Matilda (Mara Wilson) is an extraordinary girl, a child of wondrous intelligence. Unfortunately, her neglectful and deeply stupid parents, Harry and Zinnia Wormwood (Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman) are too wrapped up in their own little lives to care, or even to notice that their daughter is a budding genius, in love with books and with learning. When the Wormwoods finally grant Matilda’s wish to attend school, they bundle her off to Crunchem Hall, a bleak brick prison where students cower before the whip-hand and fist of a hulking monster, principal Agatha Trunchbull (Pam Ferris). Amid Crunchem’s darkness, Matilda finds a single light in warm-hearted Miss Honey (Embeth Davidtz), the first-grade teacher who recognizes the girl’s remarkable skills — including a very special talent that allows the spirited girl to turn the tables on the wicked grownrups in her world.