This film adaptation of Roald Dahl's book tells the story of Matilda Wormwood, a gifted girl forced to put up with a crude, distant father and mother. Ignored at home and left to her own devices, she soon digests the entire contents of the local library before being sent to Crunchem Hall, a nightmarish school headed by the sadistic Miss Trunchbull.

When Matilda realises she has the power of telekinesis, she begins to fight back against Trunchbull and her unkind parents.