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Villain Overview

"Use the rod, beat the child."
~ The Trunchbull's motto.
In this classroom, in this school, I AM GOD!
~ The Trunchbull's most famous quote.

Agatha Trunchbull, more commonly known as Ms. Trunchbull or simply the Trunchbull due to her nasty disposition, is the main antagonist of the 1988 Roald Dahl novel Matilda, and all of its adaptations.

She is the former headmistress of Crunchem Hall Elementary School, the step-aunt of Miss Honey, and the adoptive step-great-aunt and arch-nemesis of Matilda Wormwood. She is also the step-sister of Miss Honey's deceased mother, Kate Honey, and is the step-sister-in-law (and implied murderer) of Miss Honey's deceased father, Dr. Magnus Honey, Kate's husband.

Portrayals[]

History[]

Beginnings[]

Her full name is Agatha Trunchbull, and she is 48 years old, 5'7" (170cm) in height, and about 195lbs (88kg) in weight, black hair and bluish-green eyes. She harbors an intense hatred and total distrust of all children for unknown reasons, and thinks nothing of literally hurling them vast distances or confining those who dare to oppose her into a medieval torture-device that resembles an iron maiden called the Chokey.

She has a build to back up her overbearing personality, as in her youth she was incredibly muscular, and while she gained some fat as a result of her gorging of cake and chocolates from the stress of managing a school, she still retains the horsepower, agility, and quick reflexes from her time spent as an Olympic athlete and would exercise in her spare time.

Her tortures were so extreme that they could easily have been fatal, (though the only person that she more than likely has killed is her brother-in-law, Magnus) every child in the book and film she punished survived. In the novel, Matilda Wormwood believed that part of the reason why her tortures and punishments were so extreme was in order to make the stories about how she punished the children absolutely impossible to believe for a reasonable person. That way, nobody (except whoever saw the Trunchbull executing her punishments) would do anything to stop her, for the simple reason that they would think those stories were simply a product of the children's uncontrolled imagination.

She also berates, torments, and orders around a selfless and innocent teacher named Ms. Jennifer "Jenny" Honey, who is actually her niece. The Trunchbull raised Miss Honey, and broke her arm at some point. She was very abusive and manipulative towards Miss Honey, squandering her privileges throughout her education, and when the time came for Honey to go to college, the Trunchbull was so vile that she demanded Honey surrender her family estate to her, thus giving the Trunchbull effective dominion over the woman.

When Honey was frantically searching for another place to live in, she came across an old abandoned shack. The farmer who owned it said that she was absolutely mad, but gave it to her for 10p. Then the Trunchbull was furious that Honey was leaving her and said she would amount to nothing.

Matilda[]

Book[]

In the book, the Trunchbull is mentioned in passing by Dahl as the evil headmistress of Crunchem Hall. She is then glossed over by Miss Honey. However, she is first given a detailed description by a girl named Hortensia, who has been an adversary of the Trunchbull throughout her time at school. Hortensia tells Matilda and her friend about the Trunchbull's cruelty, including her extreme punishments and torture. Hortensia even goes as far as to say many children get "carried out on stretchers screaming, I've seen it often."

Matilda then sees the children in the yard fall silent as the Trunchbull approaches a girl named Amanda Thripp and yell at her about her pigtails. When Amanda feebly protests saying her mother loves them, the Trunchbull yells that her mother's a twit and literally picks up the terrified girl and whirls her round and round, yelling "I'll give you pigtails, you little rat!" and throws Amanda over the fence into the vegetable garden in an attempt for her to be impaled there. Fortunately, Amanda is physically unhurt, though undoubtedly scarred for life.

The Trunchbull then sent everyone to the assembly room, and called up a boy named Bruce Bogtrotter. She accuses him of being a "vicious sneak-thief" by eating her favorite snack, chocolate cake. As punishment, she forces Bruce to consume an enormous chocolate cake in front of the whole school afterwards. After Bruce devoured the entire cake, the Trunchbull was furious that he won and left the stage in a huff, but not before hitting Bruce's head with the plate. In the film, she punished the entire assembly by making them stay five hours after school to copy from the dictionary.

In a scene from the book, she holds up a boy by his hair because it was too long, while in the film, she instead holds up a similar boy by his leg for not emptying his pockets fast enough.

In the book, she is defeated by her superstitious and ridiculous fear of ghosts. Matilda sees her about to torment a small boy, and Matilda, having enough, yanks up the chalk with her mental power and she uses it to write out a "message" from Magnus, whom is heavily implied to have been killed by Trunchbull.

The message cleanly states "It is Magnus. And you'd better believe it", and "Give my Jenny her wages, give my Jenny the house, then get out of here. If you don't, I will come and get you. I will come and get you like you got me. I am watching you Agatha", and then Matilda breaks the chalk. Because the Trunchbull sees the chalk floating and writing on its own, she really does believe it to be Magnus' ghost and she has a panic attack and faints. The children and staff revive her but she storms out of the school the next day, scared out of her wits, and having had enough of the place.

It is unknown what happened to Trunchbull afterwards as she was never seen or heard from again.

Film[]

In the film, Trunchbull first appears talking to Harry Wormwood that she needs an inexpensive car and buys it. Harry makes a deal saying that he will give Trunchbull the car if Matilda goes to her school.

On Matilda's first day of school, Trunchbull appears outside the yard, making the kids stand still. She approaches Matilda, and calls her "fresh meat". She then spots another girl named Amanda Thripp, and insults her pigtails. She grabs Amanda's pigtails and hammer-throws her in the flower patch, with the latter also collecting flowers for Miss Honey.

Trunchbull tries to go to the Olympics in her car to train herself (and also being frightened by a black cat approaching her, and kicking it high into the air), but the defective car broke down, much to the villainous and argumentative principal's fury and anger, being forced to push the car back to her house. When she entered the house, she angrily called Mr. Wormwood and threatens to burn down his showroom and kill him. But just then, her phone call was cut short when she picks up a scent, knowing that someone is in her house. After hanging up, she wildly rampages throughout the house, trying to find Matilda and Miss Honey who entered her house. Luckily, Matilda and Miss Honey have escaped from the evil woman's house before Trunchbull could catch them, greatly infuriating her, after she accidentally destroyed her statue.

Later on at night, Matilda went on a mission to reclaim Miss Honey’s belongings from the Trunchbull’s house. The Trunchbull was toppled by Matilda's quick thinking and magical powers, who tricked her into believing she was being haunted by the ghost of her brother-in-law (who, it is implied, may have been murdered by the Trunchbull in order to inherit his estate) - upon being convinced of this haunting, she flees in terror. However, she soon found Matilda's red hair ribbon and was now convinced somebody did enter her house.

She showed up at school to teach the children a lesson about who was responsible for intruding in her property. Matilda was now fed up with her torturing, abuse, and cruelty, so she used her power to manipulate a stick of chalk, creating a message on the chalkboard from her deceased brother-in-law, which frightens the Trunchbull. Matilda sent two chalk erasers to assault her, knocking her out onto the floor. When she came to, she threw a boy out the window for sneaking up on her, but Matilda's psychic powers sent him flying back at her, causing the Trunchbull to crash onto a globe.

At Miss Honey's silent suggestion, Matilda then made the globe spin around and around, and the Trunchbull went flying off and collapses onto the floor unconscious. After coming to, she attacks Lavender by charging like a bull, but she was saved by Matilda's power, sending the Trunchbull crashing right through the door into the hallway feeling all worn out. Matilda then summoned the lunchboxes of all of her classmates and used her powers to pelt the Trunchbull with their lunches. Seeing this, the students in other classes suddenly lost all of their fear of her.

Before she knew it, she was being pelted by lunch food by all of the children in her school, as they were all fed up with being abused by the wicked principal. The Trunchbull, fled in her sputtering car in defeat, and she was never seen or heard from again after this. It was after the Trunchbull left that Miss Honey regained her true home and was made the new principal of Crunchem Hall.

It's presumed that Trunchbull was arrested for the murder of Magnus.

Musical[]

Trunchbull M 3

In Dennis Kelly's musical adaptation of the book, Trunchbull sings two songs; "The Hammer" and "The Smell of Rebellion". Some of the themes are different in the musical from that of the film and the book, such as the theme of rebellion and conformity. Because of this, the Trunchbull is portrayed more as an delusional formalist than an adult bully.

In her first song, "The Hammer", she expressed her inner thoughts about how the world should be run, and likens it to hammer throwing. In this song, she explains how the only way to be successful in life is to obey the rules and the only way to inspire people to be better is to force them to follow the rules. Empathy and kindness are very poor tools for achieving this goal, according to her.

In "The Smell of Rebellion", she punishes the children through physical education and makes clear her distaste for rebellion, which leads to a decline in the morals of society. When the children arrive to the school, she used some teens students to scare and bully the students in "School Song" has them telling the children to wait for Phys. Ed. One of them explains that it is the "Trunchbull specialty", meaning that it is how she punished children or put them in the Chokey same if they seem to warn them to be careful, one students always asks why, more to their annoyance.

In the musical, she is more menacing, vituperative, obnoxious and cruel over the kids and her niece. At the school, when she said that she would make more Chokeys for locking up all of the children, Matilda uses her powers to write a message from Magnus's ghost on the chalkboard. Subsequently, Trunchbull is chased off by a bunch of children who told her to run, and she fled away from the school. In the end, she is most likely that she left the town, because any person of the town heard something about her after this. In some stage adaptations, it is said she was arrested after a panic attack where she let it slip that she had killed Magnus.

Powers and Abilities[]

Agatha Trunchbull is incredibly, almost inhumanly strong. She performs enormous feats of strength, such as lifting up a boy named Julius Rottwinkle and throwing him out the window, hammer throwing Amanda Thripp and sending her on a trip spanning several yards, several stories above Crunchem Hall, and can kick a cat high in the air and send it flying several yards.

She has been shown ripping a metal chain apart with her bare hands, and can even lift up a car to reposition it and push it along. By far, one of Trunchbull's greatest physical feats is when she vaults over a railing, dropping almost twenty feet and landing unscathed, the impact of said landing shaking the house.

Trunchbull also has a sense of smell superior to regular humans and can identify faint odors and identify who they came off of. She is very skilled at Olympic games, such as the Hammer Throw, Shot Put, and Javelin. Being superstitious, her only fears are ghosts and black cats. Her intelligence is relatively high, but her arrogance is easily exploited.

Personality[]

Described as spending much of her time in a "steroidal rage" by Pam Ferris herself, Trunchbull is an explosive, neurotic, paranoid, wrathful, overbearing, ill-tempered, and highly erratic thug who takes absolute delight in the amount of fear and intimidation she instills in those around her. Two of the most central aspects of Agatha Trunchbull's personality are her scorn for children and deviants, and cruelty towards the people that she believes are lesser than herself. In addition, as stated by David Leonard (one of the actors portraying her on the West End), that she is a deeply envious and competitive individual. As such, Agatha is very quarrelsome, cantankerous, ambitious and unprepared to admit defeat in most circumstances.

She is very attached to her success as an Olympic athlete for Great Britain and she considers herself to be an idol for other people to follow. She is also very bitter, bellicose, self-confident and assertive, exhibiting her dominance around the school.

Later in the book and the film, it was confirmed (or heavily implied) that Trunchbull murdered her own brother-in-law to steal his house and money after he broke a contract involving large sums of money. She spared her niece, but psychologically and physically abused her. This shows Trunchbull's avarice that may not be apparent at first glance. It is also likely that Trunchbull harbored intense envy as to Magnus' material success, which was fueled more vigorously by her vituperative nature. She also keeps of secret of being very superstitious and naive, which is a weakness that became exploited by Matilda. Despite her firmness, she orders her students to form a crowd and stampede into the school rather than walk slowly in a que, and she shouts "pissworm" in a classroom full of kids, so she has no trouble subjecting her students to swearing.

She is spiteful and petty, as she ruthlessly punished Matilda for the actions of her father, Harry Wormwood, who swindled Trunchbull and sold her a faulty automobile, and even accused Matilda of being a liar and a cheat like her father, for the sole reason of Matilda being the daughter of the criminal who tricked her (Trunchbull). Not only is this unfair, but it is also misplaced aggression, as Trunchbull chose to punish Matilda as a surrogate for her rage against Harry Wormwood, whom she could not (legally) punish herself. In Trunchbull's mind, however, this vicious spite was justified (and to a degree, it was) as her umbrage at Harry Wormwood was justifiable but not her actions in taking out her vengeance on an innocent child simply because she was Wormwood's daughter.

Trunchbull M 1

Miss Trunchbull is also shown to be very superstitious and has an intense fear of ghosts, black cats, and the supernatural in general. Her fear is used as a weakness for Matilda to scare her thus teaching Miss Trunchbull a lesson later on.

The Trunchbull has a dry-witted, sardonic and condescending sense of humor, often speaking to the children in a patronizing and demeaning manner, and making berating comments about them for her own amusement. This was showcased when she callously made a note of Matilda's mathematic prowess as being made redundant and mundane by the use of calculators or how she rudely described Amanda Thrip's mother a "twit" for thinking her pigtails are sweet. Mrs. Trunchbull also considers suffering a great way to build character and believes the children will thank her someday for everything she does, although whether she earnestly means this or simply stated it as a half-baked excuse to justify her actions remains unknown.

In the musical, it is very clear that she has an acutely guilty conscience after killing Magnus and stealing his possessions. She is constantly trying to make herself think that she's a "winner" and most everyone else around her is a "loser". She surrounds herself with her trophies and reminds herself that, regardless of her emotions or the emotions of others, following the procedures of life is the only way to success. At the same time, the Trunchbull believes herself to be an extremely magnanimous and benevolent person, claiming that she is the "Spirit of All That Is Right", while at the same time accusing Matilda of being the "Axis of Evil". She is also shown to be a manipulative woman, as she hired some teenage students to work for her by frightening and intimidating the kids, but it was revealed that she was just using them because of their own suffering she made them endure in their childhood, she is also afraid of a black cat and a ghost in the musical.

Quotes[]

Book Quotes[]

Enter!
~ Trunchbull's first lines when she opens the door.

Single Quotes[]

They're all mistakes, children. Filthy, nasty things. Glad I never was one.
~ Trunchbull to Harry Wormwood.
Change those socks! Too pink.
~ Trunchbull telling her how to change her socks.
Get inside, you festering ball of pus!
~ Trunchbull puts Hortensia in the chokey.
Ah, fresh meat.
~ Trunchbull, meeting Matilda for the first time.
Your mommy... is a TWIT!
~ Trunchbull to Amanda.
I'll give you BUT!
~ Trunchbull struggles Amanda before throwing her in the fence.
You're a disgusting criminal, aren't you?
~ Trunchbull to Bruce.
You wanted cake, you got cake. NOW EAT IT!!!
~ Trunchbull to Bruce Bogtrotter.
Hop, two, hippity hop. The entire school will go to the assembly room, immediately. (Later) SIT!
~ Trunchbull
Silence! Stop. Silence! (Later, she hits a plate full of Chocolate crumbs on Bruce Bogtrotter)
~ Trunchbull, getting furious at the students who were rooting for Bruce Bogtrotter.
Shut up! The entire assembly will stay 5 hours after school and copy from the dictionary. Any children who object... will go straight to the chokey, TOGETHER!
~ Trunchbull after her defeat from Bruce Bogtrotter's cake-eating confection.
Why are all these women married? Mrs. D, Mrs. I? You are supposed to be teaching spelling, not poetry!
~ Trunchbull to Miss Honey.
I cannot for the life of me understand why small children take so long to grow up. Think they do it deliberately just to annoy me.
~ Trunchbull, complaining about children.
Much too good for children.
~ Miss Trunchbull before eating a chocolate cake.
WORMWOOD!! You useless used-car salesman scum! I want you around here now, WITH ANOTHER CAR! Yes, I know what "Caveat Emptor" means, you low-life liar! I'm gonna sue you! I'm gonna burn down your showroom! I'm gonna take that no-good jalopy you sold me and SHOVE IT UP YOUR BAZOOGA! When I'm finished with you, you're gonna look like roadkill! You what?!
~ Trunchbull threatening Harry Wormwood.
Trunchbull: I broke your arm once before, I can do it again, Jenny.
Miss Honey: I'm not 7 years old anymore, Aunt Trunchbull!
(The kids gasp in surprise)
Trunchbull: Shut your holes!
~ Trunchbull attempting to break Miss Honey's arm, but Miss Honey herself calls her "aunt", which shocks the kids, except Matilda.
You... will be put away in a place where not even the crows can land their droppings on you!
~ Trunchbull to Matilda as she loses it. Also, her last words.

Dialogue[]

Trunchbull: I need a car inexpensive but reliable. Can you service me?
Harry: In a matter of speaking, yes. Uh... Welcome to Wormwood Motors. Harry Wormwood, owner, founder, whatever.
Trunchbull: Agatha Trunchbull, principal, Crunchem Hall Elementary School. I warn you, sir. I want a tight car, because I run on a tight ship!
Harry: Oh yeah, huh? Well, uh...
Trunchbull: My school is a model of discipline! "Use the rod, beat the child." That's my motto.
Harry: Terrific motto!
Trunchbull: You have brats yourself?
Harry: Yeah, I got a boy, Mikey, and one mistake, Matilda.
Trunchbull: They're all mistakes, children. Filthy and nasty things. I'm glad I never was one.
Harry: Uh-huh. Well, since you're an educator, I'm gonna make you a great deal.
Trunchbull: You'd better.
Harry: (gives her the keys) Let's do business!
~ Trunchbull and Harry
Trunchbull: You, detention. (walks over and taps her head into her riding crop) You're too small. Grow up QUICKER! (Matilda runs and hides) Heads up! Shoulders back! Stomachs in! Stand straight.
Lavender: HEY!
Matilda: Sorry.
Trunchbull: Detention for you.
Lavender: That's okay. It's much better than being out there.
Matilda: Is that my teacher?
Lavender: No, that's the principal, Miss Trunchbull.
Matilda: You've gotta be kidding.
Lavender: Uh-uh.
Hortensia: You squirts better skedaddle. I'm not kidding. The Trunchbull likes to snap a whip in there to see who's trying to hide.
Trunchbull: Stomach in!
~ Trunchbull has detention with kids outside.
Matilda: Didn't you tell your parents?
Hortensia: They didn't believe me. I mean, would your parents believe it?
Trunchbull: 60 lines after school: “I must obey Miss Trunchbull.
Matilda: No.
Trunchbull: Out of my way.
Matilda: Here she comes.
~ Matilda knows that Trunchbull is heading in.
Trunchbull: Amanda Thripp.
Amanda: Yes, Miss Trunchbull?
Trunchbull: (looks down) What are those?
Amanda: What's what, Miss Trunchbull?
Trunchbull: Hanging down by your ears.
Amanda: You mean my pigtails?
Trunchbull: Are you a pig, Amanda?
Amanda: No, Miss Trunchbull.
Trunchbull: Do I allow PIGS in my school?
Amanda: My mommy thinks… they are sweet.
~ Trunchbull talking to Amanda about her pigtails
Trunchbull: You'll CHOP those off before school tomorrow or I will cover up…
Amanda: But…
Trunchbull: "BUT?!"
Amanda: I don't…
Trunchbull: (quietly) "But?" Did you say "but"?
~ Trunchbull threatening Amanda to chop those pigtails off.
Trunchbull: Yippee! Gotcha right in the neck! And you. Woo-hoo! Yes! You... (she knocks on the door) Come in, come in, whoever you are.
(She throws a dart then Miss Honey surprised her)
Trunchbull: Almost got you. (chuckles then Miss Honey enters her office) Good to see you, Jen. Good, good, good. Time for one of our little heart-to-hearts? (she pretends Javelin then Ms. Trunchbull and Miss Honey chuckles)
Miss Honey: Actually, it's about the new girl in my class, Miss Trunchbull, Matilda Wormwood.
Trunchbull: Her father says she's a real wart.
Miss Honey: A what?
Trunchbull: A carbuncle, a blister, a festering pustule of malignant ooze. (pours a cup of water)
Miss Honey: Oh, no, Matilda Wormwood is a very sweet girl, and very bright.
Trunchbull: A bright child?
Miss Honey: Yes. She can multiply large sums in her head.
Trunchbull: So can a calculator.
Miss Honey: Well, I think she might be happier in an older and more advanced class.
Trunchbull: Ah! I knew it! You can't handle the little viper, so you want to foist her off to one of the other teachers!
Miss Honey: No, no, no, Miss Trunchbull.
Trunchbull: Yes! Typical slothful cowardice! Listen to me, Jen, the distance the shot-put goes depends upon the effort you put into it: PERSPIRATION! If you can't handle the little brat, I'll lock her in the chokey! (Hurls a shot at the chokey) Get it?
Miss Honey: Yes, ma'am.
~ Trunchbull upon finding out Matilda Wormwood is a smart girl.
Trunchbull: One of you tried to poison me! Who? (Matilda raises her hand) Oh, Matilda, I knew it.
Matilda: I just thought you'd like to know it's not a snake, it's a newt.
Trunchbull: What did you say?
Matilda: It's a newt, Ms. Trunchbull.
Trunchbull: Stand up, you villainous sack of goat slime! You did this!
Matilda: No, Ms. Trunchbull.
Trunchbull: Did you act alone or did you have accomplices?
Matilda: I didn't do it.
Trunchbull: You didn't like the chokey, did you? Thought you'd pay me back, didn't you? Well, I'll pay
you back, young lady.
Matilda: For what, Ms. Trunchbull?
Trunchbull: For this newt, you piss-worm!
Matilda: I'm telling you, I didn't do it.
Trunchbull: Besides, even if you didn't do it, I'm gonna punish you, because I'm big and you're small, and I'm right and you're wrong, and there's nothing you can do about it. You are a liar and a scoundrel, and your father is a liar and a cheat. You are the most corrupt lowlifes in the history of civilization. Am I wrong? I'm never wrong. In this classroom, in this school, I am GOD!
~ Trunchbull, reacting to Matilda talking about a newt.
Trunchbull: How could you keep going...? Useless, FLAMING CAR!!! (slams the door) Wormwood! Sell me a lemon? (later) You're heading for the chokey, young lady!
Matilda: The chokey?
Trunchbull: To teach you a lesson.
Matilda: What lesson?
Trunchbull: You and your father think you can make a fool out of me!
Matilda: My father?
Trunchbull: THE GUY WITH THAT STUPID HAIRCUT! (opens her office door.)
Matilda: I'm nothing like my father.
Trunchbull: You're the SPITTING image. (took her inside the narrow) The apple never rots far from the tree.
~ Trunchbull teaches Matilda a lesson to put her in the chokey.
Trunchbull: I am here to teach you all a lesson. Sometimes in life, horrible and unexplainable things happen. These things are a test of character. And I have character. Form a line across the room, quickly! Run, run, run — don’t keep me waiting! Fill this gap! (calms down a little) I expect you’re wondering what I’m talking about. Yes. A child came to my house. I don’t know how, I don’t know when, I don’t know why.
Miss Honey: Miss Trunchbull, may I-?
Ms. Trunchbull: No, you may not. (turns back to the students) But I know a child came. So did you know it was illegal to enter someone’s home without their permission?
~ Trunchbull and Miss Honey during her "lesson" to the children at Miss Honey's class.

Relationships[]

Family[]

Allies[]

Enemies[]

Trivia[]

  • Miss Trunchbull's role as a cruel teacher is regarded as one of the most common themes in Roald Dahl's works, featuring abusive and unkind teachers or child haters who delight in the children's suffering, like Captain Lancaster in Danny, the Champion of the World or the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. That said, Agatha Trunchbull is best remembered as one of the most crueler examples of evil fictional teachers.
  • Maggie Kirkpatrick was originally considered for the role of Miss Trunchbull, but she was unauthorized to work in the United States. In fact, Pam Ferris was cast as the role of Miss Trunchbull instead.
  • The Trunchbull and the Grand High Witch are the evilest Roald Dahl villains.
  • It is widely believed that Agatha Trunchbull was based off the headmistress of Liccy Dahl (who served as a producer) - who reportedly got very creative with her punishments. However, the Trunchbull was actually based on Roald Dahl's real-life experiences during his childhood, where he had a teacher named Captain Hardcastle, who was sadistic with him.
  • While speaking to Harry Wormwood, she mentions that she was never a child. This implies a rough and/or abusive upbringing, though it could simply be out of spite toward children.
    • In the book, after her niece Ms. Honey says that she was once a little girl as well, she claims she was not a child for very long and that she became a woman very quickly which may or may not be true.
  • Miss Trunchbull is arguably less evil in the film adaptation than in the book, even having some comedic moments like when she desperately dances to get rid of the salamander. This is because most of her scenes abusing Matilda's classmates weren't included. However, the implication that Agatha may have killed Magnus remains and a scene in which she expresses the idea of killing Mr. Wormwood for scamming her is shown.
  • Her line, "In this Classroom, in this School, I am GOD!" is one of the most controversial aspects of the movie.
  • The 1996 Pam Ferris interpretation of the character is often compared to Marge Dursley in the third Harry Potter installment, Prisoner of Azkaban, not only due to the two characters being played by the same actress but also to similar characteristics; both Trunchbull and Marge are hostile to the titular characters/protagonists (Matilda and Harry respectively), who in turn use magical powers to teach the antagonists painful lessons and to make them end their cruel acts and leave for good.
  • Agatha's first name came from an Ancient Greek word meaning "good". However, it's very ironic for this character; Agatha Trunchbull is just about anything, but good.
  • Despite being female, Miss Trunchbull has only been portrayed by a female actress in the 1996 and 2022 film adaptation of the book. In the musical adaptation, she was portrayed by a male actor.
    • Additionally, in the 2022 adaptation, it was originally planned to respect the theatrical concept of her being played by a man, since it had been announced that Ralph Fiennes would take the role, but in 2021 this idea was decided and it was announced that the role would be I'd take a woman, Emma Thompson.
  • Though unmentioned in other adaptations, which simply state that Trunchbull was never seen again after her breakdown, some play versions mention that Trunchbull was eventually arrested sometime after fleeing the school due to accidentally admitting that Magnus's ghost wanted revenge on her for his murder in a panic attack.
  • Trunchbull in the musical film version has a fantasy sequence of a world without children, in which he is seen swinging on a swing with his hair loose and wearing a white dress. This is possibly a reference to Much Ado About Nothing's Beatriz, another character played by Emma Thompson.
  • In 2022, it is revealed that she will appear in the for the musical film based on the stage play but like in the 1996 movie, she will be played by a female actress before its premiere was unknown if her character will have some changes.
    • Her changes were minimal as she was faithful to the musical version, but it can be seen that she is even more perverse than the previous versions. In this film, she is not only responsible for the death of Magnus, but also indirectly causing the death of his wife so that Magnus would obey her and continue fulfilling his contract, due to him being easy to manipulate. That is, until he tried to confront her when he discovered the abuse that Trunchbull was doing to his daughter and this was another reason why she killed him, and these actions being clearer to the viewer than in other versions.
    • Another notable change is that unlike the other versions, Matilda was completely responsible for Trunchbull's defeat, unlike in the 90s movie and stage musical, where she defeated her with the help of the students. In this film, Matilda used her powers to not only scare Trunchbull into thinking that Magnus' ghost had returned, but also used them to expel her from school, giving her hair pigtails similar to Amanda Thripp's and lifting her through said pigtails to swing her around like a hammer before sending her flying out of the classroom. Trunchbull would flee from the school, and presumably from town, in fear, after Miss Honey takes the keys to the school and her house from her and tells her to run, also giving her an ironic punishment to what she did to Amanda.
  • On the back cover of the 2005 special edition DVD, she is erroneously referred to as "Mrs. Trunchbull" when mentioning the "Get Rid of Miss Trunchbull Trivia Game" as one of the special features.
  • Her "fresh meat" line from the 1996 film, which she says when she sees Matilda Wormwood for the first time before moving her away so she can confront Amanda Tripp for having braids, has go on to become an Internet meme.

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