The Indian in the Cupboard (1995)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Frank Oz

Writers:

Lynne Reid Banks (novel), Melissa Mathison (screenplay)

Stars:

Hal Scardino, Litefoot, Lindsay Crouse

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hal Scardino	...	Omri
Litefoot	...	Little Bear
Lindsay Crouse	...	Jane
Richard Jenkins	...	Victor
Rishi Bhat	...	Patrick
Steve Coogan	...	Tommy
David Keith	...	Boone
Sakina Jaffrey	...	Lucy
Vincent Kartheiser	...	Gillon
Nestor Serrano	...	Teacher
Ryan Olson	...	Adiel
Leon Tejwani	...	Baby Martin
Lucas Tejwani	...	Baby Martin
Christopher Conte	...	Purple Mohawk
Cassandra Brown	...	Emily

Storyline

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...

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Plot Keywords:

birthday | friend | best friend | boy | magic | 

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Taglines:

Adventure comes to life

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Genres:

Family | Adventure | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language and brief video images of violence and sexy dancing

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 July 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Chave Mágica

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

£1,234,684 (UK) (19 January 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Kennedy/Marshall Company, The, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On the DVD commentary, Frank Oz stated he was reluctant to direct this movie, as he doesn't think he's a children's director.

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Goofs

In the scene right before Little Bear and Boone are sent back, Little Bear is sitting in front of a tiny fire, and he hands some fuel to Omri. Omri reaches over the fire for it, and we clearly see his fingers go through the flame. And yet, he doesn't flinch at all. Of course, the fire may be too small to do any damage.

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Quotes

Boone: You sure was right, Little bear! God sure do play with men a lot!
Little Bear: There is no God here.

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Connections

Featured in Lights, Camera, Magic (1995)

User Reviews

The Indian in the Cupboard (1995)

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.