Film· 1996· Comedy

Matilda

by Danny DeVito

Matilda: it draws on 1 recorded source.

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What influenced Matilda

The works this one is recorded as drawing on.

Matilda

Book · 1988

AdaptationHIGH

Danny DeVito's film follows Dahl's novel closely: the neglectful Wormwoods, the library, the telekinesis that arrives with the injustice, Miss Honey, and Miss Trunchbull and the chokey. The move to suburban America is the one large change, and it is a relocation rather than a rewrite: every set piece is the book's, including the cake and the newt. It is also the version most people have seen, which is why the book being on the map with nothing attached to it was a real gap rather than a technical one.

About the work

Matilda

A child prodigy who develops psychokinetic abilities uses them to deal with her abusive family and the tyrannical principal of her school. The film features DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, and Pam Ferris in supporting roles.