[[foldercontrol]]

!!Titular Character
[[folder:Matilda Wormwood]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/matilda_movie.png]]
[[[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/innoform_media_katelyn_brett_and_zoey_mariah_rosen_5.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:1000: Matilda as a newborn baby.]]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/MaraWilson (6.5 years old); Katelyn and Zoey Rosen (newborn, uncredited); Kayla and Kelsey Fredericks (nine months); Caitlin and Amanda Fein (2 years old), Sara Magdalin(now Sara Cammorata)(4 years old); Cleo Demetriou (original cast, West End musical)

The title character and main protagonist. A very intelligent young girl who is unfortunately raised by emotionally neglectful parents.
----
* TheAce: She's a brilliant and confident LittleMissBadass who's able to use her intelligence to excel at school and outsmart adults, and after she learns to control her PsychicPowers, she becomes pretty much unbeatable. She also has social skills and gets along well with all her classmates, as lampshaded in the book. Her only "flaw" is having a terrible family.
* AdorablyPrecociousChild: An adorable child with the maturity of someone twice her age.
* AllLovingHero: Despite being raised by a despicable family, Matilda is a bright and intelligent child that quickly made friends at her new school.
* BadassAdorable: A brave little girl with supernatural powers.
* BadassBookworm: She prefers to read books rather than watch TV for fun, unlike the rest of her couch-potato family.
* BerserkButton:
** Being accused of something she didn't do -- and this is actually what triggers her PsychicPowers in the first place.
** She can't stand other children being hurt, or her books being taken from her.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Matilda is one of the nicest children you could wish to meet -- as long as you don't make her mad.
* BlueIsHeroic: In the movie, Matilda often dresses in blue, though she's often seen wearing a [[RedIsHeroic red hair ribbon]].
* BookSmart: Matilda is only 5 (or 6 and a half in the film) but has exceptional reading and mathematical skills, to the point that she SurpassedTheTeacher at school.
* {{Bookworm}}: Loves reading more than watching TV.
* BrainyBrunette: Very, very brainy, and is usually depicted with brown hair.
* BullyHunter: Of the anti-SadistTeacher variety since she goes out of her way to stand up against Miss Trunchbull for bullying her friends, especially Lavender.
* ChildishBangs: To emphasize her young age, despite her massive intelligence.
* ChildProdigy: She spoke in full sentences when she was one and a half, taught herself to read adult novels when she was four, and by the time she's in first grade, has already memorized the 12-times table (in the film, she is able to multiply 13×379 in her head in about 3 seconds, as well as figure out how much money her father earned in a day selling low-quality cars), can write limerick poetry, and [[spoiler:single-handedly devises a plan to get rid of the school's abusive headmistress using nothing more than her powers, a piece of chalk, and some information about said headmistress's past she was able to glean from talking to Miss Honey]].
* ChildrenDoTheHousework: She had to pretty much raise herself because her parents are so neglectful that they repeatedly forget she even exists. By age of 4, she had already taught herself how to cook.
* CrazyPrepared: Matilda has kept adoption papers on hand since she was big enough to xerox them for herself.
* CuteBookworm: Matilda is an adorable child who loves reading more than anything else.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Matilda succeeds in chasing The Trunchbull away permanently from Crunchem Hall, bringing peace to the school. On top of that, she moves away from her AbusiveParents and becomes HappilyAdopted by Miss Honey.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: A mild example since we know little about Michael, but Matilda is the precocious and Responsible sister to Michael's comparably Foolish generic brother. Played very straight in the movie and the musical, due to Michael's portrayal as a BigBrotherBully in the former and a KindheartedSimpleton in the latter.
* GeniusBookClub: Matilda has already made significant inroads into the Western Canon by the time she starts school.
* GentlemanAndAScholar: Matilda is a genuinely sweet-natured kid, and never thinks of herself as superior for her brains. If she's asked anything intellectual, she will respond in a polite fashion. She really only dislikes people who are annoying or rude to her. The book carefully emphasizes this. And even then, she tries to have some patience with her parents.
* GoodWithNumbers: She's able to multiply large numbers in her head in a few seconds.
* GuileHero: Once she learns [[spoiler:Trunchbull's weakness (in the film) -- she's extremely superstitious]], she exploits it to her full advantage.
* HappilyAdopted: By Miss Honey, at the end. Matilda's happy to be rescued from her abusive family and live with her kindhearted teacher.
* KidHero: She's only five in the book and musical, [[AgeLift six and a half]] in the film.
* LikeParentUnlikeChild: Matilda's parents are incredibly [[AbusiveParents horrible]] and vapid people who prefer watching mindless {{soap opera}}s and game shows. Matilda's father in particular is an incredibly [[HonestJohnsDealership dishonest car salesman]]. Matilda in contrast however is a very sweet and [[WiseBeyondTheirYears extremely intelligent]] girl who loves books and learning. She's also fully aware how wrong and dangerous the stunts her father pulls to make a quick buck. How she could be the child to such horrible people is beyond baffling.
* LittleMissBadass: Able to use her prodigious intellect (and newly discovered telekinetic powers) against the Trunchbull.
* LittleMissSnarker: Matilda is very good at this especially towards her family in particularly her dad like this exchange:
-->'''Harry Wormwood:''' You little cheat. You saw the paper!\\
'''Matilda:''' ''(deadpan)'' From all the way over here?
* MindOverMatter: Matilda's telekinetic powers.
* NiceGirl: She's very polite and friendly by nature; it takes a ''lot'' to make her angry.
* OnlySaneWoman: She is a very bright and intelligent young woman while her family (well, mainly her parents) are wretched and shallow people. Her brother is average and generic in the book, a BigBrotherBully in the movie and a KindheartedSimpleton in the musical.
* PluckyGirl: So what's a little super-smart girl to do? Obviously, play some 'subduing' pranks on your boastful, corrupt father to take him down a peg, then develop your latent psychokinetic powers to help that nice teacher who recognised your genius.
* ShorterMeansSmarter: Of her family, she is usually depicted as the shortest (justified in that she is the youngest) and what makes her different from the rest of her family is that she greatly values book smarts and her own intelligence.
* SurpassedTheTeacher: It is clear that Matilda has intellectual capabilities that are certainly beyond those of her teacher, Miss Honey.
* SurroundedByIdiots: {{Downplayed|Trope}} example, but Matilda did not seem to hold a lot of regard toward her parents, though that's more because they were shallow and superficial people. It's not known how she felt toward her brother, though.
* TokenGoodTeammate: The only person in her family who acts and aspires to be honest, cultured, and polite, in contrast to her family's crookery, anti-intellectualism, and rudeness.
* TheUnfavorite: At least with her dad, who prefers Michael over her. Not much seen with their mother, though Matilda does seem a little closer to her mom. In the movie, Harry explicitly refers to Matilda as a "mistake" -- when talking about his children with Miss Trunchbull he says, "I got a boy, Mikey, and one mistake, Matilda."
* WackyParentSeriousChild: She's the serious child to her wacky, ignorant parents. {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in that, due to their AntiIntellectualism, this serves as a major source of tension between them.
* WhiteSheep: Matilda serves as this compared to the rest of her family, or rather her parents, who are rude, dishonest jerks, whilst she wants to be a good, intelligent and cultured person. Her brother is somewhere in the middle.
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: She says she likes to read just about anything. It's implied that the two reasons she wasn't in advanced placement (until the end) were because her parents don't believe in the value of education — and, of course, the Trunchbull's dislike of young children.
[[/folder]]

!!Wormwood Family
[[folder:The Wormwoods]]
The mean and abusive parents of Matilda.
----
* AbusiveParents: Matilda's parents verbally berate her and neglect her every need.
* AcademiaElitism: Inverted in the movie, where they look down on education and book learning, with Zinnia looking down on Ms. Honey for choosing education over looks, and Harry seeing colleges as full of "hippies and cesspool salesmen."
* AdaptationalComicRelief: In the book, Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood are just AbusiveParents to Matilda and Michael is a FlatCharacter who remains OutOfFocus, though the parents have some comedic moments (like Harry being pranked by Matilda or their embarrassing meeting with Miss Honey). In the 1996 movie, their antics are PlayedForLaughs much more, and they act much sillier and goofier than their book counterparts.
* AdaptationalKarma: Subtly done with the setting change from the UK to America. In the end of the book, the Wormwoods flee the authorities to Spain. At the end of the film, they flee to Guam. But since Guam is a ''US territory'', it's likely that the FBI might catch up to them, thus giving them a direct comeuppance for their abuse of Matilda and Harry's dishonest business.
* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: When Miss Honey visits Matilda's parents, Mr. Wormwood noisily slurps a beer and both parents take cheap potshots at Matilda's teacher. In the movie, Matilda's super glue hat prank plays out in public.
* AntiRoleModel: They are horribly negative examples of parents or people in general.
-->'''Harry:''' Why would you want to read when you got the television set sitting right in front of you?
* BigBadWannabe: As it turns out, Agatha Trunchbull is far worse than they are.
* ChubbyMamaSkinnyPapa: They're this in the book, but it's inverted in the film.
* DaytimeDramaQueen: Matilda's parents are addicted to television, which is shown as one of their many character flaws. When Miss Honey goes to visit them at home, there's an American soap opera on, and Mrs. Wormwood in particular objects to being interrupted when "Willard is just about to propose to Angelica!". (The film version changes it to a boxing match, and Mrs. Wormwood gets upset for missing out on the end).
* DoesntKnowTheirOwnChild: In the movie adaptation, they both think Matilda is only four, and she answers, "I'm six and a half. I was six in August!" In a later scene, her father even calls her "[[AccidentalMisnaming Melinda]]".
* FantasyForbiddingFather: Matilda's parents don't understand Matilda's love of books and learning, rejecting her for it. They prefer the more mundane Michael who shares their love of television and is being coached to take over his father's company.
* FatBastard: Matilda's mother in the book and her father in the movie.
* HappilyMarried: Well, you can tell they are perfect for each other. Although they have occasional spats and she is a GoldDigger TrophyWife, they manage to make up within a matter of hours and generally seem happy together.
* InsufferableImbecile: They are both abusive {{Jerkass}}es and uncultured idiots, and Harry actively gets mad that Matilda likes reading.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: In the film, the family successfully flees the FBI, but they fled to ''Guam''. Guam is a US territory, and US law enforcement is perfectly capable of arresting them there and extraditing back to the US, so their lack of book smarts likely [[LaserGuidedKarma bit them on the ass]] in the end.
* LaughablyEvil: For the most part, Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood (at least in the movie) are incredibly goofy as opposed to terrifying. While they're neglectful jerks, they're not violent to Matilda. They're silly, their home decor is pure kitsch and their fashion sense is very tacky. Most of their antics are played for laughs, and Matilda can run rings around them and humiliate them any time they mistreat her badly.
* MeaningfulName: The Wormwoods (Matilda excluded) are as sleazy as they come. The name is also a metaphor for bitterness, to go with their being unpleasant [[spoiler:and to contrast with [[HappilyAdopted Miss Honey]]]].
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: More Jerkasses than villains, but had they not sent Matilda to Crunchem Hall, then there would be nobody that could stop Miss Trunchbull's reign of terror.
* PairTheDumbOnes: They are both ignorant and shallow people who take pride in their AntiIntellectualism, to the point that they hate their smart daughter because she loves reading books.
* ParentalNeglect: The Wormwoods leave Matilda alone in the house all day. It gets worse when Matilda starts going to school, and they're not concerned for her safety even when she returns home late at night.
* SkewedPriorities: In the movie. When Trunchbull keeps the school five hours over regular dismissal, Mr. Wormwood demands to know where Matilda was upon her arrival home. Not because he was worried about his daughter's safety, but because his packages weren't brought in. Same with his wife; she wasn't the least bit concerned over her husband berating Matilda, but was instead upset over the packages that he gets for his business.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Matilda's mother believes herself to be beautiful and seductive, while her husband regards himself as sly and intelligent. Neither could be further from the truth.
* TinyGuyHugeGirl: Both book and movie. In the book, Matilda's mother is tall and pudgy, and her father is short and skinny. While their FatAndSkinny roles are reversed in the movie, their relative heights are still the same as in the book.
* WackyParentSeriousChild: The Wormwoods are this to Matilda, but not to Michael.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Harry Wormwood]]
[[quoteright:233:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harry_30.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/DannyDeVito; Paul Kaye (original cast, West End musical)

Matilda's dishonest father. He makes a living off of scamming people with worn down cars.
----
* AbusiveParents: By far the worse of the two parents, in both the book and movie. He's awful to Matilda. He talks down to her almost all the time, especially in times where she's showing off her intelligence. He once destroyed a book she borrowed from the library, with his novel counterpart doing it out of spite for American authors and out of jealousy of his daughter's intellect.
* AdaptationalJerkass: As far as we know, his book counterpart [[ParentalObliviousness doesn't know anything]] about Trunchbull's evil and abusive ways. In the movie, he decides to send Matilda to school only after talking to principal Trunchbull, who makes it very clear that she's a sadistic ChildHater. He even agrees with her that beating up children is a good thing.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Downplayed. He is still a mean dad in the film, but unlike in the book, he has some humanizing moments.
** In the book, he tears apart Matilda's library book simply out of envy, whereas in the film, he did it because he thought she was reading pornography.[[note]]For context, the book Matilda was reading in the film was ''Literature/MobyDick'', and not ''Literature/TheRedPony'' like in the book.[[/note]]
** When Matilda insists on being adopted by Miss Honey, Harry shows reluctance about that decision and empathetically asks Zinnia if they should allow it.
** Considering both the narrator and Harry are voiced by Danny [=DeVito=], it is implied he genuinely regretted his treatment of Matilda in the movie adaptation.
* AnimalMotifs: In the book, he is described as having [[YouDirtyRat rat-like qualities]] and the accompanying artwork gives him facial features to match, which is appropriate, given his [[HonestJohnsDealership profession]] and [[{{Slimeball}} personality]].
* AntiEducationMama: In the book, when Matilda asks her mother if she can take her dinner to her room so she can read while she eats, her father loses his temper and asks her if she thinks the TV isn't good enough.
* AssholeVictim: Subverted in the movie. Trunchball is angry at him for scamming her... but [[SinsOfOurFathers takes her anger out on his daughter Matilda instead]]. It's played straighter when she threatens him over the phone. You'd almost want her to go through with it.
* TheAtoner: Considering both Harry and the narrator are played Danny [=DeVito=], it is {{implied|Trope}} Harry deeply regretted how he treated Matilda in the film-verse.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Harry scowling at a baby Matilda with a groan after she's born quickly establishes what kind of person he is.
* FictionFiveHundred: In the film at least, is apparently a multi-millionaire with "money and banks all over the planet". Considering how his family lives, take this with a grain of salt.
* GreenEyedMonster: The narration implies or outright states several times that his frustration over Matilda's intelligence is a matter of envy, and that he, a grown man who prides himself on his (supposed) cleverness, can't stand being "shown up" by someone so much younger and smaller than himself; he is already in a bad temper coming home on one occasion, but seeing her ignoring the television to focus on reading her library book makes him downright furious, and he destroys it page by page in a fit of spite. Even when he's pleased with himself one evening after making a great deal of money, Matilda quickly figuring out in her head what the correct amount was -- a long but rather simple sum that took him almost ten whole minutes to do and still got it wrong, ''on paper'' -- makes him feel like a complete idiot and spoils his mood for the rest of the night.
-->Matilda froze. The father kept going. There seemed to be little doubt that the man felt some kind of jealousy. How dare she, he seemed to be saying with each rip of a page, how dare she enjoy books when he couldn't? How dare she?
* HateSink: Despite having some humorous qualities, he is a greedy, callous, and barely redeemable asshole who verbally/emotionally abuses and neglects Matilda, and cons people by selling them cheaply made cars that he deliberately modifies to appear better, and overall has nothing remotely sympathetic about his personality.
* HonestJohnsDealership: Provides the page image. His secondhand car business. Matilda's dad is the stereotypical sleazy car salesman, even putting sawdust in the oil so that the engine will burn out and they have to come back and buy a new car. The film even contains a scene in which Mr. Wormwood teaches Michael the tricks to making a lemon look better... long enough for the customer to get far away from the dealership before it breaks down, so they can't just walk back and complain. [[BrickJoke It eventually happens to Miss Trunchbull, who figures him out too, but a little too late]].
* {{Hypocrite}}: During the car dealership scene, he says "The Feds want to test the ingenuity of the American businessman." This coming from a guy who runs an HonestJohnsDealership and already has the FBI on his tail for selling stolen car parts ([[TooDumbToLive to which he dismissively refers to as]] [[InsaneTrollLogic "speedboat salesmen"]]).
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: In the movie, his eventual decision to send Matilda to school is seen as a nice gesture by Matilda, who even hugs him. But Matilda doesn't know that he only decides that ''after'' talking to Trunchbull, who explicitly tells him what she thinks about children, so he ''willingly'' sends his daughter to a sadistic child-hating principal[[note]]In some fairness, he might genuinely believe in discipline and isn't aware that Trunchbull's actions go beyond discipline[[/note]]:
-->'''Trunchbull:''' My school is a model of discipline! Use the rod, beat the child. That's my motto.\\
'''Harry:''' Terrific motto!\\
'''Trunchbull:''' You have brats yourself?\\
'''Harry:''' Yeah, I got a boy, Mikey, and one mistake, Matilda.\\
'''Trunchbull:''' They're all mistakes, children! Filthy, nasty things. Glad I never was one.\\
'''Harry:''' Uh, huh. Well, since you're an educator, I'm going to make you a great deal.
* KarmaHoudini: He manages to sell a defective car to ''[[TheBrute the Trunchbull]]'' and get off scot-free!
* KarmicButtMonkey: After Harry mistreats his daughter, Matilda works out how to get even with him without being found out. His life turns into him suffering a series of painful mistakes that he's apparently the cause of.
* ParentalFavoritism: He inexplicably resents Matilda and refuses to believe she is any more intelligent than a lima bean, favoring her average if not mildly-crooked brother, Michael.
* PetTheDog:
** A small one in the film near the end. When Matilda was asking her parents to let Miss Honey adopt her, he seems to visibly struggle with the decision. He gets upset with Matilda and Michael talking because he is concentrating and trying to determine what his decision should be. Like his wife, he seemed to have some hesitance about handing his daughter over to her teacher despite his prior treatment of her, suggesting that he really did care about her on some level.
** He has a strange enigmatic case of this in the musical. When it's clear TheMafiya is after him, he runs to the library to find Matilda rather than leave her behind. In his conversation with Honey, he addresses Matilda as his daughter after spitefully calling her "boy" and actually questions leaving Matilda with a stranger. This astonishes Matilda and perhaps convinces her that there's some humanity left him in and she saves him from getting beaten by the Mafia.
** While ultimately it was a bad decision in hindsight, Harry does decide to give his daughter an education. And when Matilda hugs him in gratitude, his does genuinely, albeit standoffishly, tell her it is going to be a good school.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: It's not touched on that much, but Mr. Wormwood in the book has a few lines of dialogue showing him to be prejudiced against Americans.
* {{Slimeball}}: Apart from being a bad father and a complete {{Jerkass}}, he is also a greedy and unscrupulous con artist who takes pride in ripping off his customers.
* SmugSnake: Shown best when he gleefully brags about the tricks he uses to scam customers without a hint of shame.
* StarterVillain: Serves as the antagonist for the first few chapters... but he quickly loses this title when the Trunchbull is introduced.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Zinnia Wormwood]]
[[quoteright:183:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zinnia.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Rhea Perlman; Josie Walker (original cast, West End musical)
Matilda's superficial mother.
----
* AdaptationalDumbass: While Matilda's mom is very shallow in the book, she's also marginally CloserToEarth than her husband. This doesn't apply to her movie version, where she's just an airhead.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: In the movie. Despite being portrayed as vapid and frivolous ([[AdaptationalDumbass even more than in the book]]), she's actually the most decent out of Matilda's three family members, while in the book, it was Michael (who gets the AdaptationalJerkass instead). At the end, she shows regret that she never understood her daughter, which never happens in the book. When the family is fleeing the country, she's the only one to wave good-bye to Matilda, while in the book it was ''Michael'' the one who did wave good-bye to Matilda and both parents didn't even look back.
* AdaptationalSlimness: She is much slimmer in the film than she is in the book, where illustrations depicted her as being plus-sized.
* DumbBlonde: An airheaded blonde, though she dyes her hair.
* FemaleMisogynist: PlayedForLaughs. In all adaptations and in the book, she looks down on women who read and are educated saying that "Bluestockings" don't get husbands and tells Miss Honey to her face that she's less better off than her... because she chose to get educated as a teacher and is working "teaching brats the ABC" and is unmarried, while Mrs. Wormwood is a HappilyMarried TrophyWife sitting pretty (nothing could be further from the truth).
* NamedByTheAdaptation: Mrs. Wormwood's [[NoFullNameGiven first name is not revealed]] in the book. The film calls her 'Zinnia'.
* OnlySaneByComparison: In the original book, she's a vain, vapid TrophyWife who believes women should prioritize looks over books, but she still comes off as more reasonable and practical than her husband, even if not by much. This doesn't carry over to most adaptations.
* PetTheDog:
** In the book, after Matilda collapses from practicing her telekinetic powers for the first time, Mrs. Wormwood shows some concern towards her and asks if she's feeling ill.
** In the movie, it's somewhat implied at the end that despite all her neglect and dislike for her, she does hold some affection for Matilda; she shows regret that she never understood her daughter, and humanity by giving her daughter away because she is better suited to a life with Miss Honey (while in the book, both parents drop their daughter without a second thought).
** She tells her daughter that there's food for her every time she leaves. While she really should stay at home and take care of her daughter or at least take her to a daycare instead, she has the decency to make sure to leave Matilda something to eat.
* TrophyWife: She's a housewife who wears exuberant (at best) clothing and doing nothing but dyeing her hair and cooking TV dinners, who boasts that she "chose looks" instead of books like Miss Honey and is better off for it. Except she is less visually attractive and older than the usual trope, and she's chosen a life where she's got nothing to do but sit around and watch TV. In the movie, her argument with Harry after he finds her entertaining the "speedboat salesmen" indicates she's not as satisfied with that as she claims.
* WomenAreWiser: Discussed and in the book version only, Mrs. Wormwood says something akin to this to Matilda.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Michael Wormwood]]
->'''Played by:''' Brian Levinson; Nicholas Cox (6 years old), Peter Howe (original cast, West End musical)
Matilda's older brother.
----
* AdaptationalDumbass: In the book, he's not particularly bright but not exactly stupid either. In the musical, he's a KindheartedSimpleton who completely lacks his parents' nastiness but is much too stupid to be of any use.
* AdaptationalJerkass: In the book, he's a "normal boy" who has a neutral to positive relationship with his sister (even waving to her at the end); in the film, he becomes an obnoxious FatBastard like his father as well as a BigBrotherBully.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: ...While in the ''musical'', he's become a KindheartedSimpleton who seems genuinely fond of his sister but is simply too stupid to realize when their parents are mistreating her.
* AdaptationalUgliness: In the book, he was of a normal weight. His movie counterpart is significantly chubbier.
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Given that Michael is something of a FlatCharacter who is barely mentioned in the book, it makes sense that any adaptation would want to expand his personality in different ways, depending on the media.
* AdaptedOut: He was barely in the musical and the 2022 movie omitted him completely.
* AgeLift: In the book and movie, he's ten years old. In the musical, he's a teenager played by an adult actor.
* BigBrotherBully: In the movie, he joins his family in being wretched to his sister. Averted in the book as they don't interact that much. Given how he did wave good-bye to his sister when his and the Wormwoods were fleeing the country, it's implied that they had at least a mildly decent relationship.
* ChildishOlderSibling: In the movie adaptation, he's much more immature than his younger sister [[WiseBeyondTheirYears Matilda]]. This is also present in the book, though it's [[DownplayedTrope to a much lesser degree]] and mainly in relative terms; he doesn't seem particularly immature for his age, but he still comes off as fairly childish compared to his [[WiseBeyondTheirYears very precocious]] younger sister.
* FatBastard: In the film, he's like his dad. He throws objects and insults at Matilda when they're alone. He's also physically big, being overweight.
* FatIdiot: In the movie, where in addition to being a mean-spirited BigBrotherBully to Matilda, he isn't shown to be very smart either.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: A mild example since we know little about Michael, but Michael is the comparably Foolish generic brother to Matilda's precocious and Responsible sister. Played very straight in the movie and the musical, due to Michael's portrayal as a BigBrotherBully in the former and a KindheartedSimpleton in the latter.
* TheGenericGuy: The first chapter describes him as a "perfectly normal boy" and he never gets much characterization. The entire point of him is to compare Matilda in terms of being extraordinary when compared to him.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Implied in the book. While he inherited his father's "love of crookery", he seems to have a fairly good relationship with his sister and waves goodbye to her when their parents take him with them out of the country; at least one audio drama adaptation has Matilda say that he's the only family member she'll actually miss. We say "implied" because he doesn't have much characterization.
* KindheartedSimpleton: The musical's depiction of him. He's not a bad person, but he is about as stupid as Matilda is intelligent. Most of his dialogue consists of repeating the last word the person before him spoke, in a dopey voice.
[[/folder]]

!!Crunchem Hall Elementary School
[[folder:Jennifer Honey]]
[[quoteright:259:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ms_honey_5.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/EmbethDavidtz; Amanda and Kristyn Summers (2 years old); Phoebe Pearl (5 years old), Lauren Ward (original cast, West End musical)

Matilda's kindly teacher. She's adored by her students, but carries a dark secret.
----
* AbledInTheAdaptation: Wears glasses in the book, but only for a single scene in the movie.
* AdaptationDyeJob: Miss Honey is [[InnocentBlueEyes blue-eyed]] in the book but brown-eyed in the movie.
* AffectionateNickname: In the movie, she reminisces that her father used to call her "Bumblebee." Matilda makes note of this.
* AgeLift: In the book, Miss Honey is twenty-three years old. Embeth Davidtz was thirty-one when the movie was released.
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: The pretty and sweet CoolTeacher in contrast to the hideous SadistTeacher Trunchbull.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Miss Honey is a very nice woman. However, in the movie, she finally stands up to Miss Trunchbull when she threatens to lock Matilda up in the Chokey. After years of abuse at the Trunchbull's hands, she reviles in her aunt finally getting her comeuppance.
* BrokenBird: She's very traumatized due to her DarkAndTroubledPast [[spoiler:and being raised by a sadistic and abusive aunt.]]
* CoolTeacher: There's a reason why all her students love her; in the film, her classroom has her students' art projects and colourful posters plastered all over the walls, which are covered up by plain and dull screens and curtains whenever the Trunchbull comes over for an inspection.
* CowardlyLion: In the film. She claims she wasn't brave enough to stand up to Miss Trunchbull, but she protects Matilda at every turn, from springing her out of the Chokey to taking the fall for being at her house.
* DaddysGirl: As a child, she was very close to her father.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: A terrible childhood, due to the loss of her father. [[spoiler:Being raised by her Aunt Trunchbull from that point onward certainly didn't help.]]
* {{Determinator}}: In making sure Matilda's genius is recognized and finding other opportunities for Matilda when neither Miss Trunchbull nor the parents agree.
* DisappointedInYou: She gently chides Matilda when she thinks Matilda broke her promise not to re-enter the Trunchbull's house...until Matilda proves moments later that she didn't need to due to her telekinesis.
* TheDogBitesBack: When Ms. Trunchbull threatens to break her arm in front of the classroom, Miss Honey's first instinct is to yank it away fiercely. She also suggests for Matilda to spin the Trunchbull on the globe.
-->"I am not seven years old anymore, Aunt Trunchbull!"
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Matilda successfully chases off the Trunchbull, allowing Miss Honey to move back to her father's home and become the next principal of Crunchem Hall (only in the movie), and adopts Matilda in the end.
* ExtremeDoormat: Justified. Trunchbull terrorized her for most of her life and she was initially too scared of her to defend herself and her students (although she still tries her best to be a kind TeamMom). She eventually GrewASpine thanks to Matilda's influence.
* FriendToAllChildren: The main characteristic that makes her the polar opposite of the Trunchbull.
* HotTeacher: G-rated version; she's apparently so lovely that she inspires Matilda to compose a poem about her the first day of class.
* MamaBear: While she seems an ExtremeDoormat at first, she becomes protective of Matilda and always stands up for her.
* MeaningfulName: Miss Honey is a very sweet teacher.
* NiceGirl: A kindhearted, loving and selfless woman who genuinely cares about her students.
* NotAfraidOfYouAnymore: After dealing with her abuse for a long time, Miss Honey finally stands up for herself against Trunchbull in the climax.
* OnlySaneWoman: When you look at the other main adults in Matilda's life, both of her parents are mean-spirited, apathetic and neglectful (along with Mrs. Wormwood being a vapid airhead in the film), and Trunchbull is an ill-tempered, sadistic ChildHater. Miss Honey ends up becoming the only reasonable one out of all of them through her consistently acting as a kind and protective ParentalSubstitute to Matilda, and at one point in the film calls out Mr. Wormwood for caring more about his TV than his own daughter.
* ParentalSubstitute: To Matilda, obviously. She adopts her at the end.
* ShrinkingViolet: Unlike [[PluckyGirl Matilda]], she's very submissive and shy, especially when it comes to Miss Trunchbull. She gets better at the end.
* SilkHidingSteel: She may be a shy, sweet ShrinkingViolet, but she's not afraid to speak her mind.
* StepfordSmiler: As mentioned by the narrator in the movie, "Miss Honey was a wonderful teacher, and a friend to everyone. But her life was not as simple and beautiful as it seemed. Miss Honey had a deep, dark secret. And though it caused her great pain, she didn't let it interfere with her teaching."
* TeamMom: She's not motherly just towards Matilda, but also the other children of her class.
* TookALevelInBadass: She finally stands up to the Trunchbull on behalf of her students near the story's end. What's especially noteworthy is that she musters up the physical strength to push one of the Trunchbull's arms away from her, despite the latter woman being an Olympian behemoth [[spoiler:who has already broken Miss Honey's arm at least once in the past.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Agatha Trunchbull]]
[[quoteright:315:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/agatha_trunchbull.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Pam Ferris, Bertie Carvel (musical)\\
''"Am I wrong? I'm never wrong. In this classroom, in this school, ''[[SuddenlyShouting I AM GOD!!!]]''"''
The cruel principal of Matilda's school.
----
* {{Acrofatic}}: More huge and muscular than actually fat, but in the movie she does say, "I like a joke as well as the next fat person!" She's also seen gorging on massive amounts of chocolate cake, which she cites as a personal snack she probably eats every day. Yet, she is a former Olympian and maintains athletic prowess.[[note]]This is actually TruthInTelevision, as athletes in a bulking phase are more likely to eat more calories to help foster more mass to turn into muscle, and even eating the most unhealthy foods can still mean weight loss if the calories consumed in a day are less than those burned, which Trunchbull almost certainly succeeds in for how frequently and intensely she trains.[[/note]]
* AdaptationalKarma: In the book, after being scared by Matilda writing on the blackboard with her powers, she just faints and then is brought to the sick room by other teachers, and by the next day, she has completely disappeared (from both the school and her house). In the movie, before leaving, she gets a much bigger HumiliationConga in front of the entire school, with all the children actually getting back at her. Notably, Bruce Bogtrotter shoves a handful of chocolate cake in her face in retaliation for her punishment against him.
* AdaptationalVillainy: In both the book and the film, she's a SadistTeacher to be sure, but it seems that in the film, she's even worse. Her 5-hour detention punishment she inflicted on the whole school happened only in the movie (in the book, she just dismisses them saying "Go to Blazes."), as is her punishing Matilda with Chokey Time [[SinsOfOurFathers just for the actions of her father]]. And when she faints after being scared by Matilda's trick and wakes up, she doesn't do what she did in the book and just leave and disappear. She essentially goes mad and throws another kid out of the window like she did with another child earlier (though this time Matilda saves him) and then tries to ram Lavender (which Matilda also stopped), which justifies her bigger karma there. Plus beforehand, she threatens to put Matilda into a place where not even the crows could land their droppings on her (which would most likely be even worse than [[IronMaiden the Chokey]]).
* AmbiguouslyHuman: The movie version has [[SuperStrength suspiciously superhuman strength]], and generally seems more like some kind of [[OurOgresAreHungrier ogre]] or [[OurGiantsAreBigger giant]] than a mere human.
* AssShove: She rings Matilda's father to complain about the terrible car he sold her and threatens to shove it up his "bazooga".
* AxCrazy: She's very unstable, prone to frightening violence against children, and is [[spoiler:also capable of murder]].
* BerserkButton: Miss Trunchbull hates many things, but one thing she apparently really can't stand is pigtails.
* BigBad: As the EvilPrincipal in charge of Crunchem Hall, she abuses the children under her care, and Matilda's goal is to resist and somehow stop her regime.
* BornAsAnAdult: She insists that she was never a child or a baby, and the fact that she apparently never was one is why she hates kids so much. She admits to Miss Honey that she was once a girl, but that she "became a woman very quickly."
* BrawnHilda: She's a hulking, squinty-eyed, downright scary ex-jock with a rotten temper.
* TheBrute: ''Especially'' when chasing Matilda and Miss Honey around her house.
* TheBully: She's basically a high-school JerkJock in the body of a middle-aged woman.
* CainAndAbel: With the strong implication that she killed her brother-in-law Magnus, she would be the Cain to his Abel.
* CassandraTruth: The reason (other than sadism) why she punishes her students in the most unbelievable, over-the-top methods possible is so she will get away with it while the students are dismissed as liars.
* ChildHater: The only logical reason she could have decided to become a principal at an elementary school full of children she claims to despise was so that she could have the authority to punish them however she pleased.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Maybe. As she says she "never was a child" which suggest that whatever past she may have had it mustn't have been any good or at least a bit problematic. It's up to interpretation though.
* DeanBitterman: She seems to be this trope taken [[EvilPrincipal to its irrational extreme]], as the headmistress inflicts acts of extreme and horrible violence and cruelty upon her young students, knowing their parents won't believe them if she makes the punishment extreme enough.
* DestinationDefenestration: One of her favorite methods of punishment is to toss children out of the entire building.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Any and every time she decides to discipline a kid, it takes this form.
** She once hurled a male student, Julius Rottwinkle, out of a window just for stuffing a few licorice allsorts (or in the film, two [=M&Ms=]) in his mouth during class.
** She makes Bruce Bogtrotter eat an entire chocolate cake meant for ten to fifteen people in front of students at assembly after he was caught supposedly stealing a snack from her kitchen. Bruce successfully downs the whole thing after encouragement from the students... but then Trunchbull slams and breaks the plate on his head in retaliation, and (though the last part is only in the film version) forces the entire assembly to remain five hours after school or get sent to the Chokey for objecting.
* TheDreaded: Even upperclassmen like Hortensia -- and adults, like Miss Honey -- are afraid of her. [[spoiler:For most of the story, anyway.]]
* EvilAunt: [[spoiler:To Miss Honey, being her maternal step-aunt. She was physically abusive to her niece with at least one incident resulting in her breaking the girl's arm. She eventually took over the house with Miss Honey leaving for her own safety. It's implied in the movie that she killed Miss Honey's father, leaving his young daughter in her cruel aunt's care. Even with Miss Honey all grown up, Trunchbull still maintains control over her niece through threats and acts of intimidation.]]
* EvilBrit: She's portrayed as such in the film, since the film's set in the U.S. instead of Britain. She doesn't even hide her strong British accent.
* EvilCounterpart: To Miss Honey. Both are adult teachers who work with children, but Miss Honey is a FriendToAllChildren, while Trunchbull hates children and only wants to hurt them.
* EvilerThanThou: Matilda's father simply cannot hope to compete with her, and she is the true villain of the story. He's verbally abusive to his young daughter, but Trunchbull is a danger to an entire school of children, [[spoiler:raised Ms. Honey to believe she's worthless, and it's strongly implied that Trunchbull murdered Ms. Honey's father for ownership of the Honey estate]].
* EvilIsBigger: She's a tall and bulky woman even to other adults, much less the children she's in charge of teaching, and a very horrible and hateful tyrant.
* EvilIsHammy: She is very over the top in the movie and yells a lot of her lines, to show how much she is AxCrazy.
* EvilPrincipal: She is a ChildHater and DeanBitterman taken to the extreme, sadistically punishing kids with wildly outlandish punishments like forcing them to eat a whole cake in one sitting, [[DestinationDefenestration chucking them out the window]] for eating during class, or, her favorite, making them stand in [[IronMaiden the Chokey]]. She isn't just [[SadistTeacher abusive to her students]], either -- it's heavily implied that [[spoiler:she was involved in the death of Miss Honey's father]].
* EvilVirtues: She surely isn't lacking in determination and force of will, given that she managed to compete in the Olympic Games. However, she's completely unwilling to teach such qualities to her students.
* FatBitch: Rather ironic when considering that she used to be an Olympian in the past. She's quite muscular, though.
* FauxAffablyEvil: At one point, she gathers the entire school in the gymnasium and orders Bruce to the podium, accusing him that he pilfered the cake that belonged to her. He outs himself by saying that his mother's cake is better, to which she politely replies that he can't know for sure until he tries some more and has him eat a huge piece of the cake, and after he's done, she asks if he liked it. After he admits he did, she brings out the rest of the cake and orders him to eat it in front of the entire school. When he manages to do so thanks to the cheers of the other children, she smashes the plate over his head and (only in the movie) gives the entire school 5 hours of detention.
* ForTheEvulz: Miss Trunchbull's main reason to do anything.
* FreudianExcuse: She mentions that she's glad she "never was" a child, which suggests she may have had a bad childhood. In the book, when Miss Honey objects to this for obvious reasons, Trunchbull [[VerbalBackspace backspaces]] and says she wasn't one "for long".
* AGodAmI: Or at least ''she'' thinks so. Because she has complete control of the entire school, she considers herself one.
-->'''Agatha:''' ''(to Matilda)'' You're a liar and a scoundrel, and your father's a liar and a cheat, one of the most corrupt lowlifes in the history of civilization! Am I wrong? I'm never wrong! In this classroom, in this school... I ''AM'' '''''GOD'''!!!''
* GreenAndMean: Most incarnations depict her principal attire as a dark shade of green and calling her mean would be an understatement.
* HairTriggerTemper: She loses her temper very quickly, and her fury and anger is downright scary.
* HateSink: A sadistic, cold-hearted and child-hating scumbag who is rotten to the core. Even moreso in the book with none of the LaughablyEvil traits her film counterpart had.
* {{Hypocrite}}: She boasts about children needing to build up a strong character, but everything she does is aimed at destroying it instead.
* InsaneTrollLogic: Her hatred of children leads to some seriously backwards rationalization, such as her idea of a perfect school "with no children at all".
* IronicName: Her given name, 'Agatha', stems from the ancient Greek name for "good", and oftentimes refers to a kind woman. Agatha Trunchbull, however, is a cruel, sadistic villainess and the BigBad of the story.
* JerkJock: As an ex-Olympian, she's pretty athletic.
* LargeAndInCharge: She rules Crunchem Hall with an iron fist and the movie and many book illustrations depict her as towering over the students and Ms. Honey to make her look more frightening.
* LargeHam: She is extremely dramatic, which, by extension, includes the sheer amount of DisproportionateRetribution she hands out to the students in her school.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Obviously she's struck by this at the end, but ''much'' more evident in the movie than in the book. Also, let's face it: it's pretty hard to say you're a god when faced with a kid who has ''actual'' supernatural powers and a high wit and intellect to use them.
* LaughablyEvil: In the movie, thanks to Pam Ferris's performance. Absolutely horrible and scary yet entertaining.
* MeaningfulName: As her surname would imply, she is absolutely horrific. She has a bull's temper, and a tendency to trample anyone in her way when they set her off.
* MiseryBuildsCharacter: Part of one of her speeches in the movie.
* ANaziByAnyOtherName: As if Crunchem Hall wasn't already the school version of a concentration camp, her outfit in the film invokes this trope. She even gets a HitlerCam close up shortly before force-feeding Bruce.
* NightmareFace: In the film, thanks to an unflattering make-up and Pam Ferris' over-the-top expressions.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: She was inspired by a Soviet discus thrower called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faina_Melnik Faina Melnik]].
* NoIndoorVoice: She often yells at the students.
* NotSoInvincibleAfterAll: While Miss Trunchbull is indeed horrifyingly strong and cruel, her real power comes from being TheDreaded. As such, [[DirtyCoward she flees in terror]] the moment she's faced with something she can't harm or intimidate, whether it be [[ScoobyDooHoax a ghost]] or [[NotAfraidOfYouAnymore a school full of angry children]].
* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: She claims that her cruel treatment towards children is for their own good in order to make them properly behave, but of course, it's obvious that she's an insane ChildHater that just wants to dominate others that are weaker than her.
* ObliviouslyEvil: Unlike most Roald Dahl villains, Miss Trunchbull believes herself to be the most moral, righteous person in the world. This is a rare case where this trope makes a villain ''viler'' instead of sympathetic, as she's oblivious because of her self-righteousness — she believes an action is evil only when it's committed by another, and never seriously considers the possibility that harsh teaching, child abuse, and even throwing a girl with pigtails out of her school could be wrong if she's the one doing it, because she genuinely believes she's God whenever she is in the school building.
* ObviouslyEvil: Her clear hatred of children and over-the-top punishments make it pretty obvious she's the villain. It's to the point that Miss Honey doesn't even doubt the idea [[spoiler:Agatha likely murdered her father]] once Matilda suggests it.
* PsychopathicWomanchild: Despite complaining about children, she has the temperament of a sadistic, domineering bully. She goes so far as to gloatingly eat chocolates in front of her niece like a nasty little brat.
* RefugeInAudacity: The Trunchbull's over-the-top behavior and extreme punishments are a deliberate move on her part, as she's exploiting this trope for all its worth. Older students and Matilda explicitly note that her students' parents won't believe their child's story of the principal throwing a small girl over the school's fence by her pigtails, or that the principal threw them into an improvised IronMaiden, precisely because of how outlandish it is.
* RiddleForTheAges: The novel observes that the Trunchbull has none of the qualities necessary to be a good principal and it's a mystery how she got her job in the first place.
* {{Sadist}}: She clearly enjoys the suffering she causes.
* SadistTeacher: She is the queen of this trope. Even Viola Swamp has nothing on her. She's also the current image for this trope.
* SinisterSweetTooth: Loves chocolate almost as much as she enjoys tormenting children.
* SinsOfOurFathers: Puts Matilda in the chokey because the car she bought from Matilda's father turned out to be a lemon.
* SlasherSmile: She frequently does this in the movie, showing her rotten BritishTeeth.
-->'''Miss Trunchbull:''' [[AxCrazy Some rats are gonna die today...]]
* TheSociopath: An extremely low-functioning example: self-centered, violent, manipulative [[spoiler:and a (implied) murderer to boot]].
* SoreLoser: In the movie, After Bruce finishes the cake she force-fed to him and is met with cheers from the students, she smashes a plate on his head for beating her, and makes the assembly stay 5 hours after school and copy from the dictionary for cheering him on.
* SpellMyNameWithAThe: The book often calls her "the Trunchbull", removing her first name to make an already intimidating tyrant even more threatening.
* StoutStrength: A big, athletic, and muscular BrawnHilda who is also able to lift the back half of a car.
* SuperStrength: The movie version is strong enough to ''break a metal chain'' with her bare hands, as well as lift the back end of a car off the ground (which would weigh about 1500 pounds).
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: She ''loves'' chocolate and is seen eating chocolate cake and chocolate candies (in [[GrossUpCloseUp rather]] [[JabbaTableManners horrifyingly messy]] fashion).
* VileVillainSaccharineShow: An adorable, heartwarming story about a genius little girl with magic powers. And the insane Miss Trunchbull who [[spoiler:possibly murdered her step-brother-in-law, stole his daughter's inheritance, abused her for years (even going so far as to break her arm), then, while living in her possibly murdered brother-in-law's house]], terrorizes an entire school of children with some very cruel punishments (The Chokey, throwing them over the school's fence, throwing them out the window, normal school punishments as you know). She's by far one of the darkest villains to ''ever'' appear in a children's novel.
* VillainousBreakdown: When Matilda uses her powers to write on the chalkboard posing as Magnus's ghost, she goes from a big, menacing bully to a shrieking, terrified mess. The film also has her freaking out even more when everyone in her school rises up and bullies her out of there.
* VillainousGlutton: {{Implied|Trope}}. In the movie, we see her eat a huge piece of chocolate cake, and she [[JabbaTableManners shoves half the thing into her mouth in one "bite"]].
* VillainHasAPoint:
** Subverted. While her speech about putting effort ("Perspiration!") into teaching is undoubtedly valid on a general level, it becomes awfully hypocritical when said by a principal whose only interest is terrifying and harming her own students.
** She's entirely correct in her assessment of Harry Wormwood as a fraudulent scumbag, but chooses to take her frustrations out on his daughter.
* WeaksauceWeakness: She's incredibly superstitious and fears snakes. She also fears black cats and ghosts [[spoiler:the latter of which is exploited by Matilda to get her to leave]].
* WhipOfDominance: She carries her riding crop almost everywhere as a symbol of authority, often smacking it on surfaces to get the children's attention or to drive home a point.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: In the movie, she's afraid of black cats due to her superstitious personality.
* WouldHurtAChild: And enjoy doing it. Her favored methods are throwing them out of windows and forcing them to stand in what amounts to a kind of ''IronMaiden''.
* YouAreWhatYouHate: Her hatred of children comes off as rather ironic when one considers her more [[PsychopathicManchild immature]] traits like [[SinisterSweetTooth gorging herself on chocolate]] and [[TheBully picking on those weaker than her]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lavender]]
->'''Played by:''' Kiami Davael; Ruby Bridle (original cast, West End musical)
The first classmate of Crunchem Hall that Matilda meets on her first day, the two became best friends immediately.
----
* DirtyCoward: Downplayed, but when her prank of putting a newt in the Trunchbull's water jug is pinned on Matilda by the principal, she doesn't try to defend her friend. In the novel, the narrator mentions that Lavender felt bad for Matilda as she didn't mean to cause her trouble, but wasn't willing to confess either. It's slightly mitigated by her earlier telling Ms. Honey that Matilda was put in the Chokey.
* DisabledInTheAdaptation: She wears glasses in the movie, but her book counterpart doesn't.
* MeaningfulName: Her name is a word which means "light purple", and in the movie, Lavender is mostly seen in purple clothing.
* NiceGirl: Lavender is a sweet and humorous child.
* PintSizedKid: Described in the book as very small and tiny for her age, especially in comparison with older girl Hortensia.
* PluckyGirl: She did play a prank on ''Trunchbull''. According to the book, Matilda likes her because she is gutsy and adventurous, and Lavender likes Matilda for the same reasons.
* RaceLift: She is white in the book, but black in the movie. In the musical, she is colorblind-cast.
* SmartPeopleWearGlasses: Lavender is one of the smartest kids at Crunchem Hall, only second to Matilda.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hortensia]]
->'''Played by:''' Kira Spencer Hesser; Oonagh Cox (original cast, West End musical)
An older student of Crunchem Hall that Matilda also befriends on her first day.
----
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: In the book, Hortensia is noted for having a large boil on her nose. The movie omits the boil and makes her a dark-skinned blonde for good measure.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy:
** In the book, she's fairly mean to Matilda and Lavender, though she does warn them about the Trunchbull. In the film, she is friendly and protective of them.
** In the book, she's explicitly a troublemaker who admits that she was put into the Chokey six times because of the pranks she pulled on Miss Trunchbull. In the film, she only says that she has been in the Chokey twice without mentioning the reason.
* BigSisterMentor: To Matilda and Lavender.
* ConditionedToAcceptHorror: One possible interpretation of her, since she had been going to school at Crunchem Hall for several years by the time Matilda started there. This might explain why she acts callous towards Matilda and Lavender in the book.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: In the movie, she's a NiceGirl who warns newbie Matilda about Trunchbull and gives advice on how to avoid her wrath. Averted in the book, where she looks down on Matilda and Lavender and even insults them, though she still gives advice on Trunchbull.
* LittleMissSnarker:
** In the movie, after telling Matilda about how Trunchbull [[DisproportionateRetribution hurled a kid out of class for eating candy]].
--->'''Matilda:''' Was he okay?\\
'''Hortensia:''' After being thrown out the window? Of course he wasn't okay. He ''lived'', if that's what you mean.
** When Trunchbull throws Amanda across the schoolyard by her pigtails, Hortensia's first comment is "[[ComicallyMissingThePoint Good loft!]]"
* MsExposition: Tells Matilda about the Chokey and other horror stories about the Trunchbull.
* NoodleIncident:
** She's been in the Chokey at least six times, once for pouring Golden Syrup on the seat of the Trunchbull's chair and another for pouring itching powder in her breeches. What she did to earn the other four sentences are a mystery for the ages.
** In the movie, she was only sent to the Chokey twice for unknown reasons, which were implied to be DisproportionateRetribution.
* NoSympathy: In the book when she sees Amanda about to get punished by the Trunchbull, Hortensia just comments to Matilda and Lavender that the other girl is an idiot for wearing pigtails when she knows the Trunchbull hates them.
* OldSoldier: From Matilda's and Lavender's point of view, she is one for surviving the school of horrors that is Crunchem Hall Primary. She was locked in the Chokey at least six times during her first term, and when recounting the pranks she played on the Trunchbull, she is said to speak with "the air of an old warrior who has been in so many battles that bravery has become commonplace."
* ThePrankster: She pulled two pranks on Miss Trunchbull and was sent to The Chokey both times because of this. And that's just the two times she ''tells'' us about; apparently, she actually went to The Chokey ''six'' times in total.
* TheToothHurts: She once knocked out the front teeth of a little boy who tattled on her to the Trunchbull for pouring Golden Syrup on the seat of her chair.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Amanda Thripp]]
->'''Played by:''' Jacqueline Steiger; Lily Laight (original cast, West End musical)
Another schoolmate of Matilda.
----
* AgeLift: In the book, Amanda is about ten years old, but in the movie, she's six and in the same class as Matilda.
* AscendedExtra: In the book, she's only mentioned in the pigtails moment. In the movie, she appears in more scenes.
* ButtMonkey: Introduced only to show how horrifying Miss Trunchbull is. In the movie, she's threatened by Miss Trunchbull twice.
* ChildishBangs: Has these combined with her pigtails. Even after she stops plaiting her hair, she still has the bangs.
* TheCutie: Especially in the movie, she's ridiculously cute.
* GirlishPigtails: She makes the mistake of coming to school wearing her hair in pigtails. Unfortunately, Miss Trunchbull hates them.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: She's a sweet and innocent little girl with long blonde hair.
* MadeOfIron: Using her Olympic hammer training, Miss Trunchbull picks up Amanda by the pigtails, swings her around at great speed, and throws her across the grounds. This would probably kill a child in real life, but Amanda luckily lands on the grass, "bounces on the ground three times" and is perfectly okay afterwards.
* NervesOfSteel: In the film, she shows absolutely no fear of the Trunchbull.
* TrueBlueFemininity: Amanda is described as wearing blue hair ribbons in the book. In the movie though, she's mostly dressed in [[PinkIsFeminine pink]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nigel Hicks]]
->'''Played by:''' Michael Valentine; William Keeler (original cast, West End musical)
A bright, if somewhat foolhardy, classmate of Matilda's.
----
* BadassBystander: He mouths off to the Trunchbull, he bravely tries to stand up for Miss Honey -- and when Trunchbull faints out of fear for the "ghost of Magnus", Nigel reacts by throwing a mug of water at her. In the musical, he's the first one to stand up against Trunchbull by deliberately misspelling the word "cat" and start the entire GoThroughMe scene.
* DeadpanSnarker: Which gets him in trouble with Miss Trunchbull.
* DemotedToExtra: In the book, he's the second-most prominent of Matilda's classmates, with only Lavender getting more attention. In the movie, he's only seen near the end as Miss Trunchbull throws him out the window but Matilda uses her powers to help him fly back to the school and push Miss Trunchbull onto the globe.
* FearlessFool: Played with. He clearly ''is'' afraid of Miss Trunchbull, but he still stands his ground and answers her in a very cheeky way even when she's in a rage.
* HeavySleeper: Not really, but in the musical, Matilda claims to Miss Trunchbull that Nigel "suffers from the rare chronic sleep disorder narcolepsy" to save him from punishment for a wrongly-accused prank. Nigel, of course, plays along.
* {{Keet}}: He's rather small and very energetic.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bruce Bogtrotter]]
->'''Played by:''' Jimmy(James Elliot) Karz; Jake Bailey (original cast, West End musical)
Another schoolmate that Matilda befriends.
----
* AgeLift: In the book and the film, he's an older boy of about eleven, but in the musical, he's Matilda's age and one of her classmates, which would make him about six.
* AlliterativeName: '''B'''ruce '''B'''ogtrotter.
* AmbiguousSituation: We never do find out if he was actually guilty of stealing a slice of chocolate cake from the Trunchbull's kitchen. He seems sincerely confused when accused of the crime, and Hortensia mentions that when an offense has been committed and the Trunchbull doesn't know who did it, she accuses whoever she thinks did it and doesn't look for proof. But then again, Bruce is rather stout, and proves himself to be a BigEater capable of finishing an entire chocolate cake in one sitting...
* AscendedExtra: From a OneSceneWonder in the book to a regular character in the film and musical.
* BigEater: He swipes a slice of cake from The Trunchbull's stash. By way of punishment, she makes him eat a gigantic three-layer cake bigger than his head. He manages, although he's completely zonked in a food coma at the end.
* BurpOfFinality: In the film, he lets out one after he finishes the whole chocolate cake and The Trunchball breaks the plate over his head.
* {{Determinator}}: After the other children cheer him on, Bruce manages to finish the entire 18-inch chocolate cake.
* TheDogBitesBack: At the end of the film, he stuffs a piece of chocolate cake into Trunchbull's mouth as payback while she's being chased out of the school.
[[/folder]]

----