Matilda(1996)
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) Aug 2, 1996
A girl gifted with a keen intellect and psychic powers uses both to get even with her callous family and free her kindly schoolteacher from the tyrannical grip of a sadistic headmistress.
Release Details
Original Release | Aug 2, 1996 | Wide
View Advanced Data
Box Office Results
Results
$8,208,609
$33,459,416
$672
$33,463,770
Current Showtimes
orround
- Tue Aug 25
- Wed Aug 26
- Thu Aug 27
- Fri Aug 28
- Sat Aug 29
- Sun Aug 30
- Mon Aug 31
Director & Top Cast
Technical Specifications
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital,Dolby Atmos
Aspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1
Other Details
Country of Origin: United States
Language: English
Summaries
Plot Summary
- Young genius Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson) is regularly neglected and mistreated by her parents, Harry (Danny DeVito) (a grumpy, hateful and abusive crooked car salesman who is Matilda and Michael's father) and Zinnia (Rhea Perlman) (cheery and Bingo-obsessed parent), and her older brother, Michael (Brian Levinson) (bratty son and Matilda's older brother who bullies her and calls her "dip-face"). The Wormwoods are so caught up in their own silly lives that they never notice that Matilda is a genius. She was left unattended at home, when she would cook breakfast for herself and later even go on public transport to the public library. 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 is six and a half years old, but her parents insist she is 4), 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. When Harry rips up the library's copy of Moby-Dick (which he finds offensive because of the title) and forces Matilda to watch television instead, Matilda becomes increasingly enraged until the television explodes.One of Harry's car dealership customers is Miss Agatha Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), the tyrannical principal of Crunchem Hall Elementary School (Jennifer Honey's aunt, she was a former Olympian athlete who hurt the children when she uses Shotput, Hammer throw, & javelin, and later puts them in the Chokey (a tiny room with jagged edges and door with nails which don't allow a child to sit)). Harry sells her a car in exchange for her admitting Matilda as a pupil. At school, Matilda makes friends but discovers Trunchbull's harsh punishments of the students, while Matilda's teacher, Miss Jennifer Honey (Embeth Davidtz), takes a liking to Matilda due to her intelligence.Honey requests Matilda be moved up to a higher class, but Trunchbull refuses (she thinks Matilda is troublesome and Honey is trying to pass her off to another teacher). Miss Honey tells the Wormwoods about Matilda's genius-level intellect, but they ignore her (Honey implores them that with proper instruction Matilda will be ready for college in a few short years). Matilda discovers that her father is under surveillance by two undercover FBI agents (Bob (Paul Reubens) and Bill (Tracey Walter)) because of his illegal dealings (he used to buy stolen car parts to fix them to his old cars and sell them like new and was using cheap tricks like gluing parts and saw dust in the transmission to fool his customers). Her parents refuse to believe her as they assume that the agents are speedboat salesmen as Zinnia flirts with them.Trunchbull locks Matilda in the Chokey as she has now figured out that Matilda's dad sold her a lemon. When Trunchbull comes for a surprise inspection to Matilda's class, Honey goes out to rescue Matilda. As a prank, Lavender (Kiami Davael), 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 often one's confidence in themselves 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, a doctor, invited his wife's stepsister, Miss Trunchbull, to live with them and look after her, but Trunchbull abused her; when Honey was five, her father died of an alleged suicide and left everything to Trunchbull. Ms. Trunchbull actually killed Ms. Honey's father and made it appear like suicide. Honey now lives in a cottage on the other side of town but laments that Trunchbull has her precious photos of her mom & dad. 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 without getting caught.Matilda trains her telekinetic power by making objects fly around the house and thwarting the FBI agents (by stealing their evidence tapes) in order to buy Harry time to come to his senses. Having practiced her ability, she returns to Trunchbull's house in an attempt to take Honey's doll which she loves very much & to scare Trunchbull by moving furniture around the house (She burns Trunchbull's portrait and hangs Honey's father's portrait in its place), 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 Miss Honey's deceased father, Magnus, who accuses Trunchbull of murdering him. Trunchbull attacks the students, but Matilda keeps them safe, and she and the other students force her out of the school for good, 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.
Storyline
- Matilda Wormwood is an exquisite and intelligent little girl. Unfortunately, her parents, Harry and Zinnia misunderstand her because they think she is so different. As time passes, she finally starts school and has a kind teacher, loyal friends, and a sadistic headmistress. As she gets fed up with the constant cruelty, she begins to realize that she has a gift of telekinetic powers. After some days of practice, she suddenly turns the tables to stand up to Harry and Zinnia and outwit the headmistress. — Blazer346 Sweet and bright little Matilda Wormwood, a child of wondrous intelligence, is different from the rest of her family. Misunderstood by everyone and ignored at home, she escapes into a world of reading, honing her skills, and exercising her mind so much that she develops telekinetic powers. When she is sent off to the Crunchem Hall Elementary School headed by the cruel, hulking headmistress, Miss Agatha Trunchbull, Matilda needs all the help she can get. But amid darkness, Matilda finds a single light in warm-hearted Miss Jennifer Honey, her first-grade teacher, who recognizes her remarkable skills--including a very distinctive talent that allows her to turn the tables on the wicked adults in her world. Will they ever see how extraordinary she is? — Nick Riganas A young female who is part of a mean family is allowed to attend a school. Instantly, she becomes friends with her peers and her teacher, who has a horrific past with the principal, who is viciously mean and treats children in an awful and terrible way. — RECB3 A grouchy couple named Harry and Zinnia Wormwood are parents to a very sweet 6-year-old daughter named Matilda. Unlike them and her bratty brother, Michael, she becomes a very sweet and extremely intelligent girl who can't wait to go to school and read books. After a while, Harry and Zinnia send her to the school with the worst headmistress in the world, a very sweet teacher, and good friends. While trying to put up with her parents' and headmistress' cruelty, she starts to unwittingly unleash telekinetic powers, destroying a television and making a newt fly onto the headmistress. With enough practice, she learns to control her telekinetic powers and is soon using them on the headmistress so she can drive her away from the school. — anonomys 1 more See all
