Matilda

Some Kids' Parents!

If ever you were told you were the worst parent in the world, rest assured you are not!

Have you ever thought that you were born into the wrong family? Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson) clearly was. From the day she was born she was unwanted and ignored by her family. If they would have paid any attention to her at all they would have noticed from an early age Matilda was very different and special, she was brilliant.

 Real life husband and wife Danny De Vito and Rhea Perlman play Matilda’s parents, early in the movie I found myself cringing every time they entered a scene because they are so mean to their sweet little girl. Matilda is not only more intelligent than her parents but she has values and morals that are continually disregarded by them. Her Dad is a stereotypical car salesman; in one scene he tries teaching the kids the family business by teaching how to cheat a customer which appalls Matilda. When her parents enroll her for school (late might I add) they send her to a school run by the horribly mean (and I mean abominable) Principal Trunchball (Pam Ferris) who hates children. The silver lining to her new school is she meets Miss Honey who changes her life forever. Matilda does have a way of coping with the terrible hand she has been dealt, she finds that the more she is yelled at she discovers powers of telekinesis. Now, she learns to have a bit of fun with this gift and helps out her fellow students as well as the only trustworthy adult in her life, Miss Honey. Yes, it is mostly unrealistic and exaggerated but it just may show your little ones that their parents and teachers maybe aren’t so bad. Plus it is fun to watch her play tricks on the bad guys.

 *Spoiler Alert* Matilda triumphs over all of the bad and this movie shows good things can eventually happen from a bad situation.

Motherly Advice

Hannah – I might deserve parent of the year compared to the Wormwoods.

　

: My filters were set to medium while watching this. This is a bit of a dark comedy for kids and probably appropriate for age 8 and up because of the dishonesty, general lack of family values as well as some cartoonish violence. I would only show this to your child if they are able to tell the difference between real and fake as the meanness of the adults in Matilda’s life could be a little too scary for the younger children.