Where to watch Matilda? All streaming options explored

Matilda, the 1996 movie, remains a very sweet nostalgia for most of us. This movie was made mainly considering a young audience but ended up being one of the most-liked movies of the 1990s.

The movie is based on the 1988 book Matilda by Roald Dahl. Dahl is an author who is remembered for his books on children, like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), The BFG (1982), Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970), etc.

Danny DeVito, the director of Matilda, got appreciation from critics for keeping the plot honest to the original book. Moreover, DeVito is also an actor known for his role as Vincent Benedict in the 1988 film Twins, starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. DeVito plays the dual role of the narrator's father and narrator in the movie.

She has telekinetic powers (Image via Sony Pictures)

The movie revolves around Matilda Wormwood, a six-year-old child prodigy, who has psychokinetic powers.

She lives with her parents who often mistreat and ignore her. When she enrolls in the school, she realizes that it has a tyrannical principal, Miss Agatha Trunchbull, who bullies the students. With her telekinesis powers, she goes on a mission to help the ones in need and punish the ones doing bad deeds.

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Where to stream the movie?

Matilda is available to stream on Netflix. Viewers on Amazon Prime Video can buy and rent the movie on HD for $3.59 and buy it for $7.99. Fandango At Home, previously known as VUDU also offers the movie on rent for $ 3.99.

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What is the movie about?

Matilda is a six-year-old little girl with exceptional mental abilities. However, her intelligence is completely neglected by her family.

All her ambitions are ignored by the people around her. She loves to read and finds comfort in the world of stories at the public library. But her father one day catches her reading Melville's Moby Dick, rips it apart and forces her to watch the game.

She loves to read (Image via Sony Pictures)

She strongly wants to enroll in the school, but her parents don't care about her education. But she somehow forces her way into the Crunchem Hall Elementary school by putting peroxide into her father's tonic and gluing his hat on his head. Eventually, her father sells a car to the principal in exchange for her admission.

However, her challenge doesn't seem to end even after getting the admission. The principal of the school turns out to be Miss Agatha Trunchbull, a tyrannical authority who bullies the little kids. She punishes them by throwing the students out of the window or locking them up in an iron cabinet.

Miss Agatha Trunchball (Image via Sony Pictures)

Amidst her trouble, the only person who truly seems to care for her is Miss Honey, one among the teachers who recognizes the little girl's intellectual capabilities.

She can solve advanced mathematical questions, meant to middle-grade students. Miss Honey requests the principal to shift her to a higher class but she refuses; neither do her parents show any interest.

Eventually, she starts helping the students in the class who are bullied by the authorities and encourages them to be more strong and autonomous. She slowly gets to know that the students aren't the only ones getting bullied.

Cake eating scene (Image via Sony Pictures)

However, she soon realizes that Miss Honey's father is the actual owner of the school, and Trunchball had taken it from her with trickery. Matida's mission soon becomes to use her powers to help Honey get back her rightful belongings.

It ends on a happy note, where the evils are punished and the good are rewarded. DeVito crafted the movie like a children's story, but it appealed to adults as well.

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Who is in the cast of Matilda?

Mara Wilson plays the role of the movie's protagonist Matilda Wormwood, a six-year-old child with psychokinetic abilities.

The role of the tyrannical school principal is played by Pam Ferris. During the movie's production, she had to run to the hospital several times to get her eyes washed of chalk power during production.

Miss Honey (Image via Sony Pictures)

Her kind teacher who later becomes her parent, Miss Honey is played by Embeth Davidtz who helps Matilda identify and make good use of her powers. Rhea Perlman plays the role of Matilda's Bingo-hungry mother Zinnia Wormwood.

And finally, Danny DeVito, the director of the film makes his appearance as Harry, Matilda's crooked father, who gets his hair washed in peroxide and glued with the hat. He also provides voice to the narrator telling the story.

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The movie got a remake in 2022 named Matilda the Musical.