This is essentially a story geared for children, with a familiar theme that the kid is smarter than any adult, which has gotten tiresome in the last decade or two. Here, though, you can't take any of this seriously because everything is exaggerated so much it's like a pure fantasy-comedy story. Author Roald Dahl, as he did with Willy Wonka, liked to create exaggerated characters.
'Matilda' (Mara Wilson) has outrageous parents and a super-outrageous school principal. All of the, frankly, are fun to watch but, once again, it gives kids bad messages, such as (1) parents are no good; (2) authority figures are no good; (3) you be the boss, not the adult, etc. etc. I know this is an "exaggerated" wild story but those are irresponsible messages typical of filmmakers. You see them all the time.
The movie moves along at a good clip with few, if any, boring spots. It gets a bit carried away at the end, but most comedies are guilty of that. Summary: as the cliché goes, "fun for all ages."
'Matilda' (Mara Wilson) has outrageous parents and a super-outrageous school principal. All of the, frankly, are fun to watch but, once again, it gives kids bad messages, such as (1) parents are no good; (2) authority figures are no good; (3) you be the boss, not the adult, etc. etc. I know this is an "exaggerated" wild story but those are irresponsible messages typical of filmmakers. You see them all the time.
The movie moves along at a good clip with few, if any, boring spots. It gets a bit carried away at the end, but most comedies are guilty of that. Summary: as the cliché goes, "fun for all ages."