User reviews

Underrated and highly involving movie for kids. A young boy finds out that his cupboard has magical powers and can turn plastic into reality. He first turns a plastic Indian into a real human being. The movie teaches about responsibility but in an understandable way. It isn't patronizing nor childish, which means older audiences should relate to it also. It also mediates on life and death at certain points, and was the first film in a long time to be genuinely emotionally shocking. The relationship between the Indian and the cowboy was very well developed as they started to bond over their tragedies. The film does have a number of loose edges. Rishi Bhat was particularly annoying at times, but in a way he was necessary to play off Scardino. Even Scardino wasn't always a lovable protagonist. In one scene he kicks his brother's pet rat down the stairs, in an event where the rat clearly would have died. As the film hadn't relied on cartoon logic up until that point it was a bit out of place. Great effects, and seeing Darth Vader vs. a T-Rex kind of made up for those moments. A more innocent time when children's movies didn't have to be loud and crass.

This film was special. It's not to say it ranks high amongst the worlds films technically (which is not to say it fails in this regard – it simply does not depend upon special effects), but the underlying theme is gentle and beautifully presented. The child actors' performances are solid. Especially the lead 'Omri', and his friend (whom I really liked and really disliked respectively - (hence his acting ability)). It's an innocent story with great imagination, and doesn't take itself too seriously. The relationship and growth that the main character develops with Little Bear (the Indian in the cupboard) is special. It eventually takes on a father/son dynamic after a role reversal or sorts from the Creator/created dynamic the boy has with Little Bear at first. I was touched by this relationship and by Omri's innocence. Frank Oz imagination is conveyed well through this work. I can easily imagine being in Omri's shoes and enjoy this film each time I watch it. Whether you watch this with kids or not, odds are you'll enjoy it.

On his ninth birthday a young boy (Hal Scardino) named Omri (it means "The Lord is my life" and was the name of a Hebrew king whose story is told in I Kings 16) receives various presents from his parents (Richard Jenkins , Lindsay Crouse) and brothers . Two of them first seem to be less important : an old cupboard -a wooden medicine cabinet - from his brother and a little Indian figure made of plastic . Then there happens the biggest adventure of his childhood , the magical cupboard brings his toy action figures to life and Omri watches him become flesh and blood ; there also appear a soldier (Steve Coogan) from WWII . Three-inch plastic Indian named Little Bear (Lifefoot) undertaking several adventures and teaching him important lessons . Thing go worse , however , when the boy's best friend brings a toy gunfighter (David Keith) to life and pursuit starts . Events turn nasty and might be frightened for young children , by some scenes involving a rather vicious mouse .

Enjoyable and well-intentioned film plenty of good feeling , marvelous adventure , fantasy and sense of wonder . This is a nice movie with heart that amuses and has something to tell . The picture is pretty good but suffers of claustrophobic scenario , as it is mostly set in room , exception some brief scenes in courtyard . Intelligent as well as sensitive screenplay by Melissa Matheson , Harrison Ford's real-life first wife , based on the best-selling children's book by Lynne Reid Banks who wrote her original novel as a bedtime story for her son , Omri . Cool special effects , as blue screen techniques allow them to appear together-on-screen although they were really filmed together only once . Emotive as well as evocative musical score by Randy Edelman . Colorful and adequate cinematography by Russell Carpenter .

The motion picture well produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall was professionally directed by Frank Oz , though he stated he was reluctant to direct this movie, as he doesn't think he's a children's director. Frank began forming team with the great Jim Henson filming known titles such as ¨The Dark Crystal¨ and ¨Muppets take Manhattan¨. Frank subsequently directed a lot of comedies as ¨Little shop of horrors¨, ¨Dirty rotten scoundrels¨, ¨What about Bob?¨, ¨House sitter¨, ¨In and out¨, ¨Bowfinger¨and a thriller titled ¨The score¨. And this ¨Indian in cupboard¨, it results to be one of his most sensitive films . Rating : 6'5/10 . Better than average . Well worth watching .

1995 was certainly a great year for fantasy films and The Indian In The Cupboard was one of the many great movies of that year.

A little boy puts a toy Indian in the cupboard and it comes to life. They gradually become good friends throughout the film and the young boy also puts some of his other toys into the cupboard as well.

The acting is great throughout and it's a nice little story as well. The great thing about films like this is that they are pure fantasy and they feature the type of things that most young kids dream about. What young child wouldn't like to bring some of their toys to life? It may never happen but it's great to be able to watch a movie where it does happen.

All in all, a lovely movie for the kids.

I might be coming from a bit of a biased angle here but I remember seeing this film countless times growing up. It was recorded from TV on a blank VHS tape by my grandmother and I will never forget those days watching it over at her house. The point is, if I seem a bit too positive about this film, it's because I will always associate it with those childhood memories.

With that said, The Indian in the Cupboard is a perfectly fine film. As someone who likes films that are on a smaller scale, I do enjoy this, more or less, slice-of-life style and it is actually quite refreshing with its slower pace and more relaxed cinematography when compared to many of the big blockbuster films that come out today.

One thing I really have to commend this film for are its visual effects. Bringing to life the idea of tiny people and big people interacting and existing in the same frame, as well as the environments the little people are in have aged surprisingly well. I will admit, when revisiting this film, I was a little apprehensive about whether or not the special effects would hold up, as even some of the big blockbusters from years later that rely heavily on special effects don't hold up over time. 25 years later, however, this film still looks as good as it did to me back when I was a kid. I was pleasantly surprised as, by no means did I ever think that anything in this film looked too artificial or bad in any way.

The soundtrack, I remember, was one of my favorite aspects of this film back when I was a kid, and it too, stands the test of time. Not only does it help sell the sentimental direction of the film, but it also helps to serve as something of a time capsule of what the 90s were kind of like.

I can't help but feel like this film is a genuine product of the 1990s, but not the obnoxious side of it that is constantly celebrated across the internet. I think it captures the 90s in more of a down-to-earth sense. It's difficult to explain but the side of the 90s it captures is that good-feeling and a sense of innocence that I believe many people are nostalgic for. For me personally, while watching this it seemed only natural that after it was over, I would go and play a Super Nintendo game or something. This film really does a good job at taking one back to the simpler times, I think.

For the most part, the acting in this film is fine. The only real note about it I have is that sometimes Omri's reaction shots look less like reactions and more like blank stares, and since they hold those particular shots for long periods of time, they kind of alternate between funny and unsettling. But it isn't fair to criticize child actors too much, and other than that, the kids in this film do an excellent job at portraying kids. Sometimes films that use child actors have the tendency to have child actors act like the adult director's approximation of how a kid would act and as a result, it comes off as very silly- this film does not have that problem and I'm happy that that's the case.

I think the thing that keeps this film from crossing into a higher score, for me, is that, while I greatly enjoyed it, I'm not sure if it would be considered something necessarily special by someone who does not have a history with it like I do. With that said, I do highly recommend it as I think it is a film worth seeing for a number of reasons. I was sure this was more of a Hallmark-type of film, but it got a theatrical release and, perhaps, it's of higher quality as a result? I highly recommend it and I can't do so enough.

Kids will love it, adults will think it has good parts and has a lovely idea, but in the end is maybe not fully complete.

I watched the movie as a kid and always somewhat remembered it and recently watched it again to see what it actually was about and to get the whole plot. I definitely like the idea and it is similar to Toy Story, but in the end it felt like something was missing or it was just too much of a movie for kids.

Actually quite sweet and enjoyable. But, Patrick and Omri (Stupid name) are so damn irritating, and when Omri kicks the rat, what the hell. God, no offence to the actor, but Omri has such an annoying face, and these emotional scenes which are featured in the film are just ruined by close-ups of his stupid face. Apart from that, it is quite sweet, quite sad and decently fun. I genuinely recommend this if you fancy killing some time.

For his ninth birthday, slightly geeky but wholly appealing Hal Scardino (as Omri) receives cool wooden cupboard from his brother. There is no key to lock the cupboard, but mother Lindsay Crouse lets young Mr. Scardino try some stray keys from her collection. Happily, it turns out that Scardino's great-grandmother gifted a key to his mother, which perfectly fits the cupboard. Scardino locks up a Native American Indian toy figure, a "antique" gift from best friend Rishi Bhat (as Patrick), overnight. When he wakes up, Scardino discovers that Iroquois Litefoot (as Little Bear) has come to life, in miniature form, from the year 1761.

The simple but effective special effects used throughout "The Indian in the Cupboard" have, surprisingly, made this film seem more natural looking than the special effects extravaganzas which blew it out of the theaters, back in the 1990s. Michael Lantieri, Eric Brevig, director Frank Oz, and their team make Scardino's little friends look very real. The story is based on a charming series of books by Lynne Reid Banks; the several sequels blunt the impact of the final door closing on the magical years of childhood, but the additional stories have no impact on this charming children's story. Grown-ups and some kids should see subtleties.

******* The Indian in the Cupboard (7/14/95) Frank Oz ~ Hal Scardino, Litefoot, Rishi Bhat, David Keith

I'll totally exclude the fact that they raped the book. The book is delightful, enchanting and enthralling.

The movie is the total opposite of all these things. The acting is awful on all fronts. Terrible directing from Frank Oz, terrible casting, terrible everything. I only revisited this disaster to put myself to sleep last night.

There are only a few circumstances for anyone to be seeing this.

Dodge at all costs unless you're curious about the book comparison or if you have a kid that you need to distract for 90 minutes or so. Horrendous adaptation, horrendous film-making.

Litefoot plays a wonderful role as the Indian brought to life, but I also suspect he may have had a little hand in the production guiding and eliminating several Native American stereotypes from the production. I do admit being quite a bit intrigued by the power of the cupboard and/or key as by some of the toys brought to life seem to actually hold the consciousnesses of actual individuals returned to life. If so, then the cupboard is merely a time machine of sorts, but there is a very cute, albeit brief scene where Omri brings to life a few of his action figures and discovers how dangerous they are with their phony weapons transformed into their real life equivalents. Among which is a dinosaur possibly from his Jurassic Park collection. He could have kept the creature alive and sold it for a million at his local Natural History Museum. He also doesn't have any comic book superheroes to bring to life; what a chance he missed !

On his ninth birthday a boy receives many presents. Two of them first seem to be less important: an old cupboard from his brother and a little Indian figure made of plastic from his best friend. But these two presents turn out to be much more magic than the rest...

The movie debuted at number six at the North American box office. The film made only $35 million against a production budget of $45 million, making it a box office bomb; however, the film was in competition with high-profile successes like Apollo 13, Nine Months, Pocahontas, and Batman Forever. As a result, plans to adapt the next three books in the series into films were dropped.

Like many others, I grew up reading and loving the book series. You would think this alone would be enough to make some money... each kid who read the book sees the movie once and you're sure to turn a profit. But maybe it just isn't that good. Now, in my thirties, I think the movie is sort of dumb. Is this because it really is dumb, or because I am not 10 years old? I am not sure, but I definitely think there was a big mistake in casting the two lead boys. They just had no personality, no screen magic. The toys were fine, but those kids... ugh.

Forget reviews saying this is not as good as the book. No films are are a good as the book! Watch this movie with an 8 year old child and you will see how good the film is.

Thank you Frank Oz for a wonderful film. The acting from the young children is above average and the tearful ending just right for a young audience. Interesting to note Steve Coogan plays a miniature model come to life - something he repeats later in his career in A Night At The Museum. Typecasting?

The effects are also very good. Remember this is 1995 when CGI was in it's infancy - but the miniaturisation of the cast is flawless.

This was an entertaining adaptation. From what I recall, it followed the book quite well, but didn't seem remembered over the years. I suppose audiences had too many family movies to choose from in summer of 95, since this was competing with Pocahantas (speaking of an Indian in a kids movie) and Free Willy 2. The visual effects of the Indian named Little Bear and the Cowboy as plastic toy miniatures brought to life in human form were very convincing and so were the camera angles capturing their larger than life point of view being just a few inches tall. There was supposed to be a series, but since the first didn't do that well, the series was gone. I wonder how the other books would have been on film.

When I was 9 years old someone brought over this movie and we watched it. I sat through the entire thing.

At the end the credits rolled up and in my innocent 9-year old voice, I proclaimed that this was the 'Worst Movie Ever Made!'

I am now 17 I have never seen the movie again I stand by that assessment.

Stupid, poorly acted, poorly directed, destroyed a reasonable book Highly unrecommended

Very nice coming of age story in a fantasy story. Brought back memories and fantasies of my childhood with a warm and happy ending. Well done. Enjoyed it even better 10 years after I viewed the first time. This is a must watch movie. Bring your young heart with you.

Great camera work, a good musical score that helps set the moods and the acting was quite solid all around. That or after watching a big pile of direct to video action movies my expectations were low.

The special effects team truly went above and beyond to make this happen. Although the story was really nothing to write home about unless you dig and look for deeper meanings, then this is a dull movie. The story to this is quite unique where almost anyone can appreciate the imagination that went into putting this together. Is it the most interesting movie though? Not really. I probably wouldn't watch it again. The story is bland a 4 out of 10 at best but the special effects and creativity I'll bump this up to a 6.

From the director of "Little Shop of horrors" and "What about Bob" brings you a unique Family movie.

Indian in the Cupboard is about Omri, a kid living in the Big Apple receives a cupboard for his birthday. It looked like an ordinary cupboard you'd find in an antique shop. But when Omri puts an Indian figurine in it, close it, and re open it to find a small living Indian who has been awaken and confused in Omri's world.

The Indian finds Omri to be a Great spirit with great powers. At first the Indian is frighten but soon he befriends with Omri and they start to make a bound with one another. Not only can you make an Indian figurine come to life, you can make other figurines come to life like "Boo Hoo Boon" and a British First Aid Unit.

I've known this movie for as long as I could remember. It may not appeal to many people. But it does make a good family movie to watch. What's worth seeing in this movie is the visual effects in making figurine characters seem smaller than the regular size characters.

I highly recommend it to the Frank Oz fans or those who like movies with unique visual effects. Suggested for older kids, due to it having some scene inappropriate for 8 and under.

The only redeeming part of this movie is after he rescues the Indian from under the floorboards with the key, and then the rat jumps out, as if from nowhere!! I always rewind it at least 4 times. But only that part. This movie is very strange though, because this would never happen. I did always like the movie box when i was a child though, because you could switch it from the picture of the little boy to the fake cupboard door, and i got a key with it. How delightful. All in all, I would not recommend this movie for you to watch, because there are many better movies available for your viewing pleasure. A movie that I would recommend that still has a magical feel to it would be the 1976 version of Freaky Friday. Because magical things happen in this movie as well as that movie, but the Freaky Friday movie is much more enjoyable.

"The Indian in the Cupboard" is a generally acceptable film, but it could have been MUCH better. Although it lacks originality, its story had potential, but somehow the result falls short. Arguably the most crucial weakness is that it stretches credibility to the limit; the basic premise of toys coming to life is easy enough to accept, but the suggestion that the toys have their own, secret, private lives even when they are seemingly soulless pieces of plastic, is really hard to swallow. Moreover, the film would me more fun if it allowed its characters to explore the possibilities and activities of "the real world", but they seem to suffer from melancholia and boredom and they just want to "go back". The special effects are excellent, and the film does have a couple of inventive moments, but too much moralizing and plodding pacing make it seem longer than it is. 5/10 would be a fair rating, I think.

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 imaginative, 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.

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 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, 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 poorish if okay movie.

I must first say I was shocked to see that the average rating given this film was below 6 (when I checked it in Jan of '05). While I gave it a 10, I fully expected at least a mid 7 from the IMDb audience. It is a wonderful film that I love to show to my children. What's not to like? It has a unique plot - that of an Indian coming to life in a young boy's cupboard, and wonderful acting and music. Through the boy's experiences with the Indian (wonderfully played by Litefoot) he comes to a new level of maturity. Hal Scardino's acting is natural and totally believable. If you are tired of the cut-out child actors that Hollywood gives us too often, then you'll love Hal. What a fabulously underplayed performance. The ending always makes me and my wife cry. There are so few really good films for children. I hate to suffer through other films I bought for the kids (like "Inspector Gadget" - a truly awful film) and I wish that there were more films like this one. This is a wonderful film and I heartily recommend it.

Overall it's not terribly bad, there are many great points in this film. I think the casting could have been better, the kid playing Omri doesn't seem like that great of an actor (and before you say "he's a kid" I've seen child actors half his age do better acting). As an adult rewatching this film for the first time in about 20 years it was hard to watch certain scenes because there's zero chemistry among the actors. This could and should have been done much better.