Customer Reviews

The Indian in the Cupboard

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I remember rushing out to watch this movie when it first appeared in theaters, since I was an enormous fan of the Lyn Reed Banks books. Alass, this movie took what could have been a wonderful adaptation, and turned it into a dumbed-down pile of insipid script and mostly forced acting. When I first saw it, I loved everything about it and immediately fell in love with the boy playing Omri, but now, I realize that his acting is horrible, but it's not his fault. The script is below mediocre; it's pitifully babyish. Lyn Reed Banks's stories had a charm of old-fashioned nostalgia to them, not so with this film. It has been completely modernized, including a few curse words, a relocation to the US, and a total emphasis on stereotyping the characters and making as many comical gags at their expense as possible. I will admit that there are several very touching moments, and even a little educational value to this, since Litefoot plays his character perfectly, and Frank Oz did feel inclined to at least include a song and a few sundry bits of the Iroquois language here. But overall, I would recommend the books over this.

The Indian in the Cupboard stars Hal Scardino and Litefoot. It is about a boy who turns 9 years old and gets a magical cupboard as a birthday present. And the cupboard brings to life toys. As the movie opens, Omri (Hal Scardino) got a cupboard as a birthday present. But there is no key. So his mom (Linsay Crouse) promises Ormi if he finds a key that works the cupboard she will give it to him. And the key that works is a key that his mom got for her dying grandma (when her grandma had nothing to leave her). Ormi puts in a liitle indian he also got for his birthday for his best freind Patrick (Rishi Bhat).

I was about 9 or 10 when this movie came out. I love everything about it. After I saw it I wanted a cupboard just like the one in the movie with a key and everything. I remember spending hours in the kicthen putting little figurines in the cupboards and seeing if they came alive or not. This is the best movie. I just wish it came in french.

In this movie, they show the character's feet at seemingly random times. Play upbeat music when it isn't needed, and some of the parts don't make any sense. When Omry (guy on the front) is asked (by his mom) how he felt, he said, "I fell pretty (BEEP!) good!" and the mom just stood there, smiling. (I'd like to see some REAL kid pull that one without getting busted)

Omry gets a cupboard, that when something is placed in it, locked in, then taken out; is alive. when he first meets the Indian (very scared at the time) and tells him his name is Omry, the Indian suddenly calms down, as if his name was soothing (????). And Patrick, Omry's friend, is probably the worst acting job of the movie.

A not-so-good acting job and lame plot don't make this movie worth your time.

When you first see Omri, a kid who's short, has messy hair and not the greatest teeth in the world, you don't think anything interesting can happen to him. But something does. His best friend, Patrick, gives him a toy Indian for his birthday. At his party, his brother gives him an old cupboard that he found in the crawlspace of their house. Omri's mother tells Omri that if he can find a key out of her collection, he can have it. He does. It was a key that his great-grandmother gave to his mother.
When Omri carelessly puts the toy Indian into the cupboard and locks it, the toy comes to life.
At first, the Indian (Little Bear) is scared, but eventually learns to trust Omri. Omri gives Little Bear whatever he desires, tools, food, and a hatchett from a knight! However, when he was getting a bow and arrow from an old Indian, the Indian is scared to death--literally! Omri realizes that these "Toys" have real lives and that they aren't something to fool around with. When Patrick discovers Omri's secret, he brings back a Cowboy named Boone. Little Bear and Boone eventually become friends. Omri takes Boone and Little Bear to school (Patrick wanted him to) and Omri displays that he has learned that the "toys" were people by saying "You can't! They're people! You can't use people!" When Patrick was going to show them to friends. Omri's brother takes Omri's cupbaord as a cruel joke and the key gets lost! What's worse, Boone is seriously wounded, and without medical attention, he will die! Omri realizes that Little Bear and Boone's safety and hapiness meant more to him than the novelty of having them. So Omri declares that when the key was found, they were sending Boone and Little Bear home.
The key is eventually found, and Omri is forced to let Little Bear and Boone go. Little Bear and Omri share one last moment, and then he sends them back.
This was a very good movie, at least fo me, and it's a good movie for kids to watch.

When Omri makes his toy Indian and his friend's toy cowboy into real miniature people, the Indian and Cowboy learn to overcome their prejudices and become friends. Omri also learns that relationships require responsibility and that we should not use others for our own pleasure. The movie contains a beautiful scene of the sun setting between New York's Twin Towers (WTC) that brought my wife to tears. The DVD version contains both widescreen and full screen versions. The full screen seemed to run better on my player. It's not the best family movie around, but it's not bad either.

"The Indian In The Cupboard" is a delightful, moving adaptation of Lynne Reid Banks's 1980 award-winning novel. I won't reveal the plot, to avoid giving away the ending. All I can say about it is that it's moving without being too sentimental, funny without being satiric, and entertaining with losing any of its superb fun. Even though the book is based in England, the film never abandons the Lynne Reid Banks style by using American actors.

Though some parts of the book were omitted from the script, it's still thoroughly entertaining without losing any of the characterizations delivered by Keith and Litefoot as Boone and Little Bear. It also delivers a strong moral message. Frank Oz deserves to direct gentle, moving fantasy movies like these, than just a wide-range of directing. What can I say? Perfect, in any way possible for child-oriented films.

Rated PG for mild language and violence.

My six year old son opened this movie up after reading the book, and was fairly disappointed because it moved rather slowly. It had no music score to keep you interested as most good movies do, and it skipped a lot of the best parts of the story that are found in the book. On the whole, I would recommend reading the book and forget about the movie. Kids have a great imagination and should use it to picture the story from the book.

This movie has a lot to offer. The most obvious is that it's a fun story. It has a simple premise, but one which is intelligently explored and expanded on as the movie goes on.

Second, it has a great pace and tone that is rare among modern kids' movies. It stays interesting, and even exciting and suspenseful, while still remaining understated and not taking on a frenetic pace.

But the best thing is that this already good mix is enhanced with thoughtful lessons on life, presented in a way that kids can digest.

Overall, this is a great kids' movie, and I hope to see more like it from Mr. Oz.

Frank Oz is a man of amazing conquests, not only is he the voice and puppeteer for many of the most loved puppets of all time, for example Yoda and Miss Piggy, he is also a heck of a creative director. THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD is based on the popular series of the same name and is a beautiful movie. The script was adapted by Melissa Matheson, the former Mrs Harison Ford and writer of E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. Her touch is seen in both films, and one of the elements that strengthened E.T., weakens this film with its absence. The young boy in ET befriends an alien that is stranded here on earth. There relationship is important because Elliot is from a broken home and almost a loner. Omri, our hero in THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD comes from a loving, normal family so his relationship with the Indian does not carry the same importance with the viewer. Still, Director Oz fills the film with subtle intelligence, a great musical score by Randy Edelman, and some wonderful special effects. His use of focus is brilliant, making you believe in the little Indian. Still, the film is harmless family entertainment, in fact, with its lack of offensive material and the subtle intelligence and morals presented, I'd almost push it up to a 5 star film... The Widescreen DVD is not the most beautiful transfer I have ever seen, there are some minor color distortions, especially around the effects shots...