(CRedit: Netflix)

It’s a pretty inarguably fact of life that everyone loves Danny DeVito, whether he’s showcasing his dramatic chops or getting himself into the sort of outlandish antics that have defined his lengthy tenure on classic sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

The diminutive icon is a well-rounded performer with a career stretching back half a century, with new strings constantly being added to his bow. He’s starred in Oscar-bothering greats One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Terms of Endearment, won a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe for his sitcom work on Taxi, produced Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, and directed multiple features.

It’s been over 20 years since he last helmed a full-length film, though, but even if he’d remained prolific in the interim it would take something special to dislodge Matilda as his most beloved directorial effort. The Roald Dahl adaptation holds a special place in the hearts of an entire generation, many of whom are presumably responsible for its recent resurgence on streaming.

The 1996 favourite has sneaked onto Netflix’s most-watched charts as the tenth top-viewed title available to subscribers around the world, almost three decades after it initially under-performed at the box office. It might sting for people who were kids during the 1990s to discover the film was a flop, but it’s the truth.

Not that it prevented Matilda from becoming a cherished childhood staple, one that’s endured through several generations and even a musical do-over that was backed by Netflix itself. The off-screen story is equally as affecting as the one that unfolds on-screen, too, with DeVito and wife Rhea Perlman welcoming young star Mara Wilson into their home while her mother battled cancer.

Sadly, she passed away in April 1996 four months before the movie’s release, but not before DeVito had shown her a finished version of the film so she could watch her daughter’s central performance. It’s more than enough to bring a tear to the eye, even if DeVito plays a despicable character in Matilda.

Wilson’s precocious title character finds herself being stifled by her uninterested and cruel parents, with DeVito’s Harry Wormwood and Pearlman’s Zinnia completely oblivious to their child’s gifts. Placed under the cruel dictatorship of Pam Ferris’ scene-stealing Miss Trunchbull at school, Matilda finds a kindred spirit in Embeth Davidtz’s Jennifer Honey, a kindly teacher who inspires her to become the best version of herself.

It’s a tale that remains as heart-warming as ever, and now it’s one being introduced to a whole new audience on Netflix.