13. Miss Trunchbull – Matilda

Roald Dahl had a knack for writing uniquely loathsome villains for children, and the movie Matilda brings his greatest bad guy, Miss Trunchbull, to life in all of her horrible glory. Played with relish by Pam Ferris, this terrifying headteacher flings little girls like hammers (think: The Olympics), locks her pupils in iron maidens, force-feeds boys giant chocolate cakes and generally chews the scenery so hard that they probably had to pick splinters out of her teeth. The book is set in the UK, but only in modern American would they employ someone who charges around like a bull in a china shop to teach children…