--- title: Matilda Challenge: Internet Recreates Telekinesis Scene description: Matilda may have hit theaters over 22 years ago, but it's still inspiring fans to try their hand at summoning their inner telekinetic powers. canonical: https://time.com/5366781/matilda-challenge/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-14T17:54:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:54:19.631Z og:title: Matilda Challenge Has People Mastering Objects With Their Minds og:description: Unleash your inner psychic abilities og:url: https://time.com/5366781/matilda-challenge/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf51198e5c7b89b2c/69885bbb8e0601d28b461786/matilda.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4099 og:image:height: 2306 og:image:alt: matilda og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Matilda Challenge Has People Mastering Objects With Their Minds twitter:description: Unleash your inner psychic abilities twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf51198e5c7b89b2c/69885bbb8e0601d28b461786/matilda.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Viral New 'Matilda Challenge' Has People Mastering Objects With Their Mind Powers > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=a9055123-51d0-462d-b025-40efdce3a045&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Aug 14, 2018 5:54 PM UTC  MATILDA - Cursed with obtuse parents and a martinet school principal, 6-year-old Matilda Wormwood immerses herself in books. With so much mental stimulation, she acquires telekinetic abilities -- which she unleashes on her family and odious headmistress. "Matilda" will air on ABC Family's 13 Nights of Halloween. (TRISTAR PICTURES, INC./FRANCOIS DUHAMEL) DANNY DEVITO, MARA WILSON, BRIAN LEVINSON, RHEA PERLMAN MATILDA - Cursed with obtuse parents and a martinet school principal, 6-year-old Matilda Wormwood immerses herself in books. With so much mental stimulation, she acquires telekinetic abilities -- which she unleashes on her family and odious headmistress. "Matilda" will air on ABC Family's 13 Nights of Halloween. (TRISTAR PICTURES, INC./FRANCOIS DUHAMEL) DANNY DEVITO, MARA WILSON, BRIAN LEVINSON, RHEA PERLMAN Francois Duhamel—Tristar Pictures Inc.  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Aug 14, 2018 5:54 PM UTC [_Matilda_](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/04/11/matilda-the-best-musical-since-the-lion-king/) may have hit theaters over 22 years ago, but the 1996 cult classic is still motivating fans to try their hand at summoning their inner [telekinetic powers](http://time.com/4994689/stranger-things-season-2-ending-explained/). A new viral challenge inspired by the [scene from the movie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDTZ6A5zsYc) when Matilda—played by [Mara Wilson](http://time.com/4369152/mara-wilson-lgbt-orlando/)—masters her psychic abilities to the tune of Thurston Harris’s “Little Bitty Pretty One” has begun to take the Internet by storm. To complete the #MatildaChallenge, people are enlisting friends and family members to covertly move objects around as they point at them, creating the illusion that they are moving the items with their minds. The videos result in frequently hilarious recreations of the iconic sequence that even Wilson herself has weighed in on. “Hahahahaha I LOVE THESE,” she tweeted on Monday before sharing some of her favorite interpretations. > [](https://twitter.com/MaraWilson/status/1029103655155249152) > [](https://twitter.com/%5Fjessdmess/status/1029114322922942464) See some of the best videos below. > [](https://twitter.com/catarebolo/status/1028032783594205184) > [](https://twitter.com/MaraWilson/status/1029105366343200771) > [](https://twitter.com/exa%5Fibieta/status/1029114677370937344) > [](https://twitter.com/MaraWilson/status/1029105906552733696) > [](https://twitter.com/mitrompa/status/1026942813274091520) > [](https://twitter.com/MaraWilson/status/1029106390437048321) > [](https://twitter.com/Facu55facu/status/1029105853524258817) > [](https://twitter.com/lautarofagiano/status/1029119790345015297) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5366781/matilda-challenge/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5366781/matilda-challenge/"},"headline":"The Viral New 'Matilda Challenge' Has People Mastering Objects With Their Mind Powers","datePublished":"2018-08-14T17:54:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:54:19.631Z","description":"Unleash your inner psychic abilities","url":"https://time.com/5366781/matilda-challenge/","keywords":["Newsfeed","movies","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf51198e5c7b89b2c/69885bbb8e0601d28b461786/matilda.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf51198e5c7b89b2c/69885bbb8e0601d28b461786/matilda.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"matilda","caption":"matilda","creditText":"Francois Duhamel—Tristar Pictures Inc.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5366781/matilda-challenge/","name":"The Viral New 'Matilda Challenge' Has People Mastering Objects With Their Mind Powers"}}]}] ```