20 Feel Good Movies You Need To Watch Now

This is the best film adaptation of a Roald Dahl book. Danny DeVito keeps the film faithful to the source material (albeit with some adjustments) and brings it to life with a fantastic cast as well as altering the genre to be more adult, making for a thoroughly entertaining black comedy movie with great messages of inspiration woven around the story.

The diamond in the rough of her family, Matilda couldn’t be any further removed from the other Wormwoods as she is a smart bookworm with an extraordinary wealth of knowledge. Her parents work awful jobs and are extremely negligent of Matilda’s gift, often prioritising her brother or even their material goods over her.

Things do turn a bit better for the titular character when she discovers some solace in attending school, with a friendly teacher and lots of new friends. Her only obstacle is the abusive headteacher – Mrs Trunchball (who is portrayed so well, you forgot Pam Ferris was her actress). With nearly all the grown-ups against the titular character and her brilliant mind, it becomes all the more satisfying to watch her pull clever tricks on her parents and Miss Trunchbull as a punishment for their horridness – from super-gluing her dad’s hat on his head to putting a newt in her headteacher’s water glass.

In the end, every character gets their deserved ending. It’s a great story of bravery and showing tenacity in order to complete your goals. Also, Matilda made reading cool again. How neat is that!