THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD
A film review by Thomas Wheeler
Copyright 1995 Thomas Wheeler
As with CASPER, I went to THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD uncertain of what to expect, and not really expecting a whole lot. It looked amusing, and certainly interesting from a special effects standpoint, and it was based on a British children's story book, many of which are wonderful adventures (I recommend the original version of 101 DALMATIANS to anyone).
And, as with CASPER, the movie far, *far* exceeded my expectations. THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD is a truly wonderful, marvelous, and magical adventure. For those unfamiliar with the story, a young boy named Omri receives, among other birthday presents, an antique cupboard and a small plastic Indian. Placing the Indian in the cupboard (!) and locking it with a special key somehow (and they never explain how, but this isn't "Star Trek," people--they don't *have* to explain) brings the Indian to life. Or more accurately, brings a miniaturized Iroquois Indian named Little Bear to the cupboard. (I have to say, it makes you wonder if there's a six-foot plastic Indian out there in the past someplace after that).
Omri soon learns a number of lessons, *none* of which are, thank God, crammed down the audience's throat. One is that such a wonder as this cupboard must be treated carefully, as he learns when he crams Darth Vader, a G.I. Joe, Robocop, a Jurassic Park dinosaur, and a Star Trek Ferengi and Cardassian in the cupboard, and miniaturized chaos ensues for a truly hysterical multiple cameo.
Omri also learns that the little Indian must be treated with care and respect. It's a person, not a toy. It's a lesson that Omri's friend is a little slow to pick up on, as this youngster brings a cowboy and horse to life. But even he learns eventually.
There are subtle lessons on friendship, respect, life and death, all woven through the picture, but none pounded over your head. You're left with, as I said, a truly wonderful and magical adventure whose special effects are just as carefully and subtly woven throughout the movie. If you've got kids, go see it. If you don't have kids, go see it anyway. I don't, and I still enjoyed it.
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews