When she insists that her parents send her to school (at 6 year old, she's a touch behind in attendance, though miles ahead in smarts), Matilda winds up in another type of tightly controlled environment, this one run by a different, more physically dangerous, tyrant. Miss Trunchbull is headmaster of a school that looks like a prison, and makes it plain that she hates children, poking fun at their pigtails, throwing them out of windows, swinging them around like a game of human shot put, and locking them cruelly in "the chokey," the school's equivalent to a jail's SHU.

Trunchbull, of course, doesn't just bully the students: She lords over the teachers, too, particularly a young, bright-eyed instructor, aptly named Miss Honey, who also happens to be her niece. Trunchbull, whose given name is Agatha, broke Miss Honey's arm once when she was a young girl, and has managed to cut her off from inheriting the family home by keeping her in constant fear.

Of course, in the end, Matilda — who discovers her ability to make things move with her mind during a blind-rage fight with her father — saves Miss Honey, just as Miss Honey saves Matilda. If you don't know how, I won't spoil it for you here: It really is a charming, sweet, and even inspiring little film. Even after 20 years, all those adjectives still apply.

Matilda is worth an hour and some odd minutes of your time — particularly if you, too, have ever felt that powerless feeling overtake you. Now as much as ever, the film is not merely a triumph of imagination and storytelling. Whether you're revisiting it again or watching for the first time, this story is a reminder that sometimes the underdog can stand up to her oppressor and succeed. And sometimes, against all odds, she wins and gets exactly what she's always wanted.