Matilda (1996)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A gifted young girl discovers she possesses psychokinetic abilities and uses them to stand up against her neglectful parents and a tyrannical school principal.
The story
Matilda Wormwood is a brilliant and independent young girl who is neglected and mistreated by her parents, Harry and Zinnia, and her older brother, Michael. To pass the time while her parents ignore her, she finds solace in books at the public library. At age six and a half, she begins to lose patience with her parents' refusal to acknowledge her intelligence. When she is eventually admitted to Crunchem Hall Elementary School, she encounters the tyrannical principal, Agatha Trunchbull. Matilda must navigate the school's harsh environment while her burgeoning psychokinetic abilities begin to manifest as a means of dealing with the adults around her.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Matilda Wormeod is a gifted child ignored by her parents, Harry and Zinnia, and her brother Michael. She spends her time reading at the library and eventually develops psychokinetic powers. After being enrolled in Crunchem Hall Elementary School, she faces the tyrannical principal Agatha Trunchbull. Matilda befriends her teacher, Miss Honey, and helps her classmates overcome Trunchbull's punishments. When Matilda's powers manifest during a confrontation with her parents, she uses them to protect her friends and eventually confront Trunchbull. In a climactic scene, Matilda poses as the ghost of Miss Honey's late father to scare Trunchbull into leaving the school. Following the victory, Matilda's parents attempt to flee to Guam to escape the FBI due to Harry's illegal car dealings, but Matilda chooses to stay with Miss Honey. The film ends with Matilda living happily with Miss Honey, who becomes the school's principal.
- First release year
- 1996
- Runtime (minutes)
- 98
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Danny DeVito
- Writers
- Nicholas Kazan · screenplay; Robin Swicord · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Mara Wilson · Matilda Wormwood; Embeth Davidtz · Jennifer Honey; Danny DeVito · Harry Wormwood; Rhea Perlman · Zinnia Wormwood; Pam Ferris · Agatha Trunchbull; Brian Levinson · Michael Wormwood
- Genres
- fantasy; comedy
- Themes
- empowerment; education; friendship; overcoming adversity
- Tone and mood
- whimsical; quirky
- Premise and plot tags
- telekinesis; child prodigy; school life
- Source material / true-story basis
- Roald Dahl's 1988 novel Matilda
- Content notes
- bullying; child abuse
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its faithfulness to the novel and Danny DeVito's direction.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 89% · scale: percentage · review count: 104; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 7.4 · scale: /10; Metacritic · score: 72 · scale: out of 100 · review count: 21; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A to F
- Production trivia
- The portrait of Miss Honey's father, Magnus, is a portrait of Roald Dahl.; Pam Ferris sustained several injuries during production, including a torn finger.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…
Explore more movie themes
Stories and ideas
Genres and styles
From the page to the screen
This film adapts Matilda by Roald Dahl. Check the adaptation reference.
Explore more movies based on books, or use our book-and-film comparison worksheet.