The Adventures of Matilda

The Adventures of Matilda is an American animated television series created by Amile John and produced by Bear Bones Productions in association with Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. In a small Buckinghamshire village, Matilda Wormwood is a five-and-half-year-old girl of unusual precocity, but her parents treat her with disdain.

The show first premiered on Kids' WB on March 23, 1996 and finished its run on November 23, 1999. The Adventures of Matilda was praised by critics and received high ratings during its original run, becoming popular among both younger and older audiences.

Plot
Matilda Wormwood is a genius, but her parents, Harry and Zinnia, and her brother Michael ignore and mistreat her. Since infancy, Matilda has displayed incredible learning ability and develops a strong sense of independence due to her often being left alone at home every weekday when her father is at work, her mother is playing bingo, and Michael is at school. To pass the time, Matilda learns the route to the public library to read books and finds solace in the fantasy worlds the books provide.

At age six-and-a-half, Matilda begins to lose patience with her parents, expressing a desire to go to school, which her parents refuse blatantly and tease her. In retaliation for her father constantly berating her, she resolves to punish him each time, first by adding hydrogen peroxide to his hair tonic to turn his hair an unhealthy blonde, and then gluing his hat to his head after discovering his cheating car business. Coincidentally, unlucky things begin to happen around Harry when Matilda gets angry with him. For instance, when reading a borrowed library copy of Moby-Dick (which Harry finds offensive because of the title), which Harry rips up and makes her watch television instead, her increasing anger causes the television set to suddenly explode.

Harry finally relents to letting Matilda go to school after selling a car to Miss Agatha Trunchbull, the tyrannical principal of a rundown elementary school, Crunchem Hall. There, Matilda befriends several children and discovers Miss Trunchbull's violent nature and overly harsh punishments of the students who have gone unsanctioned by the authorities. Thankfully, Matilda's teacher, Miss Jennifer Honey, is a kind woman who adores her class and takes an immediate liking to Matilda's gentle and humble nature despite her incredible genius. She requests to Miss Trunchbull that Matilda to be moved up to a higher class, but Miss Trunchbull refuses. That night, Miss Honey pays the Wormwoods a visit to tell them about Matilda's genius-level understanding of her schoolwork and suggests that she be put in the higher-level classes. The Wormwoods, however, dismiss Miss Honey and sneer at the idea of their daughter being smart enough for college. Meanwhile, Matilda discovers that her family is under surveillance by FBI agents Bob and Bill due to her father's illegal dealings, but her parents refuse to believe her, as the agents have already fooled Zinnia into thinking they are speedboat salesmen and Harry assumes that Zinnia is cheating on him with the two men.

Characters

 * Matilda (voiced by Cree Summer)
 * Miss Jennifer Honey (voiced by Sherri Stoner)
 * Harry Wormwood (voiced by Jim Cummings)
 * Zinnia Wormwood (voiced by Tress MacNeille)
 * Agatha Trunchbull (voiced by Candi Milo)
 * Emma Wormwood (voiced by June Foray)
 * Michael Wormwood (voiced by Zig Miles)
 * Nigel Hicks (voiced by Charlie Adler)
 * Sergai (voiced by Pat Fraley)
 * Tommy (voiced by Charlie Schlatter)
 * Bruce Bogtrotter (voiced by Mala Miles)