Matilda parents guide

Matilda Parent Guide

Overall C

Matilda (Mara Wilson) is a neglected child who is sent to school at a cheerless institution. When she discovers she has special powers, she beings to take control of the unfairness in her life.

Release date August 2, 1996

Violence C-
Sexual Content A-
Profanity A-
Substance Use --

Why is Matilda rated PG? The MPAA rated Matilda PG for elements of exaggerated meanness and ridicule, and for some mild language

Run Time: 98 minutes

Parent Movie Review

Matilda (Mara Wilson) is a frustrated little girl. Her parents, played by Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman, began neglecting her early in life (starting by tossing baby Matilda into the back of their car like a suitcase while driving home from the hospital). As she grows through her first six years, she discovers that reading provides an escape from her nasty parents, and the educational pastime quickly allows her to become smarter than anyone else in her family.

Her formal education begins at Crunchem Hall, a horrible school with a miserable principal named Trunchbul (Pam Ferris). Prisoner of war camps have more joy! The grey building provides the ultimate exaggeration of the school experience. Principal Trunchbul dislikes one girl’s pigtails, so she picks the child up by the hair and throws her like an Olympic hammer. The girl lands nicely, sliding through a field of flowers well beyond the school playground. Another obese child is accused of eating Trunchbul’s chocolate cake, and is force-fed a huge cake in front of a school assembly.

The movie is touted as family fun, but parents will want to be careful about showing Matilda to the under eight crowd. In the end, everyone goes home happy and Matilda bonds with the sweet Miss Honey (Embeth Davidtz), a loving teacher at the school. But along the way the major problems faced are only solved when Matilda uses her “special” powers, resulting in many violent portrayls.

There is a fine line between sarcasm and depicted reality, and I think it is difficult for children to differentiate between the two. Maybe DeVito’s hope as a director is that any child will think they are better off than Matilda. Still, just as many children may see their own situation as hopeless because they don’t have Matilda’s telekinetic gifts. While parents will need to be the ultimate judge of the appropriateness of this movie for their children, I personally feel we have had enough scripts featuring genius kids, dumb parents, and inept teachers.

Directed by Danny DeVito. Starring Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman. Running time: 98 minutes. Theatrical release August 2, 1996. Updated

Matilda
Rating & Content Info

Why is Matilda rated PG? Matilda is rated PG by the MPAA for elements of exaggerated meanness and ridicule, and for some mild language

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Matilda Parents' Guide

This movie is based on a novel by Roald Dahl.

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Matilda movie is December 3, 2013. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: Matilda

Release Date: 3 December 2013

Matildareleases to home video (Blu-ray) with the following extras:

-New featurette filmed exclusively for the Blu-ray release:

- Afternoon Tea, A Very Magical Matilda Reunion

Four previously released featurettes:

- Matilda’s Movie Magic!

- A Children’s Guide to Good Manners

- Escape to the Library

- My Movie About Making Matilda by Mara Wilson