Rainbow Designs RD1374 Roald Dahl Matilda Plush Toy, Mulit-Coloured

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Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito played Matilda’s parents in the movie, and Perlman was also DeVito’s wife at the time. The couple briefly separated in 2012 after about 35 years of marriage, but later reconciled. In late 2016, they split again, this time for good, but the two remain friends. In the novel, Miss Honey wears glasses, but not in the film (except in one minor instance when she was trying to solve Matilda's math problem of 13 times 379).

Danny DeVito musically referenced a couple of different Tim Burton movies in the trailers for Matilda. In one trailer, he used an instrumental version of one of the more popular songs from the Tim Burton movie Nightmare Before Christmas, and in other versions, they used the song “Jump the Line,” which was featured in the Tim Burton film Beetlejuice. Tim Burton also has his own connection to Roald Dahl, having produced the adaptation of James and the Giant Peach.Pam Ferris played the role of the evil principal Agatha Trunchbull in the movie, and to make sure that the kids were scared of her in earnest, she would stay in character even when the cameras stopped filming. During the filming of Matilda, actress Mara Wilson’s (Matilda) mother died from breast cancer. The young actress continued on and finished the movie, which she dedicated to her mother’s memory. Jennifer Honey becomes the new principal of Crunchem Hall in the film as opposed to Mr. Trilby in the book.

If you pay attention to the credits at the end of Matilda, you’ll notice that the three newts in the movie are credited as Mr. Speaker, Sir Isaac and Wayne. These names reference then Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Sir Isaac Newton, and Wayne Newton.

13. The screenwriters wrote the film for free just to show Roald Dahl’s widow how they’d do it

In addition to being adapted into a movie, Matilda has also been adapted into a popular stage musical. The musical version of Matilda opened in London’s West End in 2011, and on Broadway in 2013. The musical won 12 Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical, and five Tony Awards, including Best Book of a Musical. In 1988, the book Matilda won the Children’s Book Award from the Federation of Children’s Books. The award is voted on by actual children, and is awarded every year in the UK to the books the kids choose as their favorites. Ten years later, the book was voted “The Nation’s Favorite book” in England in a Bookworm poll conducted by the BBC. The “chokey” in Crunchem Hall was where Miss Trunchbull put kids for punishment. As terrifying as it looked in the movie, in real life, it wasn’t dangerous or scary at all. The fictional cupboard was filled with razor-sharp nails, but for the film the nails were actually made of rubber, and wouldn’t hurt anybody. Twins Keaton and Kylie Tyndall were originally set to star as Matilda, but when they came down with the flu, the role was recast with Mara Wilson. Craig Lamar Taylor is known for his role as wheelchair-bound Stevie on the popular sitcom Malcom in the Middle. The actor made his big screen debut in Matilda, playing the little boy who catches the falling newt.