Matilda is a polite, kind, and exceptionally brilliant five-year-old girl living in a small English town. She reads adult literary classics and calculates complex arithmetic in her head. Ignored and actively mistreated by her shallow parents, she quietly rebels by devising clever practical jokes to punish them for their cruelty. She discovers school to be a new battleground against unfair adults.

Miss Honey is a mild, quiet first-grade teacher in her early twenties. She rarely smiles but possesses a deep capacity for warmth and genuine affection for children. She recognizes Matilda's genius immediately and attempts to advocate for the child's advanced education. She lives in extreme poverty and carries a heavy sadness from her past.

Miss Trunchbull is the gigantic, tyrannical headmistress of Crunchem Hall Primary School. A former Olympic hammer thrower, she aggressively despises children and regularly subjects them to bizarre physical punishments. She relies on sheer intimidation and a torturous narrow cabinet called "The Chokey" to maintain absolute control over the student body.

Mr. Wormwood is a small, buck-toothed used-car salesman who dresses in garish check suits. He takes deep pride in cheating his customers by masking car defects with sawdust and rolling back odometers. He is entirely dismissive of his daughter's intellect, actively discourages her reading, and becomes the primary target of her early retaliatory pranks.

Mrs. Wormwood is a vain, self-involved mother whose primary interests are watching television, playing Bingo, and maintaining her bleached-blonde appearance. She believes women should focus exclusively on their looks to secure a successful husband and views her brilliant daughter as an irritating, unnecessary burden.

Michael is an ordinary boy who receives preferential treatment from his parents simply for being the son. His father attempts to groom him to take over the used-car business, though Michael struggles to grasp the basic arithmetic required to calculate fraudulent profits.

Lavender is a small, skinny first-year student at Crunchem Hall who quickly bonds with Matilda. She is bold, energetic, and eager to prove her bravery by pulling a daring prank against the terrifying Miss Trunchbull.

Hortensia is a tough, ten-year-old student at Crunchem Hall who serves as a veteran of the school's harsh disciplinary system. Having survived numerous trips to the punishment cabinet, she acts as a hardened but helpful guide, warning the younger girls about the headmistress's extreme cruelties.

Bruce is a chubby eleven-year-old student at Crunchem Hall. He becomes the target of Miss Trunchbull's public wrath when she accuses him of stealing a slice of her personal dessert, leading to a massive, highly public eating punishment.

Mrs. Phelps is the village librarian. She is the first adult to recognize Matilda's extraordinary reading abilities, gently curating a list of classic literature for the young girl and showing her how to borrow books to read at home.

Amanda is a young student at Crunchem Hall whose mother styles her hair in lovely pigtails. Unfortunately, the headmistress harbors a violent hatred for pigtails, resulting in a dangerous physical encounter.

Fred is a local boy and a friend of Matilda. He owns a talking parrot that says "Hullo, hullo, hullo" and "Rattle my bones!", which proves highly useful for one of Matilda's elaborate practical jokes.

Nigel is a student in Miss Honey's class who gets caught with dirty hands. He bravely tries to explain Miss Honey's creative teaching methods to an infuriated Miss Trunchbull.

Rupert is a boy in Miss Honey's class who struggles with multiplication under intense pressure, resulting in a frightening physical reprimand from the headmistress.

Eric is a student in Miss Honey's class who becomes thoroughly confused by Miss Trunchbull's aggressive questioning during a spelling quiz.

Mr. Trilby is the assistant headmaster at Crunchem Hall Primary School. He serves as a staff member under Miss Trunchbull's terrifying administration.