Movies Like Matilda

Frequently asked about Matilda

Common questions people search for, with answers written by us at MoviesPack.

• How does Matilda discover her telekinetic powers?▾

  Matilda's powers surface during a moment of intense frustration when her father, Harry Wormwood, rips up her library book and forces her to watch television with the family. The pent-up anger causes the TV to explode, and she gradually realizes she can move objects by concentrating and pointing. She later practices and refines this ability in secret, eventually using it to terrorize Miss Trunchbull.

• What is the connection between Miss Honey and Miss Trunchbull?▾

  Miss Honey is Miss Trunchbull's niece. After Miss Honey's father Magnus died under suspicious circumstances when she was a child, Trunchbull moved in as her guardian and treated her as a servant. Trunchbull also took over the family house and refused to give Miss Honey her father's will, leaving her impoverished and living in a tiny cottage on a teacher's meager salary.

• What really happened to Miss Honey's father Magnus?▾

  The film strongly implies that Miss Trunchbull murdered Magnus, her own brother-in-law, though his death was officially ruled a suicide. Matilda finds Magnus's old belongings and a photograph at Trunchbull's house, and uses chalk telekinetically to write a message on the blackboard pretending to be Magnus's ghost, accusing Trunchbull of killing him and demanding she give Jenny back her house and wages.

• Why does Matilda end up living with Miss Honey at the end?▾

  When the FBI closes in on Harry Wormwood for selling stolen cars, the family hastily packs to flee to Guam. Matilda, who has long felt unloved and out of place, begs to stay with Miss Honey, and produces adoption papers she had prepared in advance. Her parents sign them without hesitation, finally giving Matilda the loving home she always wanted.

• What is the significance of the Bruce Bogtrunchbull cake scene?▾

  Trunchbull forces Bruce Bogtrunchbull to eat an entire enormous chocolate cake in front of the whole school as punishment for stealing a slice from her personal supply. The scene becomes a turning point because Bruce, cheered on by his classmates, actually finishes the cake, defying Trunchbull's intent to humiliate him. It shows the students that solidarity can blunt Trunchbull's cruelty and foreshadows the larger rebellion Matilda leads.