The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993)

Huckleberry Finn is a young boy in the 1840's, who runs away from home, and floats down the Mississippi River. He meets a run away slave named Jim and the two undertake a series of ... See full summary »

Director:

Stephen Sommers

Writers:

Mark Twain (novel), Stephen Sommers (screenplay)

Stars:

Elijah Wood, Courtney B. Vance, Robbie Coltrane

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elijah Wood	...	Huck Finn
Courtney B. Vance	...	Jim
Robbie Coltrane	...	The Duke
Jason Robards	...	The King
Ron Perlman	...	Pap Finn
Dana Ivey	...	Widow Douglas
Anne Heche	...	Mary Jane Wilks
James Gammon	...	Deputy Hines
Paxton Whitehead	...	Harvey Wilks
Tom Aldredge	...	Dr. Robinson
Laura Bell Bundy	...	Susan Wilks (as Laura Bundy)
Curtis Armstrong	...	Country Jake
Mary Louise Wilson	...	Miss Watson
Frances Conroy	...	Scrawny Shanty Lady
Danny Tamberelli	...	Ben Rodgers (as Daniel Tamberelli)

Storyline

Huckleberry Finn is a young boy in the 1840's, who runs away from home, and floats down the Mississippi River. He meets a run away slave named Jim and the two undertake a series of adventures based on the Picaresque novel by Mark Twain. As the story progresses the duo exploit an array of episodic enterprises, while Huckleberry slowly changes his views of bigotry. Along the way, Huck and Jim meet the King and Duke, who ultimately send the protagonists towards a different route on their journey. As Huck begins to have a change of heart, he gradually begins to distinguish between right and wrong, and conclusively, Huck is faced with the morale dilemma between the world's prejudice, of which he's grown up with, and the lessons Jim has taught him throughout the story about the evils of racism.

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Plot Keywords:

mississippi river | river | slave | first kiss | con | 

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Taglines:

They set off in search for freedom and discovered the adventure of a lifetime!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

2 April 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Filming Locations:

Jefferson Military College - Highway 61, Washington, Mississippi, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$24,103,594 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tom Sawyer has just one shot in this version of the film where he yells "Go for the glory!", even though he is a major character in Mark Twain's book. The actor who says "Go for the glory, Huck!" at 03:43 on the DVD is Danny Tamberelli who is listed in the end credits as playing "Ben Rodgers". At 03:45, another boy says "Ya, go for the glory", but Tom Sawyer, who has a large roll in the ending of the book that is not in the film, does not appear in the end credits.

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Goofs

The opening credits erroneously base the movie on "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", the correct and original title of the novel being "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".

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Quotes

Huck Finn: [Jim appears wearing a silly African costume and looks disgusted] What in hell's bells are you supposed to be?
Jim: The King said I was a Swahili warrior. He even taught me some Swahili or what he said was Swahili. Sounded like a pig in heat to me.

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Connections

Version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939)

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Soundtracks

"String Quartet No.17 'Jagd' in B-Flat major, K.458"
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Arranged by Dante Progliese
Courtesy of Hollywood Film Music Libraly

User Reviews

Whitewashing the Sense

Nineteenth century Mississippi River boy Elijah Wood (as Huckleberry "Huck" Finn) may be tiny, but he has a lot of spunk. In the opening sequence, he beats up a bigger boy and bloodies his nose. This may be filmmakers' way of drawing a connection to young Wood's own abuse, as we quickly learn he is being beaten by his father. The opening fight ends when Wood sees the distinctive footprint of his abusive father Ron Perlman (as "Pap"). Wood escapes the madman's clutches and joins forces with runaway slave Courtney B. Vance (as Jim). They have several adventures together, and learn about freedom...

This adaptation of Mark Twain's superior novel is probably going to be most successful with young primary or elementary school children; most others will find it insufferable. It can invite discussion of - and comparison with - the original work. Letting youngsters know "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a banned novel they should not read can also promote reading. This film has bright, colorful locations. The part where Wood plays "Huck" as Charles Dickens' "The Artful Dodger" is telegraphed before he assumes the British accent. "Tom Sawyer" is given no opportunity to steal scenes.

*** The Adventures of Huck Finn (4/2/93) Stephen Sommers ~ Elijah Wood, Courtney B. Vance, Robbie Coltrane, Jason Robards