Matilda Movie Review (2024)

FAQs

What is the message behind Matilda movie? ›

Matilda is a show to give you the strength to stand up for yourself, no matter what sort of abuse you are under. She goes through an ordeal of verbal abuse at home and heads to a world of verbal and physical abuse in school.

Parents need to know that Matilda is a 1996 surreal family movie based on the book by Roald Dahl. It includes a lot of cartoonish violence, nearly all of it perpetrated by a bullying school principal. Children who displease the evil principal are put in "the chokey," a dark closet lined with nails and broken glass.

The film has themes, violence and scary scenes that make it unsuitable for children under 8 years, and we recommend parental guidance for children aged 8-9 years.

While Matilda may be small, she proves throughout the film that you're never too young or small to stand up for yourself or your friends. First, Matilda stands up for herself against her toxic and obnoxious family. This is impressive in itself as many parents teach their children to be obedient and respectful.

“Matilda” hits on many sad themes often present in situations of childhood abuse — feeling unwanted, being neglected, keeping secrets, bullying, misuse of power, hopelessness, defenselessness, unjust punishments, dreaming of fantastic rescues, and of course physical/psychological abuse.

Matilda decides to punish her parents for the way they treat her. She hopes that it will make them less selfish and mean.

Her parents do not recognize her great intelligence and show little interest in her, particularly her father, a secondhand car dealer who verbally abuses her.

Sometimes it takes a little detective work to really understand the setting, or where and when a story takes place. Matilda takes place in an English village, and given the publication date of 1988 and the mention of a small TV and TV dinners, it most likely takes place in the 1970s or 1980s.

Matilda is not yet five years old, and already she is a very unusual child. Teaching herself to read, she works her way through all the books in the children's library and then gets started on the adult section, to the amazement of the librarian.

Profanity (2)

A bit of name calling towards children like 'maggot' but no profanity.

Why do people like Matilda? ›

Matilda is an impressively brave girl, who teaches us that it is not okay to be manipulated nor bullied - whether by her parents or teachers.

As with most of Dahl's kids stories, a dark undercurrent runs through it -- like. But it's never fully allowed to come to the surface. That's largely due to the film's playful humor, beautifully penned songs, and expertly choreographed dance routines.

Matilda prefers to read and has an innate ability at math whereas her family members are dull and unaffected. Her intelligence seems to develop further into telekinetic powers, which set her further apart from ordinary people. These help her combat the diabolical Miss.

The picture of Miss Honey's father, Magnus, is actually a portrait of Roald Dahl, the author of the book "Matilda," upon which the film is based. Mara Wilson was so self-conscious about dancing for the "Little Bitty Pretty One" sequence that Danny DeVito had the entire cast and crew dance with her on set.

Matilda Is 6 Years Old In The 1996 Movie

In the 1996 film Matilda, Matilda Wormwood is only six and a half years old. This means that when she attends school and meets her beloved teacher Miss Honey, she is in the first grade.