Matilda (1996 film)
| Matilda | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Danny DeVito |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by | |
| Based on |
Matilda by Roald Dahl |
| Starring |
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| Narrated by | Danny DeVito |
| Music by | David Newman |
| Cinematography | Stefan Czapsky |
| Edited by |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $36 million |
| Box office | $62.1 million |
Matilda is a 1996 American children's fantasy comedy film directed by Danny DeVito, who also produced with Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, and Lucy Dahl. It was written by Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord, based on Roald Dahl's novel of the same name. Mara Wilson, DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, and Pam Ferris star. The film is about a young genius named Matilda, who uses telekinesis to deal with her parents, who do not value education, and Agatha Trunchbull, the oppressive principal of Crunchem Hall Elementary School.
The film was released in the United States on August 2, 1996.
Matilda Wormwood is a genius, but her parents, Harry and Zinnia, ignore and mistreat her. At the age of 4, she discovers the local library and walks there every day to read while her father is at work, her mother is playing bingo, and her older brother, Michael, is at school.
At age six-and-a-half, Matilda begins to lose patience with her parents, expressing a desire to go to school. In retaliation for her father constantly berating her, she adds hydrogen peroxide to his hair tonic, turning his hair an unhealthy blonde. He takes his children to his workshop, where he reveals that the cars he sells are faulty. Matilda accuses him of being dishonest and he belittles her, so she responds by putting super glue on his hat, forcing Zinnia to cut it off of his head. She reads a borrowed library copy of Moby-Dick, which Harry rips up while her family is watching television. When he forces her to watch with them, she becomes increasingly angry and causes the television set to suddenly explode.
Miss Trunchbull is the tyrannical principal of a rundown elementary school, Crunchem Hall. Harry enrolls Matilda there, where she befriends several children and learns of Trunchbull's violent nature and overtly harsh punishments of the students. Matilda's teacher, Jennifer Honey, is a kind woman who adores her class and takes an immediate liking to Matilda. She requests to Trunchbull that Matilda be moved up to a higher class, but Trunchbull refuses. That night, Miss Honey pays the Wormwoods a visit to encourage them to spend more time with Matilda, but they snub her. Meanwhile, Matilda discovers that her family is under surveillance by FBI agents Bob and Bill due to her father's illegal dealings, but her parents refuse to believe her, as Zinnia thinks they are speedboat salesmen.
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