Watch The Indian in the Cupboard For Free

good back-story, and good acting

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

In NYC, Omri (Hal Scardino) gets a cupboard among other things on his 9th birthday. His friend Patrick gives him a plastic Indian. He puts the Indian in the cupboard and locks it overnight. The next morning, he finds the Indian figure actually alive. The Indian is an Iroquois named Little Bear who was fighting the French for the English in 1761. When Little Bear gets hurt, Omri reanimates WWI British Army medic Tommy Atkins (Steve Coogan) to treat him. Patrick figures out the secret and reanimates cowboy Boone (David Keith). This is a sweet kids movie. It has some fun stuff. Hal is really goofy looking and fits as a gawky kid. There isn't enough drama to interest the adults. This could be a good Twilight Zone episode. As a movie, it doesn't have the excitement or the adventure that this needs.

Now that I've grown and educated myself, I can't stop thinking about how politically incorrect the title is. People say it should be called 'the Native American in the cupboard'. This is a very very common misconception in America. Yes, for a while they were called Indians. Christopher Columbus did not call them Indians because he thought they were from India. He called them "Gods people". The word in his language for "God's people" sounds very similar to the word Indian that we use today. It's just that the pronunciation we use now has changed a little after all this time. As for people saying that the "correct" term is "Native American" is highly offensive and frankly kind of stupid. How is it that taking the name from which the conquerors's gave them(American) supposed to be the correct term? That makes absolutely no sense. The word American has no relation whatsoever to Indian culture. Therefore "Native American" is utterly ridiculous, as well. If there is to be a title, it's should be call 'The Iroquois in the Cupboard'. No matter, what it is, call. The movie and book is not racist. The movie and book is trying to show tolerance through it's metaphor for how ignorant people have subjugated and marginalized the Indian populations of America by refusing to understand, listen to, or accommodate Indian heritage. The film opens up, a lot of things that people rarely knew about Native Americans. The film starts with a young boy, Omri (Hal Scardino), receives a cupboard. He uses a "magical" key, which belonged to his great-grandmother, to bring a plastic 18th century Native American figurine to life with the cupboard. The now-living Iroquois reveals his name as Little Bear (Litefoot). Litefoot, a real rapper does a great job in teaching role, not only in teaching the child about Iroquois's culture, but also the morality of playing God. There is a Frankenstein feel to the film. My favorite line in the film "God does play with little men'. Author Lynne Reid Banks and Director Frank Oz did an excellent job conveying the worry and angst the young boy felt for for his little toy come to life. I appreciate how the author had the boy evolve from seeing the Indian as a plaything to realizing that, regardless of his size, the Indian was a person with needs, feelings, and a right to live his life. What struck me about it was not that it was racist, or dated (it didn't feel so as much as you'd think,) but that it is a deconstruction of the idea that magical toys would be fun to have, and possibly of imagination as well. Omri seem just the typical kid protagonist, kinda generic if you ask me. But I still think his acting was unintentionally funny. Just weird out with all the close ups on Omri's face, the odd relationship between him and Little Bear, the weird fears, and how he reacts to others. Examples when Omri's dad confronts him about the saw blades, and Omri says he buried them. Odd lying by him and his parent accept that lame excuse. What kid can cuss to his mom as well? What is with his relationship with brothers being super cool in the beginning of the film and then for no reason Omri turns into a complete jerk with him? The worst thing, the kid does is abuse an animal. That poor thing was abused through the whole film. Whether it was real or not, it was still animal abuse and shouldn't be shown in this movie. The treatment of that rat was appalling. Omri still wasn't nearly as annoying as his friend, Patrick. One minute he's Omri's best friend, and all docile and quiet, and then like a switch, he's evil and defiant with seeing them as nothing more than animated toys. He brings in Boone (David Keith), a bigot Injun hating cowboy whom at first conflict with Little Bear, but grows to be friends with him, once they got to know each other. One of the odd things about the film is scenes that go nowhere or has nothing to do with the story like the Mohawk bully. Another thing is the degrading of women in the film, from the kids watching Montley Crue 'Girls' music video (it's the 1990's, why were they watching it anyways?) to Bear demanding a wife so she can cook. I put aside my critiques and squelched my inner squirming and found much to like about the film. The special effects were top notch, and it was really neat to see Little Bear, Boone and Tommy (Steve Coogan) the medic brought to life on the screen. It was pretty cool to see the Star Wars, Jurrasic Park, G.I Joe, and Robo-Cop reference. The movie is pretty close to the book, minus little changes such as the toy shop. I laugh at the kid that loves JFK. While the movie isn't that bad, it's not going to hurt the kids watching it. I like it when I was a kid and still kinda do.

Even though I rated this plucky movie a 4, it doesn't mean I hate it, my dear friends. I liked it but it doesn't have the stuff to make it to my higher favoritism of movies. Frank Oz is so imaginative (Yoda, Miss Piggy... love them!), but I have to say that this film to me is not so Frank Oz, and movies that are adapted from books are quite impressive, but I can only say I was slightly impressed. For one thing, the cast is inadequate, I never heard of David Keith and Litefoot (David Coogan, however, was in Around the World in 80 Days).This story follows Omri, an extremely childish youngster who, for his birthday, receives a MAGICAL (ooh!) cupboard. The Cupboard lacks its key so Omri's mother (actress Lindsay Crouse, never heard of her), gives him her collection of keys, and guess what…? He finds the certain key on his second try! That part always took me aback. He puts in an antique Iroquois figure in the cupboard, and later in the morning he opens it to find the figure alive as a small Iroquois man. The pair has many tedious adventures, some including an idiotic rat ball and a down-right scruffy cowboy who was a toy figure too (the cupboard MAGICALLY (ooh!) turns plastic (plaz-teck!) things into their real life counterparts, only smaller). The pair soon learns that every boy must become a man (a typical, yet true moral).Omri's character really is childish, yet endearing; his parents seem to pamper him, he's afraid of the dark, and he has lame 90's action figures; but he does mellow out in the end of the movie. I liked the acting, but it was no To Kill a Mocking Bird, even at moving parts. The Iroquois man was different from other Indian movies; he was a guru in a way. The music was just moderate and odd, though with one exception you'll know when you hear it.Be warned, my dear readers, this movie contains slight profanity (embarrassing really); simulative killing and some ladies do a loathsome dance on TV at one point (they call this a kid movie, how embarrassing. Let's hope Omri was sleeping at that adultish scene). And no the kid does not play God (duh, no one can play the Lord Almighty, my foolish friends), its just a story, have fun. Other than the 3 points I pointed out, the movie is plucky and it has a rather moving ending. It's an OKAY movie >: )

I first saw the film on my 10th birthday, and to this day, when Omri sends Little bear and Boone back to their plastic-fantastic lives, it still makes me well-up. The on-screen friendship between Omri and Little bear is amazing, and is seen as loving and trusting.I have often sat in bed when i have felt under the weather and watched this film over and over again. It's simply a heartfelt and highly original story and i will continue to enjoy watching it, now and forever.I am in the process of reading the trilogy in paperback, and am thoroughly enjoying it. It will be so nice to one day read it to my own children, and i hope they, and others enjoy it as much as i am right now.If you get a chance to see the film or read the book, please do - I know you'll love it as much as i do.