Review of The Indian in the Cupboard (1995) by Sean S — 19 Apr 2014

Released in 1995, this film got a lot of praise from critics and viewers alike.

I remember that at the time, I was interested more in seeing something with action, and to my shame, I went to see the first Power Rangers movie instead, which was so badly written and acted, that I haven't forgiven myself for missing out on the Indian in the Cupboard. I actually waited until now, over 15 years later to sit down and watch it. Mark that off my bucket list, and boy was it worth the wait. The special-effects are seamless, and the story is full of twists and turns, without really knowing how it's going to end. Scenes have a flowing narrative, but with subtleties that everyone will enjoy.

Special-effects aren't used in this story to simply bedazzle the viewer, but rather to further the plot. I have to give credit to Frank Oz for his excellent direction.

Our story centers around 9 year old Henri, who receives a cupboard for his birthday, among the regular array of gifts. It's a very plain cupboard, and as it turns out, a key that his mother collected from when she was little happens to fit the lock, perfectly.

Thinking nothing of it, he puts a plastic toy Iroquois in the cupboard, and when he unlocks it, the toy has come to life. It turns out that the Iroquois is named Little Bear, and he has a whole history. It seems that the cupboard actually takes real people from history, and puts them into this world in the same size as the toy.

I'm not sure what this means later, when Henri puts dolls of Darth Vader and Robocop in, and they, too, come to life. Presumably, they just become like their characters from the films.

But Henri quickly learns a lesson, when he uses a doll of an older Mohawk to get Little Bear a bow, when the Mohawk suffers a heart attack, and dies.

Henri learns that bringing these things to life is a responsibility. There's no harm in using a toy of an object; although we should be glad that he doesn't seem to have toy guns or knives.

I say that, because Henri's older brothers break into his room, and won't leave. Like older siblings do, they don't respect their younger sibling. So Henri kicks their rat, who lives in a ball, down some stairs. Now, I'm sure that it was all special-effects, since there's no need to accidentally harm the rat.

Henri's friend, Patrick, an Asian-Indian boy is told about the cupboard, and doesn't believe him. Even though he says not to, Patrick brings a cowboy to life. Now, this is where I'm going to get philosophical, because it seems like these things are emblematic of the characters. The older brothers are caught up in their own world, and don't care about others, just looking out for themselves; similar to a rat in a ball. Patrick doesn't really listen to others or care about the repercussions of his actions, much like a cowboy who had more courage than sense. Henri is curious, but downtrodden, and tries to live in his world peacefully. I wouldn't presume to say that this is emblematic of all Native Americans, but he and Little Bear do have a lot in common, in this way.

Little Bear teaches Henri to be brave, self-reliant, and to show reverence for others; and over the course of the story, we come to see that Little Bear has been like a father to Henri for the time that they've been together.

I liked the premise of this story, because it didn't feature a child whose parents were widowed, divorced, or dead, as so many of these children's films do, and not all the plot-points get resolved, much as things in life don't. A bully who takes Henri's money doesn't get his comeuppance, nor do the older brothers get theirs. Henri doesn't grow closer to his parents, or to his friend, Patrick.

The boys do grow wiser from what's happened, but you can make up the rest of the story for what happens.

The Indian in the Cupboard gets a well-deserved 5/5.