''Matilda'' is a 1996 American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

co-produced and directed by

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...

from a screenplay by Nicholas Kazan and

Robin Swicord Robin Stender Swicord (born October 23, 1952) is an American screenwriter, film director, and playwright, best known for literary adaptations. Her notable screenplays include ''Little Women'' (1994), '' Matilda'' (1996), ''Practical Magic'' (1998 ...

, based on the 1988 novel by

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

. The film stars

Mara Wilson Mara Elizabeth Wilson (born July 24, 1987) is an American actress. As a child, she played Natalie Hillard in the film ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' (1993) and went on to play Susan Walker in ''Miracle on 34th Street (1994 film), Miracle on 34th Street'' (19 ...

as the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

, with DeVito himself (who also served a dual role as the narrator),

Rhea Perlman Rhea Jo Perlman (born March 31, 1948) is an American actress and author. She is well-known for playing head waitress Carla Tortelli in the sitcom ''Cheers'' (1982–1993). Over the course of eleven seasons, Perlman was nominated for ten Emmy Awar ...

Embeth Davidtz Embeth Jean Davidtz (born August 11, 1965) is an American-South African actress and director. She has appeared in movies such as ''Schindler's List, ''Matilda (1996 film), ''Matilda'', ''Bridget Jones's Diary,'' and ''The Amazing Spider-Man (fil ...

, and

Pam Ferris Pamela Ferris (born 11 May 1948) is a British actress. She has starred in numerous British television series, including Connie (TV series), ''Connie'' (1985), ''The Darling Buds of May (TV series), The Darling Buds of May'' (1991–1993), ''W ...

in supporting roles. The plot centers on the titular

child prodigy A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...

who develops psychokinetic abilities and uses them to deal with her disreputable family and the tyrannical principal of her school. ''Matilda'' was released in the United States on August 2, 1996, by

Sony Pictures Releasing Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group (formerly known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group until 2013, and abbreviated as SPMPG) is a division of Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment to manage its motion picture operatio ...

under their

TriStar Pictures TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is part of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, which is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The compan ...

label. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise being directed towards its faithfulness to the novel and DeVito's direction. Despite this, the film was a

box office disappointment A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

, grossing $47 million on a $36 million budget, but ''Matilda'' subsequently attained greater popularity after being released on

home video Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...

Plot

Six-year-old

Matilda Wormwood Matilda Wormwood, also known by her adoptive name Matilda Honey, is the fictional title character of the bestselling 1988 children's novel ''Matilda'' by Roald Dahl. She is a highly precocious five and a half (six and a half in the 1996 film) y ...

is neglected and mistreated by her parents, corrupt car dealer Harry Wormwood and his wife Zinnia, from the moment she’s born. They frequently leave her home alone to fend for herself and refuse to enroll her in school. Her older brother

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

also mistreats her, often calling her “dip-face” and throwing things at her. Smart and independent, Matilda finds solace in books at the

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

from the age of four. She begins to retaliate against Harry's cruelty, first by spiking his hair tonic with peroxide, which causes Harry's hair to turn blonde. She then puts superglue in Harry's hat, causing it to stick to his head, until Zinnia manages to cut it off. After Harry destroys one of Matilda's library books and forces her to watch mindless television, Matilda becomes angry, and the television explodes. Harry sells a car to Miss Agatha Trunchbull, the tyrannical child-hating principal of Crunchem Hall Elementary School, in exchange for admitting Matilda as a student. The other students warn Matilda about Trunchbull's abusive disciplinary methods, which include throwing students out the window and locking them in an

iron maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

known as the Chokey. Trunchbull throws student Amanda Thripp over the fence by her pigtails when she protests taking them out. Matilda's teacher, Miss Jennifer Honey, notices the ease with which Matilda answers middle school multiplication questions and requests Matilda be moved to a higher class, but Miss Trunchbull refuses. She comes to Matilda’s home hoping to convince the Wormwoods, who are not interested as they believe college is unnecessary. Harry gets defensive when Miss Honey suggests he would need the help of a college educated lawyer if he were to be sued for selling a bad car. One day, Trunchbull calls an assembly in the school auditorium, where she forces an overweight student Bruce Bogtrotter to eat the entirety of a large chocolate cake in front of the entire school as punishment for stealing a piece of hers. With encouragement from Matilda and the other classmates, Bruce manages to do so, without getting sick. Later that day, Matilda discovers her father is under surveillance by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

over his illegal dealings, which include purchasing stolen car parts, and using other shady tactics to pawn off old decrepit cars at marked-up prices. Her parents refuse to believe her warning, as Zinnia flirts with the two agents who pose as speedboat salesmen. Discovering the car from Harry to be faulty, Miss Trunchbull locks Matilda in the Chokey as punishment. Matilda's friend Lavender puts a

newt A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...

in Miss Trunchbull's water jug as payback. Miss Honey frees Matilda and Trunchbull accuses her of putting the newt in her glass. Refusing to tattle on Lavender, Matilda

telekinetically Telekinesis () (alternatively called psychokinesis) is a purported psychic ability allowing an individual to influence a physical system without physical interaction. Experiments to prove the existence of telekinesis have historically been cri ...

tips the glass over, splashing the newt onto Miss Trunchbull. Matilda is then unable to reproduce her powers to show Miss Honey how she did it. Miss Honey invites Matilda to tea and reveals her past: her mother died when she was two, and her father Magnus, who was a doctor, invited her aunt Trunchbull to live with them to care for Miss Honey, while Magnus was working. Trunchbull abused Miss Honey when Magnus wasn't around, but put on a facade when he was around, and Magnus died, apparently by suicide, when Miss Honey was five. He left everything including the house to Miss Trunchbull in his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, and Truchbull continued to abuse Miss Honey until she grew up, and managed to escape. Matilda and Miss Honey sneak into the house to retrieve some of Miss Honey's belongings, including a special doll from Miss Honey's childhood, but Miss Trunchbull unexpectedly returns and they narrowly escape. Matilda channels the aggression she gets from Harry and Miss Trunchbull, to practice her telekinetic powers and she drives away the FBI agents, who are searching Harry's garage without a warrant. She returns to Trunchbull's house and uses her powers to claim Miss Honey's doll, and wreaks havoc while posing as the

vengeful spirit In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crem ...

of Magnus, which nearly scares her out of the house, but Miss Trunchbull uncovers Matilda's ruse upon finding her hair ribbon. The next day, as Matilda gives Miss Honey her doll, Miss Trunchbull visits Miss Honey's class and demands that Matilda confess while threatening to lock her away permanently. Matilda, again posing as Magnus' ghost, telekinetically writes a message on the blackboard. The message accuses Miss Trunchbull of murdering him demanding that she return Miss Honey's house and money and leave town, even threatening to murder her as retribution if she does not do so. Miss Trunchbull becomes terrified and attacks the students in a rage, but Matilda protects them. The students turn on Miss Trunchbull throwing their lunch at her and Bruce shoving chocolate cake in her face. She runs out of the school never to be seen, heard of, or "darken a doorway again." Miss Honey moves back into her father's house with Matilda as a frequent guest. Harry, Zinnia, and Michael come to take Matilda and flee to

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

to avoid the FBI, who now have enough evidence to arrest Harry for his illegal dealings. Matilda refuses to go, saying she would rather stay with Miss Honey as her adopted child. Zinnia expresses remorse at never having understood Matilda, and she and Harry sign the adoption papers doing "the first decent thing they ever did for their daughter." Matilda goes on to live happily with Miss Honey, who becomes principal of Crunchem Hall, which has an upper school added due to the children never wanting to leave.

Cast

, a 6-year-old girl with special powers ** Alissa and Amanda Graham and Trevor and James Gallagher as Baby Matilda ** Kayla and Kelsey Fredericks as 9-month-old Matilda ** Amanda and Caitlin Fein as 2-year-old Matilda ** Sara Magdalin as 4-year-old Matilda *

as Jennifer Honey, the kind and polite teacher who inspires Matilda ** Amanda and Kristyn Summers as 2-year-old Jennifer ** Phoebe Pearl as 5-year-old Jennifer *

as Agatha Trunchbull, the abusive, ruthless and tyrannical principal of Crunchem Hall Elementary School and Miss Honey's step-aunt. *

as Harry Wormwood, Matilda's

car salesman An automobile salesperson is a retail salesperson who sells new or used cars. Unlike traditional retail sales, car sales are sometimes negotiable. Salesmen are employed by new car dealerships or used car dealerships. Car negotiation The pric ...

father ** DeVito also narrates the film *

as Zinnia Wormwood, Matilda's

bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** B ...

-obsessed mother * Brian Levinson as Michael Wormwood, Matilda's obnoxious and rude older brother, who enjoys insulting her by calling her 'dipface'. ** Nicholas Cox as 6-year-old Michael *

Paul Reubens Paul Reubens (; ; August 27, 1952 – July 30, 2023) was an American actor and comedian, widely known for creating and portraying the character Pee-wee Herman. Born in Peekskill, New York and raised in both Oneonta, New York and Sarasota, Flo ...

and

Tracey Walter Tracey Walter (born November 25, 1947) is an American retired character actor. He has appeared in more than 170 films and television series. Life and career Walter was born and grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of a truck driver. He h ...

as Bob and Bill, two FBI agents investigating Harry's illegal car business. * Kiami Davael as Lavender, Matilda's best friend at Crunchem Hall Elementary School * Jacqueline Steiger as Amanda Thripp, Matilda's timid classmate at Crunchem Hall Elementary School * Jimmy Karz as Bruce Bogtrotter, Matilda's heavy set schoolmate at Crunchem Hall Elementary School * Kira Spencer-Hesser as Hortensia, a schoolmate at Crunchem Hall Elementary School *

Jean Speegle Howard Jean Frances Howard ( Speegle; January 31, 1927 – September 2, 2000) was an American actress who acted primarily in film and on television. She appeared in over 30 television shows, mostly sitcoms, such as '' Married... with Children'' (1994 ...

as Mrs. Phelps, the librarian * Marion Dugan as Cookie, the unsanitary school cook at Crunchem Hall Elementary school *

Jon Lovitz Jonathan Michael Lovitz ( ; born July 21, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1990 for which he was nominated for two Pr ...

as Mickey (uncredited), the game show host of "The Million Dollar Sticky"

Production

In November 1993,

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

won a screen adaptation of ''

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Mathilda (gastropod), ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1 ...

'' by

, written by writers Nicholas Kazan and

, following a heated bidding war between Universal and

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

. Following disagreements between

and Bregman-Baer Productions over budgetary concerns, Universal put ''Matilda'' into turnaround, with Columbia's sister company

picking up the project.

Miriam Margolyes Miriam Margolyes ( ; born 18 May 1941) is a British and Australian actress. Known for her work as a character actor across film, television, and stage, she received the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Mingott in Marti ...

confirmed that she auditioned for the role of Agatha Trunchbull during a filmed interview with

Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English actress, comedian, presenter and writer. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Satur ...

for the UK television special, ''

's Revolting Rule Book'', which was hosted by

Richard E. Grant Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is an Eswatini-born English actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack H ...

and aired on September 22, 2007. This documentary commemorated Dahl's 90th birthday and also celebrated his impact as a children's author in popular culture. Margolyes went on to play Aunt Sponge (another Dahl villainess) as well as the voice of the Glowworm in ''

James and the Giant Peach ''James and the Giant Peach'' is a children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The first edition, published by Alfred Knopf, featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. There have been re-illustrated versions of it over ...

'', also released in 1996. DeVito and cinematographer

Stefan Czapsky Stefan Czapsky, A.S.C. (born 15 December 1950) is an American cinematographer, best known for his collaborations with director Tim Burton on films like ''Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns,'' and ''Ed Wood,'' for which he won several film critic ...

made heavy use of wide-angle lenses and exaggerated perspective, in a manner similar to the films of

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...

(Miss Trunchbull) incurred several injuries during the production of the film. The climactic scene where she is whacked by

blackboard A blackboard or a chalkboard is a reusable writing surface on which text or drawings are made with sticks of calcium sulphate or calcium carbonate, better known as chalk. Blackboards were originally made of smooth, thin sheets of black or da ...

erasers required her to keep her eyes open, causing

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

dust to get caught in her eyes and necessitating several trips to the hospital to get her eyes washed out. The scene where Trunchbull whirls Amanda Thripp (Jacqueline Steiger) by her pigtails required a harness to support the little girl, the wires of which were threaded through the pigtails and then looped around Ferris's fingertips to give her grip. As she swung her around, the

centrifugal force Centrifugal force is a fictitious force in Newtonian mechanics (also called an "inertial" or "pseudo" force) that appears to act on all objects when viewed in a rotating frame of reference. It appears to be directed radially away from the axi ...

grew too great and tore the top part of Ferris's finger, requiring seven or eight stitches. The

Crank House Crank House, also known as Fair Oaks Ranch, is an 1883 Victorian architecture, Victorian style residence in Pasadena, California, Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 ...

, in

Altadena Altadena () is an unincorporated area, and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County, California. Directly north of Pasadena, it is located approximately from Downtown Los Angeles. Its po ...

, stood in for Miss Trunchbull's house. The exterior of Matilda's house is located on Youngwood Drive in Whittier, while the library she visits is the Pasadena Public Library on East Walnut Street in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

. Suzie Wilson, Mara Wilson's mother, was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

in March 1995 during filming, and later died on April 27, 1996, four months before the film's release. The film was dedicated to her memory. DeVito revealed that, prior to her death, he had shown her the final edit of the film so that she was able to see Mara's performance.

Music

Two songs are featured in the film. One of them, "

Send Me on My Way "Send Me on My Way" is a song by American worldbeat rock band Rusted Root. Originally released as a rough version on 1992's '' Cruel Sun'', it was re-recorded in 1994 for their second album, '' When I Woke'', and released as the lead single. Root' ...

" by

Rusted Root Rusted Root is an American worldbeat rock band formed in 1990 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by singer-guitarist Michael Glabicki, bassist Patrick Norman and percussionist Liz Berlin. The band got its start as the house band playing a weekly gig in ...

, is played twice: when four-year-old Matilda is left alone at her house, making

pancake A pancake, also known as a hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack, is a flat type of batter bread like cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based Batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk, and butter, and then cooked on a ...

s, and at the end of the film, set to a

montage Montage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films * Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing * ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film Music * Montage (music), or sound collage * ''Montage'' (EP), a 2017 EP by ...

of Matilda and Miss Honey playing at Miss Trunchbull's former house. The other song is

Thurston Harris Thurston Harris (July 11, 1931 – April 14, 1990) was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1957 hit "Little Bitty Pretty One". Career Harris first appeared on record in 1953. He was the vocalist for South Central Los Angel ...

's "

Little Bitty Pretty One "Little Bitty Pretty One" is a 1957 song written and originally recorded by Bobby Day. That same year, the song was popularized by Thurston Harris. Produced by Aladdin Records (located in Los Angeles, Calif.), and featuring the Sharps on backi ...

", played when Matilda is dancing in the living room while using her telekinetic powers. The film's original score was composed by David Newman, a frequent collaborator of DeVito.

Release

Box office

''Matilda'' was released on August 2, 1996. It made $8.5 million at the US box office in its opening weekend, ranking in third place behind '' A Time to Kill'' and ''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

''. The film grossed $33.5 million in the United States and Canada and $47 million worldwide against a production budget of $36 million.

Home media

The film was released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

pan and scan Pan and scan is a film editing technique used to modify widescreen images for display on a fullscreen screen. It involves cropping the sides of the original widescreen image and panning across it when the shot's focus changes. This cropping c ...

and

LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ...

on December 17, 1996, from

Columbia TriStar Home Video Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures library ...

. On June 2, 1997, it was released on a bare-bones dual-sided

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

containing fullscreen and widescreen. Another DVD rendition with more special features was released on June 7, 2005. In 2012,

hosted a Matilda reunion, where some of the cast reenacted scenes from the film. With the 2023 release of the film on

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

in 2013, footage from the reunion was included as an

extra Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

. In September 2023, a 4K restoration of the film was released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, which included a

Dolby Vision Dolby Vision is a set of technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories for high dynamic range (HDR) video. It covers content creation, distribution, and playback. It includes dynamic metadata that define the aspect ratio and adjust the picture ...

master,

HDR10 HDR10 Media Profile, more commonly known as 'HDR10'', is an open high-dynamic-range video (HDR) standard announced on 27 August 2015, by the Consumer Electronics Association. It is the most widespread HDR format. HDR10 is not Backward compatibil ...

grades, and a

Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels as well as free-moving sound objects, interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horiz ...

audio mix.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, ''Matilda'' has an approval rating of 92% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Danny DeVito-directed version of ''Matilda'' is odd, charming, and while the movie diverges from Roald Dahl, it nonetheless captures the book's spirit". On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a score of 72 out of 100 based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film a grade "B+" on a scale of A to F. Writing for ''

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

'', Caroline Westbrook gave the film a rating of three stars and praised DeVito's clever direction.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' praised the film's oddity, gave it three stars out of four, and wrote:

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control 1990s American films 1990s children's comedy films 1990s children's fantasy films 1990s English-language films 1990s fantasy comedy films 1996 children's films 1996 comedy films 1996 films American children's comedy films American children's fantasy films American fantasy comedy films American films about revenge Films about bullying Films about child abuse Films about children Films about dysfunctional families Films about educators Films about friendship Films about magic Films about teacher–student relationships Films based on children's books Films based on works by Roald Dahl Films directed by Danny DeVito Films produced by Danny DeVito Films scored by David Newman (composer) Films set in California Films set in schools Films set in libraries Films shot in California Films with screenplays by Nicholas Kazan Films with screenplays by Robin Swicord

Film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

TriStar Pictures films Films about telekinesis English-language fantasy comedy films