Matilda

Matilda is a 1996 American children's fantasy comedy film directed by Danny DeVito, who also produced with Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, and Lucy Dahl. It was written by Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord, based on Roald Dahl's novel of the same name. Mara Wilson, DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, and Pam Ferris star. The film is about a young genius named Matilda, who uses telekinesis to deal with her parents, who do not value education, and Agatha Trunchbull, the oppressive principal of Crunchem Hall Elementary School.

Plot
Young genius Matilda Wormwood is regularly neglected and mistreated by her parents, Harry and Zinnia, and her older brother, Michael. She is smart, independent and frequently goes to the public library where she finds solace in the fictional worlds found in the books. When Matilda's parents refuse to enroll her into school, she retaliates against them, first by adding hydrogen peroxide bleaching agent to her father's hair tonic and then by gluing his hat to his head. During dinner one night, Harry catches Matilda reading Moby-Dick and decides to rip it up (which he finds offensive because of the title) and force her to watch television instead, Matilda becomes increasingly enraged until the television explodes.

One of Harry's car dealership customers is Miss Agatha Trunchbull, the tyrannical principal of Crunchem Hall Elementary School. Harry sells her a car in exchange for her admitting Matilda as a pupil. At school, Matilda makes friends but discovers that Trunchbull harshly punishes students as appropriate, while Matilda's teacher, Miss Jennifer Honey, warms to Matilda due to her intelligence; Honey requests Matilda be moved up to a higher class, but Trunchbull refuses. One day, Trunchbull has the school meet for an assembly where she forces student Bruce Bogtrotter to eat an enormous chocolate cake in one sitting. She then makes the students stay 5 hours late for cheering Bruce on (which was led by Matilda). Miss Honey then informs the Wormwoods about Matilda's genius-level intellect, but they ignore her while Matilda discovers that her father is under surveillance by two undercover FBI agents because of his illegal dealings. Her parents refuse to believe her as they assume that the agents are speedboat salesmen as Zinnia flirts with them.

As a prank, Lavender, one of Matilda's friends, puts a newt in Trunchbull's water jug to scare her. Trunchbull accuses Matilda, whose anger at the injustice leads her to telekinetically tip the glass over, splashing the newt onto Trunchbull. However, Matilda is then unable to display her powers to Honey during a test run. Honey remarks that one's self-confidence often leads them to prove it to others, only to have them mess up. Honey invites Matilda over to her house for tea and reveals a secret: when she was two, her mother died from her circus accident injuries, and her father Magnus, a doctor, invited his wife’s stepsister (sister in the novel), Miss Trunchbull, to live with them and look after her, but Trunchbull abused her. When Honey was five, Magnus died of an alleged suicide and left everything to Trunchbull; Ms. Trunchbull actually killed him and made it appear like suicide. When Matilda and Honey sneak inside Trunchbull's house to obtain some of the latter's belongings, Trunchbull's sudden return prompts the duo to barely escape being captured.

Matilda trains her telekinetic power by making objects fly around the house and thwarting the FBI agents in order to buy Harry time to come to his senses. Having practiced her ability, she returns to Trunchbull's house and attempts to scare her away with telekinesis, but Trunchbull discovers Matilda's presence upon finding her hair ribbon. The next day, Matilda reveals her powers to Honey but Trunchbull visits the class to make Matilda confess. Matilda magically writes a message on the blackboard, pretending to be the vengeful soul of Magnus, who accuses Trunchbull of murdering him. Trunchbull attacks the students, but Matilda rescues them and she and the other students permanently force her out of the school, and Honey moves back into her true home.

Sometime later, the Wormwoods show up at Honey's house to pick up Matilda and flee to Guam while planning to beat the "speedboat salesmen" to the airport. Matilda refuses to go with them and says she would rather be adopted by Honey. Zinnia and Harry both sign Matilda's adoption papers, with Zinnia feeling remorseful for never understanding her daughter. Matilda lives happily with Honey, who then becomes the new principal of Crunchem Hall.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) It captures the dark, quirky and mean-spirited style of Roald Dahl.
 * 2) The performances still hold up today, especially from Danny DeVito.
 * 3) Great soundtrack.
 * 4) Miss Honey's backstory is quite emotional and gives her more sympathy as a character.
 * 5) Matilda Wormwood is a very likable and well-written character, especially for child actors.
 * 6) Funny moments such as Miss Trunchbull believing that the newt in her glass is a snake.
 * 7) The film's heartwarming ending that ends on a touching note.
 * 8) Mara Wilson's performance was the best.
 * 9) The narrator of the movie does tell the story the best way possible.
 * 10) Like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the musical adaption is one of the best ones because it follows the book very well (like this movie) and it had mostly good and memorable songs.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Although the narrator tells the story in the best way possible, the fact that Danny DeVito plays Mr. Wormwood and narrates the film can become distracting because DeVito is playing a malicious, neglectful father as well as a kind, sympathetic narrator, which are two starkly contrasting roles.
 * 2) Matilda's schoolmates barely get to do anything, unlike in the book.
 * 3) It might have some product placements in this film, such as Sony (the company who owns TriStar Pictures which this film is distributed by) and M&M's.
 * 4) The scene where Miss Trunchbull threw a boy out of the window can be very disturbing for younger viewers.
 * 5) It is unresolved whether the Wormwoods managed to escape the cops or not.

Trivia

 * Actress Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, cites Matilda as her favorite movie.
 * Danny DeVito was able to get a private screening for the Wilson family, before Suzie's untimely death.
 * Matilda was Mara Wilson's favorite book growing up.
 * Mara Wilson has been grown up for many years before she currently voiced Mrs. Mayberry in Helluva Boss.