When I think about my childhood and the people and places that left a mark on me, Matilda always comes to mind. Her goodness, her curiosity, her love for reading—I was a five-year-old kid, and I wanted to be just like her. I felt most at home at a library, and every time I had a bad teacher, I’d pray for one just like Miss Honey. Every time my younger brother and I would each eat chocolate cake, we’d geek out about the movie together. I’m pretty sure I even owned a dress just like Matilda’s. She’s so integral to so many of us millennials that it’s both strange and comforting to know that the original movie is now reaching its 30th anniversary. It’s comforting, and in this climate, so reassuring that it still holds up because the same can’t be said for everything we loved as kids.
I wasn’t a fan of the book, but I loved—still love—Matilda with my whole heart. And the fact that kids today are discovering it and are equally as opposed as we were is what shows how brilliantly timeless it is. How even though it’s been nearly three decades, it can still crack everything in us wide open again and make the dreariest day just a little bit brighter.
From Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord’s screenplay to Danny DeVito’s remarkable directing, Matilda results in the kind of adaptation that’s genuinely admirable. It not only takes the best part of the book, but the layers every actor brings to their respective characters are where it shines. It’s why it’s so easy to continue loving it, even when so much from our childhoods is now dated and problematic. At the same time, Matilda isn’t dark for all the wrong reasons, but it’s a cautionary tale that explores the nuances of how to understand children. What it means to be a parent and a teacher, and how the lines blur. It’s a reminder to trust kids, their instincts, and the timeline in which each of them learns.
It’s also rare in its jackpot casting, all of whom are beloved today: Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, Pam Ferris, and the whole cast—they are, each in their own way, perfect for the role, and that fact becomes truer with every rewatch. The soundtrack, the narration, how every frame is brimming with layers and beats worthy of deconstruction—there’s no part of Matilda that doesn’t shine even brighter today. There really isn’t, because even the color-grading is comforting.
As a critic, there’s something uniquely satisfying about the movies from our childhoods that continue to hold up. Once we notice a fault, or something that simply no longer works for us, these nostalgic movies become harder to watch. Some we can ignore and continue to respect despite those faults, but others, you have to accept that it’s merely a product of its time and move on. Matilda is rare in that it’s genuinely so sensational still that for someone like me, the chance to review it 30 years later feels like a specific kind of gift I can’t put into words.
It’s evoking a response that’s so specific to my love for storytelling and books and the characters who also hold deep respect for stories in a lasting way. Matilda and her love for reading reflected this while I was younger, and looking back now as a writer, the idea becomes even more magical. Because her love for stories and mine feel like a special form of magic that those of us who love imagined worlds can never quite find the words for. It’s healing and cathartic to see that the little girl who obsessively rewatched the movie writes books of her own and gets to pursue a job where she constantly talks about other people’s stories.
That’s not something I can say about every movie. But I can sing its praises 30 years later and confidently affirm that it gets better and better with time. The magic in Matilda is not in her powers, but it’s in the way she loves stories. It’s in the friendships and the found family. It’s in the proof that a picnic and routines and shared joy can create something that’s utterly indescribable. It’s in her love for learning and the importance of finding a safe space in every area, for kids and adults, that makes it so universally beloved.
First Featured Image Credit: ©TriStar Pictures