Trivia: Miss Honey's doll's name is Liccy Doll. Roald Dahl's second wife's name was Liccy Dahl.
Trivia: The two actors who play Matilda's parents, Harry and Zinnia Wormwood, are Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito. They are actually husband and wife and have been married since 1982 and have 3 children.
Trivia: The film is dedicated to Suzie Wilson, the mother of the actress who plays Matilda, Mara Wilson. Suzie Wilson died of breast cancer during the filming of Matilda. The adult actors in the film commended Mara for carrying on with the film after such a tragic loss.
Trivia: Pam Ferris based her performance of Miss Trunchbull on her 80 year old gardener - she said she was a bully and had a hard sound to her voice.
Trivia: When Matilda goes back for Miss Honey's "Treasures", at one point Miss Trunchbull eats a chocolate without removing the gold paper wrapper.
Trivia: When Matilda is dancing and moving the cards all around the living room, off camera, the crew was dancing because Mara Wilson (Matilda) was embarrassed to dance on her own.
Answer: The "real world" answer is that it's a movie, and without Trunchbull, there's no villain at the school for Matilda to battle. Within the context of the film, everyone, including the staff, is afraid of her and fear if they speak up, she'll retaliate.