[We start with a close-up of a baby girl's face as the camera then pulls back from her. She's in a nursery room in a hospital] [first lines]
Everyone is born, but not everyone is born the same. Some will grow to be butchers or bakers or candlestick makers. Some will only be really good at making a Jell-O salad. One way or another, though, every human being is unique, for better or for worse. [a nurse picks up the baby girl and shows her to a man, who grumbles and walks off] Most parents believe that their children are the most beautiful creatures ever to grace the planet. Others take a less emotional approach.
[Outside, adults look at their newborns. The man, Harry Wormwood, walks beside his wife, Zinnia Wormwood]
What a waste of time.
And expensive! $9.25 for a bar of soap?
Well, I had to take a shower, Harry.
$5,000?! I'm not paying it! What are they gonna do, repossess the kid? [puts the baby girl in the back of his car. Looking back at her, a boy named Michael Wormwood, Harry and Zinna's son, waves a toy, making her anxious. Harry jerks the car forward, causing the baby girl to slide. He hits the gas pedal, causing the baby girl to slide back] There's no way out.
Make a U-turn. [as Harry makes different turns in every direction, the baby girl looks dizzy] Harry!
[The car speeds over speedbumps] [voice vibrating]
Harry!
B Boy
[Later, in a neighborhood]
The Wormwood guy is back!
Harry and Zinnia Wormwood lived in a very nice neighborhood, in a very nice house. But they were not really very nice people.
[The Wormwoods arrive at their home]
Get outta the street, ya little dodos!
[As the family enter the house, the baby girl is still in the car]
The Wormwoods were so wrapped up in their own silly lives that they barely noticed that they had a daughter. Had they paid attention to her at all they'd have realized she was a rather extraordinary child.
[The baby girl is sitting on the night bar]
Oh, my gosh, Matilda, now look what you did!
[As Matilda writes her name on green baby food, Zinnia wipes it off]
You're supposed to eat the spinach. Ew! Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew! [picks her up and puts her in the sink] Babies. You're better off raising tomatoes!
[Matilda, now older, wipes her face with a rag]
By the time she was 2 years old, Matilda had learned what most people learn in their early 30s: How to take care of herself. [Now 4 years old, Matilda gets dressed] As time went by, she developed a sense of style. Every morning, Matilda's older brother, Michael, went to school.
Her father went to work, selling used cars for unfair prices.
And her mother took off to play Bingo.
Soup's on the stove. Heat it up if you get hungry.
[As each of the Wormwoods leave, Matilda watches]
Matilda was left alone. That was how she liked it.
[As the background song "Send Me on My Way" by Rusted Root plays, she then turns to the can of soup and throws it away. Later, she cracks some eggs into a bowl, places some flour in and mixes them all together with a hand mixer. Next, she pours the mixture into pancake sizes on a pan on the stove. Once the sides of the pancakes are cooked, she flips them over. Later, she flips them out of the pan where they land on a plate. She lifts the plate up, places a flower in a small vase and begins to eat her nicely cooked pancakes whilst reading some magazines.]
By the time she was four, Matilda had read every magazine in the house. [The scene changes to the living room where the family are watching TV, Matilda walks up to her father] One night she got up her courage and asked her father for something she desperately wanted.
A book? What do you want a book for?
To read? Why would you wanna read when you got the television set sittin’ right in front of ya? There's nothin’ you can get from a book that you can't get from a television faster.
[Michael, who is struggling to watch the TV because his sister is in his view, leans and drags her out of his view.]
Get out of the way!
[Matilda watches with displeasure as her family is not going to listen. Harry briefly belches.]
Matilda already knew that she was somewhat different from her family. She saw that whatever she needed in this world, she'd have to get herself.
[The scene changes where Matilda watches her family leave the house that morning.]
Bye!
Ciao! [to Matilda] There's fish fingers in the microwave. [leaves]
Matilda had always wanted to go to school, because she loved to learn. She tried to imagine what her new school would be like.
She pictured a lovely building surrounded by trees, and flowers and swings. Well, there was a building… And children, so regardless of what Crunchem Hall looked like, she was happy to be there. After all, any school's better than no school at all, isn't it?
[all shriek as Trunchbull approaches out the school doors and slowly walks down the stairs while suspenseful music plays]
You, detention. You're too small. Grow up quicker. Heads up. Shoulders back. Stomachs in. Stand up straight.
That's okay. It's much better than being out there.
No. That's the principal, Miss Trunchbull.
[another girl, Hortensia, appears]
You squirts better skedaddle. I'm not kidding. The Trunchbull likes to snap a whip in there to see who's trying to hide.
Stomach in! Change those socks! Too pink!
Lavender. [she shakes hands with Matilda]
She doesn't really hit children with that riding crop, does she?
No. It's mostly for scare. What she does is worse. Like yesterday, in the second grade, the Trunchbull makes a weekly visit to every classroom, to show the teachers a thing or two about handling kids. And Julius Rottwinkle ate two M&Ms during her lesson.
[A flashback of Julius shows him sneaking M&Ms as the Trunch squeezes his cheeks to make him spit them out, the rest of the students gasp as the Trunch then picks him up and throws him out the window.]
And she caught him?
After being thrown out the window? Of course he wasn't okay. He lived, if that's what you mean.
The Trunchbull used to be in the Olympics: Shot-put, javelin, hammer throw. The hammer throw was her specialty.
So she does this all the time?
Better than being put in "The Chokey".
Yeah, the Chokey. [the camera zooms in on the Chokey as Hortensia explains] It's a tall, narrow hole in a wall behind a door. You have to stand in a drippy pipe with jagged edges, and the walls have broken glass with nails sticking out.
[locks a girl in the Chokey]
Get inside, you festering ball of pus!
I've been in there twice. Sometimes she leaves you in there all day.
[screen fades to white, then to Matilda]
Didn't you tell your parents?
They didn't believe me. I mean, would your parents believe it?
[Matilda thinks about this for a minute as the screen pans to Miss Trunchbull]
Sixty lines after school: "I must obey Miss Trunchbull."
[screen pans to Matilda]
No.
[notices Matilda]
Ah. Mmm... Fresh meat!
What are those? [referring to her pigtails]
[in between tears]
What's what, Miss Trunchbull?
Hanging down by your ears.
[in between tears]
You mean my pigtails?
[in between tears]
No, Miss Trunchbull.
Do I allow pigs in my school?
My mommy thinks they're sweet.
Your mommy... is a twit! You are chop those off before school tomorrow or I will...
Come on! But! "But"? Did you say "but"?
[whispering]
Hammer throw.
G Girl
[she picks Amanda up and swings her around by her pigtails]
Good loft.
Think she'll make the fence?
B Boy
Gonna be a close one.
A All
[Amanda makes the fence lands in some flowers which she scoops up] [cheering]
Quiet! Get to class before I throw you all in the Chokey.
Hop to! Hippity hop! The entire school will go to the assembly room immediately. SIT! [kids sit down]
[hits rod against left hand twice]
Bruce Bogtrotter. [students gasp as screen zooms to Bruce] Would little Brucey come up here, please?
Uh-oh. He lives on my block.
This boy, Bruce Bogtrotter, is none other than a vicious sneak thief. You're a disgusting criminal, aren't you?
I don't know what you're talking about.
Cake. Chocolate cake. You slithered like a serpent into the school kitchen and ate my personal snack! [its rod at Bruce] Do you deny it? Confess.
Well, it's hard for me to remember a specific cake.
This one was mine, and it was the most scrumptious cake in the entire world.
It is, is it? How can you be sure unless you have another piece? Sit down, Bog. [taunting him with the piece of cake] Here we go. Smells chocolatey, eh? Now, eat it.
I don't want any, thank you.
B Boy
She wouldn't give him cake.
[Bruce has eaten the piece of cake she gave him]
You look like you enjoyed that, Brucey.
But you'll hurt cook's feelings. Cookie. [Cookie uncovers the whole cake, from which a slice had been cut] She made this cake just for you to have on your very own. Her sweat and blood went into this cake. And you will not leave this platform until you have consumed the entire confection!
C Cookie
Entire confection. See ya at lunch.
C Cookie
Rotten kids. [walks away]
You wanted cake, you got cake. Now eat it!
[The children gasp]
Poor Brucey. He's going to puke. I can't look. Is he going to puke?
[stands up and encourages Bruce to finish the cake]
You can do it, Brucey!
[the other kids join in]
Yeah, you can do it!
S Students
Bruce! Bruce! Bruce! Bruce! Bruce! Bruce! Bruce! Bruce! Bruce! Bruce! [excited clamoring]
Silence! Stop! Silence! Stop!
YEEEEEAH! YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!
[Agatha puts her arms out, then breaks the plate on Bruce's head, making him burp and the kids laugh]
Shut up! The entire assembly will stay five hours after school and copy from the dictionary! Any children who object will go straight into the chokey together!
With the FBI watching her father and the Trunchbull terrorizing her school, it was a rare and happy moment when Matilda could just play with her friends.
[Lavender catches something while the children are hanging out at a creek]
A frog, a frog, a frog!
[Later, they take a closer look at Lavender's catch]
It's a salamander.
It's a newt. [reading from a book] "Any of the small semi-aquatic salamanders from the genus Triturus".
[also reading]
"Some are brightly colored and secrete irritating substances."
How could you keep going, you useless, flaming CAR?! Wormwood! [screen pans to Lavender getting inside and Matilda opening her mouth surprised, looking at Trunchbull] Sell me a lemon?! You're heading for the chokey, young lady!
You and your father think you can make a fool out of me!
The guy with the stupid haircut!
I'm nothing like my father.
You're the spitting image. The apple never rots far from the tree!
[Trunchbull Matilda in the Chokey, makes her stay in there after school for an hour, and locks her inside.] [while Matilda is kicking and screaming in the Chokey wanting to be free the scene cuts from the Chokey to Matilda's classroom]
Miss Honey!!!!!
Miss Trunchbull teaches our class today, Lavender. Please get a water pitcher.
Shh! No, quickly. She'll be here any second. Come on. Oh, make sure the water's cold, Lavender. [Lavender pours the glass with the newt into the pitcher]
Vinny, cover the fish. Put away the art projects. Put away anything colorful. Oh Charley, won't you get those crayons for me?
Most great ideas come from hard work and careful planning. Of course, once in a while, they just jump out at you.
Rayna. Rayna. Cover the birds and the beetles. Hurry! Hurry! I hear her coming! Okay now. Last time, some of you forgot yourselves. Don't speak unless you're spoken to. Don't laugh. Don't smile. Don't even breathe loudly.
[hits her rod against her hand while Lavender is holding a water glass and jug]
Don't breathe at all.
Good morning, Miss Trunchbull.
S Students
Good morning, Miss Trunchbull.
SIT!!!! [hits rod against her hand again] Shoo. I have never been able to understand why small children are so disgusting. They're the bane of my life. They're like insects.
[Lavender sticks out her tongue]
Where's Matilda?
They should be got rid of as early as possible. Fsht! My idea of a perfect school is one in which there are no children... at all. [laughs]
[Miss Honey looks and sees that Matilda isn’t there. She mouths to Lavender to ask where Matilda is. Lavender puts her hands to her throat to signal that she's in the Chokey]
Do you agree, Miss Honey?
[Miss Honey nods yes as she leaves the room to free Matilda.] [turns back to the boy]
Now. You, front of the class!
[Screen pans to Miss Honey opening the door to the Chokey]
Are you okay?
[Miss Honey rescues Matilda and hugs her] [while grabbing a boy by the legs]
Next time I tell you to empty your pockets, you'll do it faster, won't you?!
B Boy
Yes, Miss Trunchbull!
Miss Honey, this might be the most interesting thing you've ever done! [Miss Trunchbull drops the boy] Sit down, you squirming worm of vomit!
B Boy
Thank you, Miss Trunchbull.
Miss Honey taught us how to spell a long word yesterday. We can spell "difficulty".
You couldn't spell 'difficulty' if your life depended on it.
She taught us with a poem.
A poem. How sweet. What poem would that be?
S Students
Mrs. D. Mrs. I. Mrs. F - F - I. Mrs. C. Mrs. U. Mrs. L - T - Y.
Why are all these women married?! Mrs. D? Mrs. I? You're supposed to be teaching spelling, not poetry! I cannot for the life of me understand why small children take so long to grow up. I think they do it deliberately, just to annoy me. What's funny? Come on. Spit it out. Speak up. I like a joke as well as the next fat person.
[She looks down and sees the newt. The children laugh]
It's a snake! It's a snake! It's a snake! One of you tried to poison me! Who? Oh, Matilda. I knew it.
I just thought you'd like to know, it's not a snake. It's a newt.
It's a newt, Miss Trunchbull.
Stand up, you villainous sack of goat slime! You did this!
Did you act alone, or did you have accomplices?
You didn't like the chokey, did you? Thought you'd pay me back, didn't you? Well, I'll pay you back, young lady.
For what, Miss Trunchbull?
For this newt, you pissworm!
I'm telling you, I didn't do it!
Besides, even if you didn't do it, I'm going to punish you, because I'm big and you're small, and I'm right, and you're wrong. And there's nothing you can do about it. You're a liar and a scoundrel, and your father's a liar and a cheat! You're the most corrupt low-lifes in the history of civilization. Am I wrong? I'm never wrong. In this classroom, in this school, I am God!
[Splash! The glass tips over and the newt lands on Trunchbull, she panics trying to shake it off, everyone in the class laughs]
You!
How could she possibly have done it when she was sitting way over here?
I'll be watching you. Each and every one of you. When you turn the corner. When you go to your little cubbies to get your smelly little coats. When you skip merrily to lunch. I'll be watching you. All of you, and especially you!
Best friends don't tell. She can really dance.
[Miss Honey hides the doll behind her back]
I will be teaching your class today.
In the time it took Miss Honey to get very, very nervous, Matilda had formulated a plan.
She is really raving mad.
What is it your father used to call you? Hummingbird?
Bumblebee. I'm sure she knows the doll's missing.
And he called her Trunchbull?
No. I suppose he called her Agatha. Yeah.
And she called him Magnus? Right?
Yeah. Yes. …Maybe I could go back to the house and put the doll back while she's still at school. Oh, no. I can't do that.
Calm down, Miss Honey. Really. It's going to be okay. I promise.
Sweetheart, you promised you wouldn't go back into that house again.
I didn't. I was on the garage roof. I did it with my powers.
Okay. On the garage roof With your powers. I need to think. Let's see. Powers? [Matilda is making the water pitcher levitate; Miss honey keeps pushing it down]
Mm. Hmm. I think I've got them down. Watch this. [She makes it levitate once more as Miss Honey swipes her hand under it] No more Miss Nice Girl!
Get inside! Inside! Quickly, run! Run! Run! Get against the wall! Against that wall. Quickly! Don't make me wait. Water! And hold the newt. Join the ranks! Move! I am here to teach you all a lesson! Sometimes in life, horrible and unexplainable things happen. These things are a test of character, …and I have character! …Form a line across the room, quickly! Run! Run! Run! Don't keep me wait-ing! Fill this gap! I expect you're wondering what I'm talking about, hmm? Yes. A child came to my house. I don't know how. I don't know when. I don't know why. [Holding Matilda’s red hair ribbon]
No, you may not. But I know a child came. So, did you know it was illegal to enter someone's home without their permission?
S Students
Yes, Miss Trunchbull.
Stand up straight! Stomach in! Shoulders back!
Do any of you recognize... this? Let's play a little game, shall we? Who was wearing a pretty red hair ribbon yesterday [tauntingly holding it in front of Matilda] and isn't wearing one today? Can you answer me that? Who does this disgusting ribbon belong to?!!? [Throwing it on the ground and spitting on it] I shall personally see to it, that the demented, slime-breathed, little Lilliputian who owns this DISGUSTING ribbon… will never see the light of day again! YOU!!!! [pointing at Matilda]
Miss Trunchbull, I was the one who was at your house last night. I know that I--
[Trunchbull grabs Miss Honey's wrist and attempts to break it]
I broke your arm once before. I can do it again, Jenny.
[Miss Honey uses her other hand to get Trunchbull's hand off]
I am not seven years old anymore, Aunt Trunchbull.
[Everyone gasps]
Shut your holes! You will be put away in a place where not even the crows can land their droppings on you.
S Students
[As Trunchbull grabs Matilda until one of students saw something]
Look! [A piece of chalk levitates, as Trunchbull turns around and sees the blinds opening and closing] The chalk! And the blinds!
S Students
[The blinds are opening and closing, the chalk is writing on the board]
A G A T H A. [Trunchbull watches in horror as the chalk writes] THIS IS MAGNUS. GIVE MY LITTLE BUMBLEBEE BACK HER HOUSE AND HER MONEY.
S Students
[Continue reading]
THEN GET OUT OF TOWN. IF YOU DON'T, I WILL GET YOU. I WILL GET YOU LIKE YOU GOT ME. THAT IS A PROMISE. [Matilda is using her powers to hit the Trunch with the erasers, after a while of being attacked by the erasers, The Trunchbull faints, Matilda opens the blinds with her powers, the students look at Miss Trunchbull’s unconscious body, however, unbeknownst to them, The Trunch opens one eye at the camera, and quickly turns her head towards the other students, scaring them in the process]
B Boy
[students gasp]
Aaaahhhhhhhh!
[Students gasp again]
No, no, no. No. No. Miss Trunchbull. Please don't throw him.
B Boy
Aaaahhhhhh! Aaaahhhhhhhhhhh!
B Boy
[the Trunch throws a boy out the window. Matilda makes him fly back into the room]
Woo woo woo! Woo-Hoo! Woo! Woo-Hoo-Hoo! Woo!
[Trunchbull tries to run from the boy, but the boy pushes her on to the globe, Miss Honey silently tells Matilda to spin the globe, which she obeys, Trunchbull spins around in circles until she flies off and falls on to the floor] [the Trunch is disoriented from Matilda spinning her on the globe and gets back up feeling all dizzy, when the Trunch regains consciousness, she notices Lavender, and charges toward like an angry bull, until Matilda lifts her up as the Trunch crashes through the door and lands on the floor of the hallway, Matilda then uses her powers to summon the student’s lunchboxes to have the students pelt the Trunch with their food]
[Miss Honey’s class starts to pelt food at Miss Trunchbull]
Wow!
Hey, you guys, look at this!
[slowly levitates safely down to the ground]
Wooooooow. Cool. I didn't know I could do that.
Pretty good, huh?
[as students continue throwing their food from their lunch boxes at the Trunch, she antt to escape, but gasps in horror at the sight of a gargantuan crowd of other students in front of her, holding food, water balloons, and other objects, ready to hurl them at her, as the Trunch attempts to leave, the army of students assail the Trunch with their food, as she passes by Bruce, Bruce shoves chocolate cake into her mouth]
[Trunchbull runs out of the school as the students chase her outside and continue to pelt her with food, while students from the second floor of the school throw water balloons and rolls of toilet paper at her from above, the Trunch retreats to her car, and cowardly drives away in reverse, the students cheer, finally ridding the school of the Trunch for good, while Matilda hugs Lavender]
And the Trunchbull was gone. Never to be seen or heard from, never to darken a doorway again.
