Let me get this out of the way, first. Most people who view this film for the first time as an adult often hate it. Its gross. Its juvenile. And very gritty at times. As a kid, I saw it, often 3 times a week. It's strength lies in just how SUBVERSIVE it is. It doesn't shy away from being blunt and to the point, and indulges kids in many mature concepts, like living with a family that doesn't love you, or, staff who are supposed to care for kids secretly abusing them. This movie presents these ideas in a very playful and exaggerated way so they don't let the move become TOO dark, but gets them across competently. And this movie is also VERY funny. As well as heartwarming. We have Matilda(Mara Wilson), an intelligent bookworm of a girl who has a cold, uncompromising, though not outright abusive parents. The mother is simply a vain, air head who doesn't care for reading, her bullying older brother who bullies her via name-calling and pelting food at her, and her father, Mr wormwood(Danby devito), who is disappointed that her daughter doesn't want to pursue his illegal trade,selling poorly-made cars at unfairly high prices. By day, Matilda must take in packages containing parts for her dad's cars as well as prepare her own meals, and to starve off boredom and loneliness, she sneaks to the library to read. She loves books, but finds to her dismay that she should have been sent to school years ago, her parents callously forgot her age and birthday. After making a lot of fuss and commotion, including humiliating her father at a resteraunt, he caves in and sends her to school. He knew about this school because it's headmistress bought a car from him. Unfortunately for Matilda, this might be the worst school imaginable, since the headmistriss, the hilariously horrible trunchbull, an ex-olympian to boot, is far worse than her parents ever could be, concocting many outlandish punishments for even insignificant misdeeds. In fact, the punishments are so strange, the children are thought to be lying about them when they told their parents, which the trunchbull uses to her advantage. However, Matilda's teacher is considerably kinder though still competent, the beautiful miss honey. The suppressed intellect of Matilda gives her psychokinesis, to her and miss Honey's surprise. However, miss honey herself and the trunchbull share a dark history together. However, I refuse to spill the beans here. The one weird aspect of this film is that Roald Dahl's knee-jerk hatred of television which was prevalent in many of his books, including Matilda, seeped into the movie. Though the anti-TV message is indeed toned down. In-short, this movie is fun, if Americanized. The only British aspect is Pam ferris devouring the scenery as the evil and very British trunchbull.

A charming and fun children's movie with some nice lead performances. It's nothing that hasn't been done before, but it does everything well enough to get a solid recommendation from me. It's just an entertaining and light-hearted film that will definitely resonate with its target crowd of younger children, but it made me feel like a kid at the same time. The film is smart and doesn't have juvenile humor or a half-baked story. It's actually a very well told story with a good message and is well directed by Danny DeVito. There's plenty of memorable characters played wonderfully by some lesser known actors/actresses. Imaginative and unique, Matilda is a movie that children of all ages will likely enjoy on some level, but also happens to be a worthwhile time for the whole family.

Matilda (1996): Dir: Danny De Vito / Cast: Mara Wilson, Danny De Vito, Rhea Perlman, Pam Ferris, Embeth Davidtz: Creative yet misguided family film aimed at the wrong audience. Mara Wilson plays Matilda, a smart little girl with telekinetic powers. Danny De Vito plays her father who sells stolen auto parts, and Rhea Perlman plays her mother who blows all income at bingo. Matilda is interested in school but her parents insist that television is a faster source of information. When she is finally enrolled in school she becomes quickly aware of the principal's abusive tendencies towards students. She locks kids in a closet, and force feeds one boy until he cannot eat anymore. Fine setup becomes predictable with a mishandled conclusion. It plays like a juvenile version of Carrie but director De Vito has fun with the dazzling visual elements. Wilson is charming as Matilda whose willingness for education is admirable but her handling of the principal may warrant discernment. De Vito and Perlman are funny as her deranged parents but their decision regarding Matilda's future in the conclusion is too convenient. Pam Ferris as the ruthless principal is difficult to believe since what parent would send their children to her? She is about as psychotic as the standard slasher film villain. Embeth Davidtz plays the cardboard role of a teacher with whom Matilda connects. Themes support learning and address social isolation. Score: 6 ½ / 10

Childhood memories aside, this movie barley holds up.Its antagonist is ridiculous, being able to get away with torturing children in a society where their parents can enjoy TV shows. Any child in their right mind would have told their parents or the police and that lady would have been fired.Furthermore, Matilda's parents are some of the worst characters ever spawned out of film. Were they supposed to relate to children with abusive parents? Its as if the main demographic is mentally abused children and yet that number of children pales in comparison to the number of children who love their parents and attend a good and caring school. This movie will end up labeling school principals as incarnates of hell and would make parents look like the biggest douches in the world. And people LOVE this movie! Are you kidding me?This film is laughable at best. Its 'redeeming' aspects stress strength in solidarity, and a love for learning. But in the context these things are being shown, they are nothing. Lessons that fail because they are overshadowed by the utterly stupid parents and a demonic principal that will never exist in the real world.I suppose people will blame me for failing to address other aspects of the film, like the good teacher, or Matilda's friends. Of course the teacher is also laughably perfect, as if to say that such a person also exists in the real world. Giving children the expectation that maybe they will meet a person that nice, further inspiring mixed feelings toward their own parents and their school. But neither do I address Matilda's powers, which she uses to solve problems, making everything look laughably easy to do in an abusive situation. Which would make children fail to realize that a lot of their comforts in life come from the hard work their parents put in.This movie is fine and fun to watch. But it is most certainly not a good movie, regardless of how much you loved it when you were 6 years old.