Matilda Movie Vs Book

Matilda: Book or Movie?
Roald Dahl’s, Matilda, easily became a classic among both children and adults. Its rich and captivating story is intriguing to all ages, and creates a world of pure imagination and childish adventure. The story was published in 1988, and was later adapted into a film in upcoming years. Neither book, nor movie lack in description and detail, but there are differences between the two. Overall the movie, which was later filmed in 1996, stayed true to the original story, yet the few differences are quite noticeable.
The book, Matilda, takes place in England, and follows the story of a highly intelligent young girl by the name of Matilda Wormwood. As the oddball of her family, Matilda struggles to express herself at home.

Her family consists of her mother and father, Mrs. Wormwood and Harry Wormwood, and her brother, Michael Wormwood. Throughout the story, Matilda discovers many new friends including, Lavender, Miss Honey, and the local librarian. However, she just as easily made a few enemies along the way, including her self-absorbed parents and her evil headmistress The Trunchbull. The Trunchbull takes extreme measures when disciplining the children of the school. One example of her terrible punishments is known as “The Chokey.” Thankfully, Matilda is never thrown into the terrifying closet-like room in the book. Through these intimidating experiences with her cruel and over-bearing headmistress, the brilliant Matilda soon discovers that her abilities pass superior intellect and cross over into the world of the supernatural, but she sadly loses these powers later on. In the end, her father, Harry Wormwood, is found to be a corrupt salesman selling faulty cars to his customers. To avoid the authorities the Wormwood family decides to flee to Spain in hopes of escaping the British legal system. These intended plans horrify Matilda, which leaves her begging Miss Honey to stay with her in England. To Matilda’s relief her mother and father agree to leave her behind with Miss Honey, but forgo any paper work to legalize it. As they depart, Matilda’s brother is the only one to show any acknowledgement of their parting by waving goodbye from the car window.
The movie shares many of the same characteristics as the book, but falls short in capturing every element.

A major difference that is evident is the setting. The movie does not take place in England, but instead is set within the United States. However, Matilda is still the outcast of her family, and is pressured into being more like the traditional Wormwood.. Matilda makes just as many friends as she did in the book, which helps her on her journey of self-acceptance. The Trunchbull is easily the most consistent character compared to both the book and movie. She is just as evil and sadistic in the movie as she is in the book. “The Chokey” is also a similarity between the two; however, in the movie, Matilda is put into “The Chokey” as a form of punishment which she is not in the book. Another parallel between the book and movie are the powers Matilda acquires. She obtains the power of telekinesis which proves to be very helpful to her in later events, but she does not lose her powers as she did in the novel. Also, Harry Wormwood is still a skeevy car salesman, but he is being watched by the FBI instead of the British law. His plan to flee the country is still in play, but the Wormwood family’s destination is now Guam. Matilda’s reaction to this news is accurate to that of the novel. She is very upset and implores Miss Honey to take her in. Of course, Miss Honey is thrilled by the idea and begs Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood if they would consider such a solution. After only a few minutes of consideration they agree to the proposal, but what differs from the book is that the decision is legally confirmed by the Wormwoods signing an adoption form. Finally, as her family is leaving, her mother is the one that shows the most emotion as they depart, not Michael. The ending of the novel and the film do differ, but the overall results are the same; Matilda happily stays with Miss

Honey.
The story of precious Matilda is one that will always be cherished. Taking all things into account, I think the novel offers more detail for the audience than the movie, but either one is comparable. Although the movie does differ from the book, both execute the story in a way that stays true to the originality of its purpose and message. Matilda, book and movie, teaches a wise lesson to both audiences. It proves to show that some people are bigger, and some people are smaller, but the size of a person does not reflect their significance to the world.