The Indian In The Cupboard

The Indian In The Cupboard – Omri is gifted a cupboard that only works with one special key. But it holds another secret: toys put inside will magically come to life! But this becomes a big responsibility when Omri brings Native American, Little Bear, to life. Can he protect the secret he has discovered from forces that might end the life he accidentally created?

The Indian In The Cupboard (1995) – Director: Frank Oz

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8328890

Rating: PG

Running Length: 96 mins

Starring: Hal Scardino, Litefoot, Lindsay Crouse

Genre: Fantasy, Drama

REVIEW: ‘THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD’

What if you had a magical cupboard that would bring anything put inside it to life? This is the question posed by ‘The Indian In The Cupboard’, which takes a surprisingly mature tone so that the initial fun element is quickly replaced by responsibility. What DO you do when you can create life just with the turn of a key?

Frank Oz’s direction blends the size / scale special effects well (which still holds up over 20 years later) so that this element is used purely as a storytelling tool and doesn’t over shine the narrative. Omri (Hal Scardino) delivers a fine performance from such a young actor. Whilst his initial interest in the magical box he’s acquired is just that of fun, when it becomes clear that he is bringing real sentient people to life he takes on the emotional weight of this. He can’t just send them back to being toys now (effectively ‘killing them’) can he?

The central relationship between Omri and Little Bear (Litefoot) is superb. As Litefoot moves from reverence of Omri (believing him a God) through to the realisation that he is just a child, the shifting in power in their conversation crackles with feeling. By treating the moral conundrum through a child’s eyes we feel each emotion strongly. The ‘movie ending’ does feel somewhat tacked on, as if some excitement needed to be injected for the final act. But in the final moments between our two leads, the groundwork has been done for a truly emotionally charged coda that will bring tears to the eyes.

CONTENT: IS ‘THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

When first brought to life, the Indian figure is scared. He lashes out and stabs Omri in the fingertip.

Omri brings a medieval knight to life. It swings an axe and Omri throws it over his shoulder.

Omri takes the bow and arrow from an Indian Chieftain brought to life, who then collapses from an apparent heart attack. Omri is upset and says, “He’s dead? I killed him!”

Omri goes to a shop alone, but is lifted up by an older boy who demands his money. He is pushed hard against a wall and is upset after the incident.

Omri’s older brother has a pet rat which is shown to be running around the house in a plastic ball. When Omri is frustrated he kicks the ball hard and it bounces down the stairs. He is never chastised for this and indeed the movie treats such animal cruelty somewhat comedically.

Omri brings a toy animal to life for the sole purpose of letting Little Bear hunt it. It is released into the grass and Little Bear smiles, and goes after it. It is killed off screen and there is a brief shot of it dead, across Little Bear’s lap. He has his knife drawn and says some words in his own language. Presumably he is about to skin the animal.

Little Bear talks about smallpox and dead children, which makes him cry.

Omri and his friend argue about revealing the existence of the little live figures. Omri is very agitated because he takes the responsibility of the figures lives very seriously.

While watching late night TV, the music video for Mötley Crüe’s ‘Girls Girls Girls’ is shown, to which the cowboy figure snorts ‘disgusting!’ and ‘doing this in front of you children!’ whilst continuing to be transfixed. The TV is then changed to show a program of an old film where cowboys are massacring Native Americans. This coincides with lightning outside which upsets and disorients Little Bear. The cowboy is enthusiastically enjoying the movie, obviously to the upset of Little Bear. An accident occurs where someone is seemingly mortally wounded, and they look confused before collapsing.

The pet rat escapes and gets into the floorboards. Little Bear also goes under to attempt to hunt it before it can kill him. We hear lots of scrabbling and tense noises. There is a jump scare as the rat bursts out from under the floor.

Omri gets a female Native American figure and intends to bring it to life in order to provide Little Bear with a wife. However, Little Bear changes his mind and decides that such a thing would be wrong.

Omri cries when using the cupboard again at the end.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD’ FOR KIDS?

‘The Indian In The Cupboard’ is a classic style kids movie, in that it features children and has plenty of fun but it also explores the strength of feeling that only kids experience as they learn emotional maturity. From a pacing point of view this is a more serious movie than you might expect from first glance. The ‘fun’ of bringing things to life is short lived. ‘The Indian In The Cupboard’ is therefore less of a ‘let them get lost in a magical world’ kind of movie, more a ‘watch as a family together and discuss throughout’ experience. We would therefore recommend this movie as generally suitable for ages 5 and up, but for ages 5 – 7 some parental supervision is advisable.

• Violence: 1/5 (bullying, bow and arrow action)
• Emotional Distress: 3/5 (Omri gets very upset at the consequences of his actions and the responsibility he has to keep the newly alive figures safe. There is talk of family death and sadness)
• Fear Factor: 1/5 (the rat section is tense)
• Sexual Content: 1/5
• Bad Language: 0/5
• Dialogue: 1/5 (There is mention of a dying grandparent. Little Bear says early on that wife has died. Later he says that ‘men want wives’ when talking about being lonely)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of responsibility for life, protection, being revered, racism, shame, disputes with friends, and that you can’t control life.

Words by Michael Record