This ‘90s Classic With a Near-Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Coming to Netflix
This ‘90s Classic With a Near-Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Coming to Netflix
Melissa CopeltonSat, February 28, 2026 at 4:08 AM UTC
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There are a number of incredible titles coming to Netflix this March, and that includes the 1996 film Matilda.
Starring Mara Wilson as Matilda Wormwood, Danny DeVito as Harry Wormwood, and Rhea Perlman as Zinnia Wormwood, Matilda hit theaters on July 28, 2006, and has been beloved by audiences young and old ever since.
With a whopping 92 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film is an adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel about a gifted young girl who discovers she has extraordinary powers and must stand up to her neglectful family and tyrannical school principal, Miss Trunchbull.
In addition to the stellar Rotten Tomatoes reviews, Roger Ebert gave Matilda three out of four stars.
The legendary film critic, who died on April 4, 2013, wrote that Matilda “doesn’t condescend to children, it doesn’t sentimentalize, and as a result it feels heartfelt and sincere.”
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Danny DeVito, Mara Wilson, Brian Levinson, and Rhea Perlman star in the movie "Matilda" (1996). (Getty Images)
Ebert noted that the story captures Roald Dahl’s darkly comic vision, writing that “Trunchbull is the kind of villainess children can enjoy, because she is too ridiculous to be taken seriously and yet really is mean and evil, like the witch in Snow White."
Ebert highlighted Matilda’s extraordinary intellect, describing her as “a very, very smart little girl whose parents neglect her when they are not insulting her,” and praised the depiction of her oppressive school, where children are punished by solitary confinement in a steamy closet with nails sticking through the walls.
He also applauded DeVito’s direction, saying there is “never a moment…that we sense DeVito is anything other than quite serious about this material,” and adding that the film “is not in any sense a ‘children’s movie,’ although older children will probably like it a lot. It is a dark family comedy about stupid parents, cruel teachers, and a brave little girl.”
Matilda will be available to stream on Netflix beginning on Sunday, March 1.
This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
