MovieChat Forums > Matilda (1996) Discussion > This movie is VERY dark for a children's...

This movie is VERY dark for a children's film

posted 8 years ago by saint_sophie
20 replies | jump to latest

Does anyone else find this story/movie to have incredibly dark undertones? I know Roald Dahl was famous for writing 'dark' novels, but when I read between the lines of Matilda I do find it has quite harrowing themes to it, especially along the lines of child neglect and abuse. Miss Trunchbull is physically and psychologically torturous. She throws children out windows, locks them in an closet spiked with nails and humiliates an overweight boy while forcing him to consume an enormous chocolate cake which, in reality, would have probably killed him. She also repeatedly spits how she much she despises children if it wasn't obvious already.

Matilda's parents are shockingly neglectful though that's nothing compared to how Trunchbull treated kids. At least they weren't that abusive.

I also found Miss Honey's back story to be incredibly dark too. Another poster mentioned on here a while back how they wondered if Miss Honey had been sexually abused by Trunchbull. While I know for a fact that the Trunchbull was definitely physically abusive to Miss Honey (the book vaguely mentions this), I couldn't help but wonder if sexual abuse occurred too, even though there is little evidence to support this in the film and the novel.

Incredibly dark for what is essentially a kid's film/story. *shudders*

[–] Purple_Cloud_9 8 years ago

I don't think Miss Trunchbull would have sexually abused Miss Honey because she loathed children and wouldn't want anything sexual to do with them.

[–] ricky_says_hi 8 years ago

Yeah it's sort of got that dark Simpsons quality to it. Basically all the villains are so over the top about what they do that the dissonance makes it funny. And it's sort of part of the charm. The lessons are presented in a way that children can process it.

Dahl often made a point that sometimes there are just terrible parents in the world - especially in this, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach and sort of The Magic Finger. And the moral of the story is that their children can either become victims to this abuse and end up just as rotten as the parents, or else they can hold onto their goodness and remain good people in spite of the hardships they suffer. Not exactly the most child friendly lesson out there, but a good one nonetheless.

[–] The_Ultimate_Hippo 8 years ago

It's implied that Mrs.Trunchbull did sexually molest Miss Honey and wanted to do the same thing to Matilda.

"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine

[–] fede_4488 8 years ago

WTF? When did the movie imply that? Only in your sick twisted mind maybe

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[–] jarethismyking 8 years ago

It is very dark. The thing I find most disturbing when I watch it as an adult is when Miss Honey is telling her story and says the police said her father killed himself. I didn't understand suicide until a very late age, so I wonder what I thought about that when I was watching it as a kid. I guess I glossed over it and assumed that Trunchbull killed him, as it's insinuated.

[–] fede_4488 8 years ago

Watched today for the first time as an adult. That talk of suicide between Matilda and Ms Honey was some dark sh.t.
It's hard to watch that scene now having experienced depression myself :(

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[–] dan-castor5 8 years ago

Maybe dark for today's wimpy kids. but not for us 90's kids.

[–] Purplecover101 8 years ago

Just by the way Miss Trunchbull grabs Miss Honey's arm implies that she might have.
That part always creeped me out as a kid

[–] fede_4488 8 years ago

She didn't imply, Trunchbull said she broke her arm once and Miss Honey said she's not 7 anymore.

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[–] jim-w-itte 7 years ago

> Maybe dark for today's wimpy kids. but not for us 90's kids.

I saw about the last half of it today and thought, "what the heck was this rated?" - and saw it was "only" PG.. But it was also 1996. I'm guessing today it would get a PG-13? I was thinking, "why isn't this "R" - something like PG-16? But then, I'm a (serious) wimp when it comes to abuse - be it real, implied, or over-the-top-obviously-not-meant-to-be-real. So maybe kids back then had sterner stomachs.

(Or actually, the liberal-ratings-MPAA-people thought people used to have sterner stomachs. See the 2016 "What’s Happened To The University?: A sociological exploration of its infantilisation" by Furedi, Frank [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1138212938/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00], and its review in the Wall Street Journal "Free Thought Under Siege" [http://www.wsj.com/articles/free-thought-under-siege-1478737019] )

[–] justahero 8 years ago

I think that´s just leftism talking to you...these days everyone is so cautious about everything...

This movies does not care and takes no crap...it´s charming...especially the ending when Matilda had adoption papers all her life waiting for someone kind to take her...

[–] monstermayhem32 8 years ago

While the film does have the dark subject of neglect and abuse but it is also charming and funny.

[–] mimsies 7 years ago

I think that´s just leftism talking to you...

CUE eye roll. Pathetic, that comment.

Much like Stephen King and all his light fluffy novels.

[–] MerylStreeplove4 8 years ago

This movie came out when I was very young, wasn't even in school yet, but it's not bad. I grew up in an environment where we basically watched what we wanted (no really scary stuff or inappropriate) and my dad bought us TONS of movies, not scared. In a world where there's lots of children very sheltered and others left to their own devices, let the children decide. Maybe one part scares them, next time they don't need to watch that part but opening them up to it is a good thing. Working at a movie theatre myself for the past almost 5 years, it's your choice! Lots of good lessons in this too and letting kids know not everything is fair.

[–] Harbinger_3781 8 years ago

Well, for me, it was quite inspiring. The movie's story was intriguing, and the protagonist, Matilda... her character kinda helped open up a big new cosmos. Her attributes and her Carrie powers... made me question her real heritage.

Who is Matilda? I don't think she was born out of Wormwood loins, and the movie gave out strong indications that she was adopted. Adding up her sharp contrast with her family, her qualities and her instant liking to - and connection with - Ms. Honey... they even shared the same hair tone! If this question holds up, then who are Matilda's biological parents?

Okay, sounds crazy, yes I know. But this movie really is fascinating, and I rarely find movie half as fascinating as this lately. Like Stuart Little, there're many "rifts" in this story that can be explored.

Think about this - Matilda inherited from her biological mother(who, at this point, I assume it was Ms. Honey - a married woman under amnesia and alias) the attributes of love, kindness, compassion and people skills, her rebellion, hardness, calm, and her telekinetic powers were her father's(whose identity remained a mystery but definitely someone high-up, distinguished, and outrageous), and her intellectual, literature and art skills, her courage, bravery and tactical awareness were from both bloodlines. Then you fill in the rest.

Yes, some part of this movie can be pretty dark, but sometimes, darkness is where the facinating areas are.

[–] meegirl1025 7 years ago

THE TRUNCHBULL IS LIKE ADOLF HITLER!!!

[–] lubin-freddy 7 years ago

A child's world is often quite horrifying, even in the best of circumstances. You're powerless, faced with forces, human and other, that can become malevolent and dangerous at a moment's notice, with no explanation that a child can understand.

We, as adults, mostly forget this, and create a nostalgia for a more innocent time. Dahl was one of the few authors of children's books who was able to express this dark side of childhood. And this film was the only Dahl adaptation that really got it right.

What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.

[–] ricky_says_hi 7 years ago

And to those who talk about the concept of suicide, Miss Honey recognised that Matilda was far wiser and more intelligent than the average six-year-old. And so didn't feel the need to patronise her about such subjects. Some would argue that it's necessary to be blunt about such things with children - so they can properly understand the topic.