Plot

An adaptation of the Tony and Olivier award-winning musical. Matilda tells the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a sharp mind and a vivid imagination, dares to take a stand to change her story with miraculous results.

Matilda Wormwood (Alisha Weir) is a little girl with big curiosity, a sharp mind and a vivid imagination - and the worst parents in the world. While her parents (Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough) content themselves with trashy TV and dodgy money-making schemes, she loves to lose herself in the pages of her beloved books. Where they are loud, selfish and unkind she is a quiet observer, thinking up small and cheeky acts of rebellion and revenge. On meeting her inspirational teacher, Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch), Matilda is encouraged and begins conjuring her own fantastical tales. Excited to attend Crunchem Hall, Matilda is surprised to find the school is an ominous and oppressive place led by the huge and villainous Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson). As well as kind Miss Honey, the bright lights among the meanness are story-loving librarian, Mrs. Phelps (Sindhu Vee), and Matilda's newfound school friends. Filled with an overwhelming sense of justice, Matilda dares to take a stand for what is right and teach Trunchbull a lesson she won't forget. Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical is an inspirational musical tale of an extraordinary girl who discovers her superpower and summons the remarkable courage, against all odds, to help others change their stories, whilst also taking charge of her own destiny. Standing up for what's right, she's met with miraculous results. Directed by Tony Award-winning director Matthew Warchus (Matilda The Musical), the film is produced by Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan for Working Title, Jon Finn (Billy Elliot), and Luke Kelly of The Roald Dahl Story Company. Screenwriter Dennis Kelly adapts the Royal Shakespeare Company's production for the big screen, with original music and lyrics by Tim Minchin.—Netflix

A musical film about a young female in a terrible family going to school where she becomes friends with her peers and her teacher. She soon discovers that her teacher has lived a dangerous past due to the mean principal of the school who is also a relative of her teacher.—RECB3

While other parents adore their newborn children, Mrs Wormwood is distraught to learn she is pregnant and in labour. To Mr Wormwood's confusion, she has a girl, Matilda. Despite her parents' disdain, Matilda grows into a sweet child who loves reading books and visits Mrs Phelps, the librarian, every day. Upon discovering that Matilda has not been properly schooled, Miss Jennifer Honey and an inspector visit the house to suggest Matilda be sent to Crunchem Hall. Angry at being fined for not enrolling Matilda on time, Mr Wormwood falsely claims to the headmistress, Miss Agatha Trunchbull, that Matilda is a troublemaker. In retaliation, Matilda tricks him into dyeing his hair green.

On her way to school, Matilda tells Mrs Phelps her story about an escapologist who falls in love with and marries an acrobat. When the school bell rings, Matilda befriends a new girl named Lavender. They are taught to fear the school and Miss Trunchbull by the prefects. In Miss Honey's class, Matilda solves a complex maths equation on the board and confesses that she loves reading most of all. Miss Honey tries to convince Miss Trunchbull to move Matilda to a more advanced class, but Miss Trunchbull refuses to let Matilda be an exception to the rules.

At home, Matilda criticises her father, who furiously rips her library book apart and sends Matilda to her room. In the morning, she glues his hat to his head. At school, Matilda leads the students in protecting Nigel from being wrongfully punished, and Miss Trunchbull throws Amanda Thripp by her pigtail braids over the fence instead. The next day, Miss Trunchbull falsely accuses Matilda of stealing a slice of her private chocolate cake, but Bruce Bogtrotter reveals he is the culprit by belching a chocolatey belch. Miss Trunchbull punishes Bruce by forcing him to eat the entire cake, promising he will be forgiven if he manages it. Furious that he succeeds, Miss Trunchbull condemns him to the Chokey regardless. Matilda attempts to defend him as he is led away. Matilda continues the story for Mrs Phelps: the now-pregnant acrobat was forced to perform a dangerous stunt by her stepsister; the acrobat is horribly injured, and she dies after giving birth to a daughter. The escapologist forgives the stepsister and asks her to help him raise his daughter, but the stepsister secretly bullies her.

At home, Mr Wormwood locks Matilda in her room for criticising how he tricks people into buying his cars. Matilda ends her story: the aunt locks the daughter in the cellar and goes out, and the escapologist comes home early and learns his daughter is mistreated but never returns from confronting the stepsister. Miss Trunchbull forces the children through challenging exercises to crush their rebellious spirit. Lavender slips her pet newt Isaac into Miss Trunchbull's drinking water, and Matilda furiously uses her newly discovered telekinesis to toss Isaac down Miss Trunchbull's shirt. Miss Honey invites Matilda to tea at her cottage. There, Matilda learns that her story is real, the escapologist and the acrobat are Miss Honey's parents, and the evil stepsister is Miss Trunchbull. Matilda leaves the cottage and uses her powers to destroy the Chokey. At home, Matilda discovers that her father unwittingly scammed members of the mafia, and the family must flee to Spain. Matilda cries in her room about never seeing Miss Honey, Mrs Phelps and Lavender again.

When the children arrive at school, Miss Trunchbull forces them to spell words correctly or be locked in a new Chokey. She has Lavender spell a made-up word, tricking the other children into rebelliously spelling words incorrectly on purpose so that she can lock them all into Chokeys. However, Matilda uses her telekinesis to pretend to be the vengeful ghost of Magnus Honey, Miss Honey's father. She uses him to destroy all her new chokeys, then grabs her by her now pigtailed hair and launches her out of the school, just as Trunchbull did with Thripp. Miss Honey tells Miss Trunchbull never to return and takes back the keys to her father's house. The children celebrate their freedom, destroying Trunchbull's statue in the process. When Mr and Mrs Wormwood come to take Matilda to Spain, Miss Honey begs them to let Matilda stay with her. They allow Matilda to be adopted by Miss Honey, and Matilda uses her powers to unglue her father's hat. With Miss Honey as the new headmistress, the children rename the school The Big Friendly School. Mrs Phelps is overjoyed that Matilda's true story has a happy ending and that Matilda and Miss Honey live happily together.