Miss Trunchbull: Making a Monster

I sat on the couch with a stuffy nose, contemplating life, even though I was still in elementary school. I was missing another day of classes and searching for something to watch. My mother came back with a VHS tape of Matilda. At that time, I didn't know who Danny DeVito was, but he created one of the scariest villains of my childhood. It wasn't a monster with huge claws or a creature with a deranged face; it was an elementary school principal. Miss Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), the headmistress of Crunchem Hall, was the worst nightmare for any student. Trunchbull, built like a brick house, struck fear into your soul without saying a word. She stood there with an evil look while she flashed her leather whip.

“They're all mistakes, children. Filthy, nasty things. Glad I never was one." - Miss Trunchbull

Although Matilda's magic in the film ultimately defeats Miss Trunchbull, the former headmistress's gloom and despair remain haunting. The film left me with many questions about her anger toward innocent little children and the source of her hatred. Was it childhood trauma? Or possible roid rage. Trunchbull was an Olympian, after all.

My pitch for the spin-off is called Miss Trunchbull: Making a Monster. The movie opens in mid-1900s England, where young Agatha Trunchbull lives under the dominance of her parents, Cain and Carmilla Trunchbull. Cain is an unsuccessful athlete who directs his anger through rigorous training regimens for his single child. Carmilla is a cold woman who uses her tongue to maintain discipline in Agatha’s life while requiring one hundred percent effort from her in every domain. Both parents teach Agatha that love needs to be acquired, that her weakness cannot be tolerated, and that power remains the only value that matters.

The film portrays the harsh realities of Agatha’s childhood, where she spends most of her days in the backyard practicing with a heavy hammer while her father watches her mercilessly. Her bruises and blisters just became part of the usual routine. Reports of pain or discomfort receive immediate verbal punishment or even harsher penalties. Carmilla shows no sympathy toward Agatha’s sensitive condition and screams, “You’ll never amount to anything if you can’t take a little pain.” Mastering hammer-throwing competitions brings Agatha temporary pride, yet her parents continue to show her no love. Her parents continue to treat her as if she were an object rather than a child with no place for affection in their relationship.

As the years passed, Agatha’s muscles did grow stronger, but so did the storm that raged within her. The victories she won in the hammer throwing ring bought her momentary approval, yet her parents’ demands towered over her like an insurmountable mountain range. No matter how hard she strived, there was never a chance for their approval, which stayed before her like a reward she would never grasp.

One evening, while hiding at the top of the stairs, she overheard their voices. Carmilla spoke with no emotion in her voice, “She’s ready now.” “Somebody will take her out of our lives.” Her words felt like a sledgehammer to her chest. They didn’t see her as a daughter. She felt like a commodity to them, an asset that needed development to find her way into the right hands. This understanding destroyed something inside of her. Agatha made an unwritten promise to herself that nobody would ever own her again. From that day forward, every hammer swing went beyond training to become a powerful statement declaring her intention to take charge of her life no matter the cost. Agatha even resorted to steroids to maximize her strength. She didn’t know the side effects, but it unintentionally helped fuel her fire inside.

When her parents die in a car accident after she emerges as the national hammer-throwing champion, Agatha receives nothing in her parents’ will. After escaping their mental manipulation yet struggling with their mental discipline, she steers her anger and bitterness toward dominance. Agatha feels every child should bear the same suffering she grew up with. She begins to search for a way to make every child’s life suffer. Eventually, she locates Crunchem Hall, a chaotic and neglected school. Hiring a new headmistress, Agatha plans to transform the institution into her private domain of rules and punishments.

The character hates children because she experienced such a horrible, trauma-filled childhood. In her view, children represent weakness, poor, ungrateful, and undisciplined like her when she struggled to find her place in the world. Her well-known punishments, such as the chokey, perfectly represent the punishments she received in her childhood. In her mind, these children need strong discipline to prepare them for life’s challenges, just as her parents did for her.

Miss Trunchbull: Making a Monster is a psychological drama about one of my childhood’s nastiest villains. It shows how easily someone who has experienced abuse can develop into an abuser. It interweaves dark emotional moments with powerful scenes of raw force to create a film that stays with viewers after the final scenes.