninety minutes giggling and feeling wonderful.

Rating: HD