What age is Matilda appropriate for?

Matilda is rated PG and PopcornCheck recommends it for ages 7+, based on reading the actual screenplay. Miss Trunchbull's sustained threatening behaviour — including throwing a child by her pigtails, describing the Chokey as a nail-lined punishment box, and forcing Bruce Bogtrotter to eat an entire cake on stage as public humiliation — makes this genuinely frightening for children under 7, while the revelation that Miss Honey's father may have died under suspicious circumstances adds an unexpectedly dark emotional layer.

Does Matilda have swearing or bad language?

Matilda has Mild language. Mild words used: 'twit' (x2), 'dipface' (x2), 'stupid' (x1), 'crook' (x1), 'dodos' (x1).

Matilda has Mild violence. Miss Trunchbull grabs Amanda Thripp by her pigtails and swings her like a hammer throw, launching her over the school fence — played for shock comedy but surprisingly forceful for a family film.

Is Matilda scary for children?

Matilda has Moderate scary scenes. The Chokey is described in graphic detail — a tall, narrow hole with nails and jagged edges sticking out from the walls and a drippy pipe — and children are repeatedly threatened with being placed inside it. This is the film's most frightening concept and is likely to disturb younger or sensitive children.

Is Matilda OK for Kids?

Name: Matilda
Director: Danny DeVito
Genre: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Released: 1996
Duration: 98 min
Cast: Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, Pam Ferris

ComedyFamilyFantasy

PG⭐ 7.0 / 101996 · 1h 38m

Danny DeVito

Where to Watch

United States

Stream

Rent

Rent or Buy on Amazon

Streaming data by JustWatch

What's In It

Based on the actual screenplay

🗡️Violence

Mild▼

Moments in the script, mildest → most intense

Cartoon / Comedic

Action & Peril

Injuries & Death Shown

Graphic & Disturbing

Miss Trunchbull grabs Amanda Thripp by her pigtails and swings her like a hammer throw, launching her over the school fence — played for shock comedy but surprisingly forceful for a family film.
Miss Trunchbull forces student Bruce Bogtrotter to eat an enormous chocolate cake in front of the entire school as punishment — humiliating and prolonged, though ultimately played for audience triumph when he finishes it.
The Chokey is described and depicted as a tall, narrow punishment box lined with nails and jagged edges with a drippy pipe — children are threatened with being locked inside it throughout the film.
Harry Wormwood (Matilda's father) struggles to remove a hat that has been super-glued to his head, painfully pulling at his own scalp — played for comedy but visually uncomfortable.
Matilda uses her telekinetic powers to tip a glass over onto Miss Trunchbull, write threatening chalk messages on a blackboard, and ultimately throw Miss Trunchbull out a window — all presented as triumphant and consequence-free cartoon action.
No characters are killed on screen and no blood is shown. All violence is either cartoon-exaggerated or played for comedic relief, keeping it firmly within the tone of Roald Dahl's original dark humour.

💬Language

Mild▼

Moments in the script, mildest → most intense

Mild Words

(damn, hell)

Moderate

(ass, b**ch)

Strong

(sh*t)

Extreme

(f**k)

Mild words used: 'twit' (x2), 'dipface' (x2), 'stupid' (x1), 'crook' (x1), 'dodos' (x1).
Moderate words used: 'pissworm' (x1), 'filth' (x1) — both used by or in the context of Miss Trunchbull's aggressive outbursts toward children.
No f-words, c-words, or strong profanity of any kind detected. The sharpest language is 'pissworm,' which is more absurd than genuinely offensive.
Most insults are Roald Dahl-style invented name-calling rather than recognisable adult profanity.

👻Scary Scenes

Extreme▼

Moments in the script, mildest → most intense

Mildly Tense

Startling Moments

Genuinely Scary

Deeply Disturbing

The Chokey is described in graphic detail — a tall, narrow hole with nails and jagged edges sticking out from the walls and a drippy pipe — and children are repeatedly threatened with being placed inside it. This is the film's most frightening concept and is likely to disturb younger or sensitive children.
Miss Trunchbull's violent outbursts and threatening behaviour toward children recur throughout the film — she is portrayed as a genuinely dangerous authority figure, not a buffoonish one, which makes her more unsettling than typical cartoon villains.
The revelation that Miss Honey's father died under suspicious circumstances — with implied foul play by Miss Trunchbull — introduces a disturbing real-world darkness unexpected in a family comedy.
Miss Trunchbull discovers her doll has gone missing and responds with a threatening, barely controlled rage that creates genuine tension about the consequences for the children involved.
A newt placed in Miss Trunchbull's drinking glass causes a startling reaction when she mistakes it for a snake — a sudden, loud moment likely to make younger children jump.
The classroom confrontation where Matilda uses her powers to make chalk write a threatening message from 'Magnus' (Miss Honey's dead father) is an intense, supernatural sequence but is resolved when Miss Trunchbull flees in terror. The scary elements are ultimately defeated by the child protagonist, which is reassuring for young viewers.

💕Romance

Moderate▼

Moments in the script, mildest → most intense

Crushes & Holding Hands

Kissing & Dating

Suggestive

Sexual Content

Harry and Zinnia Wormwood exchange flirtatious pet names including 'Lovekins,' 'heartstrings,' and 'Snickerdoodle' — affectionate and silly rather than romantic in any meaningful way for children.
A brief reference is made to a game show called 'The Million Dollar Sticky' containing mild innuendo — it is fleeting and will pass over most children's heads entirely.
No kissing, no romantic storylines involving child characters, and no sexual content of any kind.

🍺Substances

Mild▼

Moments in the script, mildest → most intense

Mentioned in Passing

Shown Casually

Featured Prominently

Glorified or Abused

Harry Wormwood casually requests a beer when Miss Honey visits the family home — shown briefly as part of his character's general boorishness, not focused on or glorified.
Harry Wormwood's car dealership involves fraudulent repairs using Super Glue and sawdust, and the family is under FBI investigation for illegal business dealings — dishonesty and crime are shown as the Wormwood family's defining traits and are ultimately punished when they flee the country.
No drug use of any kind. Alcohol appears only once in passing. Criminal behaviour is shown as wrong and has consequences.

⚡Stimulation

Moderate▼

Moments in the script, mildest → most intense

Gently Engaging

Exciting

Intense

Overwhelming

The film's pacing is mostly moderate, with gentler scenes such as Matilda's tea and cookies visit to Miss Honey's cottage providing calm breathing room between more intense sequences.
The classroom confrontation where Matilda channels her telekinetic powers to write on the chalkboard while objects fly around the room is the film's most intense sequence — rapid, loud, and visually busy, though brief.
Miss Trunchbull being thrown out of the window by Matilda's powers is a sudden, high-energy climactic moment that is exciting rather than overwhelming.
Matilda discovering and practising her telekinetic powers is presented as a joyful, exciting sequence rather than a frightening one, and is well-paced for younger audiences.
Generally suitable for sensory-sensitive children, with two or three concentrated bursts of intensity rather than sustained sensory overload.

Matilda — Heads Up for Parents

The revelation that Miss Trunchbull likely murdered Miss Honey's father Magnus — presented as a matter-of-fact backstory detail during a quiet conversation at Miss Honey's cottage — is surprisingly dark for a PG family film and may prompt immediate, unexpected questions from younger children about death, inheritance, and whether adults can truly get away with harm.

About Matilda

Matilda is a 1996 fantasy-comedy about a gifted young girl named Matilda Wormwood who is neglected by her crooked, television-obsessed family and discovers she has telekinetic powers. She finds refuge in her kind teacher Miss Honey and together they face the terrifying school principal Miss Trunchbull, who physically abuses children and rules the school through fear. The film balances dark Roald Dahl humour with a heartwarming story about chosen family, the love of books, and a child finding her power.

👨‍👧

Best watched together

Children aged 7–9 in particular will benefit from a parent present to contextualise Miss Trunchbull's violence toward children (including the Chokey descriptions and Amanda Thripp being thrown by her pigtails), and to address the emotionally heavier revelation about Miss Honey's father's suspicious death — confident children 10+ can watch independently.

Family Takeaways from Matilda

What it gets right

✓The film powerfully validates a child's inner life — Matilda's love of books and learning is treated as genuinely extraordinary, making it a wonderful film to watch with children who feel different or overlooked.
✓The adoption resolution shows that children deserve to be chosen and cherished — the final scenes of Matilda and Miss Honey's new family unit are genuinely moving and open up natural conversations about what makes a family.

Matilda Cultural & Values Guide

Cultural & Values Guide

Values & Themes

●Traditional family values

Matilda's journey centers on finding true family love and belonging, contrasting her neglectful birth parents with the nurturing relationship she builds with Miss Honey. The film's emotional core celebrates the transformative power of genuine parental love and care.

Community Notes

Some parents and critics have noted that the film's portrayal of Matilda's neglectful, anti-intellectual family as broadly comic may feel uncomfortable given that parental neglect of a young child is the story's central trauma.
The ease with which Matilda's biological parents sign away custody with no apparent grief or legal complexity has been flagged by some commentators as a simplification that glosses over the realities of child welfare.

Cast:Mara WilsonDanny DeVitoRhea PerlmanEmbeth DavidtzPam Ferris