Mihai Toma A young girl, neglected and underappreciated by her family, is sent to a local school with a nightmarish principal. Her unique character, her extraordinary intelligence and some newly found powers, make her easily remarkable and with the help of her teacher, with a troubled past of her own, are about to radically change her live forever.It's a wonderful movie, filled with laughter and joy, which presents a small portion of a girl's life, who once sent to school, is about to find out that there is a real life out there to be found, quite different to those she found in the books. The school's principle and her family seem determined to make her life unhappy and hard, but her lovely teacher will always be there for her.We're presented a bunch of unique characters, who manage to generate laughter with almost everything they do, thanks to their way of being. The plot is unique and interesting, but not groundbreaking, managing to keep the viewer interested until the end. I have to admit that the movie tends to exaggerate in a couple of aspects and it's up to you to decide if this is for good or for worse. From where I'm standing, it uses this "feature" to emphasize certain aspects of the plot, which ultimately lead to a great atmosphere, full of laughter and joy. The special effects used are also very good, considering its time, contributing a lot to the outcome especially in the last part.It's the perfect film to watch with your family. It has great characters, great actors, a good plot, plenty of happiness, a bit of drama and much comedy. Even after seeing it multiple times throughout the past twenty years, it still managed to be a very good watch even now, when I almost know the plot by heart. The feelings it transmits cannot be translated into words and the fact that it made me feel this way every single time I've seen it makes it a superb movie.

chimera3 As a kid, I was always the misunderstood outcast who was far different than everyone else. I was teased and bullied because I was slightly overweight and I had intelligence that had others feel intimidated. Ever since then, I have been drawn to movies where the victim gets revenge on his/her attackers in ingenious ways. For as long as I can remember, I have always been a big fan of "Matilda" and it is something that I would recommend to anyone who has troubles with bullies in school.From the day she was born, Matilda was the shunned one and her brother Michael was always looked at like a golden boy...almost literally. As she got older, she became able to look out for herself without help from her mindless, ignorant parents (Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman). She became able to read at an adult level by the time she was 4 and stunned the librarian while angering her father at the same time.At 6, she has longed to go to school but her father won't let her because he's running a shady business out of his car dealership and needs her as his makeshift go-between to sign for "packages." It as at that point that Matilda (Mara Wilson) discovers that she is able to move things with her mind, also known as telekinesis. When she is finally "allowed" to go to school, she continues to wow her teacher Miss Honey (Embeth Davidtz) while drawing the scorn of her tyrannical principal Agatha Trunchbull (Pam Ferris) as well.As time wears on, she makes friends and becomes very close to Miss Honey while doing her best to dodge barbs by Miss Trunchbull. The unwavering little girl then discovers that she and her family are being watched by investigators (Paul "Pee Wee Herman" Reubens and Tracey Walter) who are determined to bring her father down. She does everything in her power (literally) to slow them down but it is not good enough.By the time all is said and done, Miss Trunchbull is ousted from the school for good while Matilda's parents and her brother flee the country, leaving the young soul in the care of Miss Honey. There are no hard feelings, of course, seeing as how her parents and brother couldn't have cared less about her.From start to finish, "Matilda" is a classic that will warm your heart. It has some priceless laughs in between, but what more can you expect with a child with telekinesis who uses it to get even with her bullies? While I have never read the book of this by Roald Dahl, I can only imagine that it is just as good.If you've got kids who are constantly being bullied in school, show this to them to send a message that they are not alone. As the title of my review states, cruelty has no age limit. Kids, adults, it doesn't matter. There are some who are more cruel than others. It is just that simple.

billosaurus 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.

Python Hyena 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