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Secondhand Lions
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Secondhand Lions (2003) More at IMDbPro »

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Secondhand Lions (2003) -- A coming-of-age story about a shy, young boy sent by his irresponsible mother to spend the summer with his wealthy, eccentric uncles in Texas.
Secondhand Lions (2003) -- A coming-of-age story about a shy, young boy sent by his irresponsible mother to spend the summer with his wealthy, eccentric uncles in Texas.

Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   16,667 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 44% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Tim McCanlies
Writer (WGA):
Tim McCanlies (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Secondhand Lions on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
19 September 2003 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Family more
Plot:
A coming-of-age story about a shy, young boy sent by his irresponsible mother to spend the summer with his wealthy, eccentric uncles in Texas. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
5 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(15 articles)
Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne Plan 11 Projects
 (From MovieWeb. 16 June 2009, 12:14 PM, PDT)

[Movie Review] Is Anybody There?
 (From JustPressPlay. 2 May 2009, 3:54 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Gentle yet more substantial than a first viewing offers more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG for thematic material, language and action violence.
Runtime:
111 min | USA:109 min | Argentina:120 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Certification:
Iceland:LH | Malaysia:U | Netherlands:6 | South Korea:12 | Germany:o.Al. | Australia:M (original rating) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Brazil:Livre | Canada:PG | Finland:K-11 | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | UK:12 (video rating) | UK:PG (theatrical rating) (cut) | USA:PG (certificate #40021) | Argentina:Atp
Filming Locations:
Austin, Texas, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This would be the second of two projects involving Haley Joel Osment and Berke Breathed. The first was the animated short Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big. more
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Hub refers to lions as living in the jungle. Even though this is technically incorrect as they live in the Savanna, not the jungle, it is an understandable error because lions are commonly referred to as the "King of the Jungle". more
Quotes:
Adult Walter: [reading his uncles' will] The kid gets it all. Just plant us in the damn garden, next to the stupid lion. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008) more
Soundtrack:
Rolling Stone From Texas more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
59 out of 61 people found the following comment useful:-
Gentle yet more substantial than a first viewing offers, 25 September 2004
7/10
Author: pwoods1 from Adelaide, South Australia

This is a very gentle film - not as gripping as Big Fish but in a similar genre - which is worth a second look and therefore a reappraisal.

Ostensibly a coming-of-age film, I saw it more as an abandoned child's (surely Walter is such) search for belonging: a search for affirmation that life is more than being cast-off as worthless by the person she/he loves, and therefore worth living. At one point Walter indicates that he is sick of being lied to by his mother, Mae, apparently always dumping him for the "new boyfriend" in her life. And thus we come to the crux of the movie.

"Secondhand Lions" refers as much to the curmudgeonly uncles, Garth and Hub, (eccentric characters wonderfully understated/underplayed by Michael Caine and Robert Duvall) as it does to the "used" lion that the brothers purchase. Walter first becomes fascinated by Garth's fantastical tales of Africa, but when Garth "misremembers" the rescue of Jasmine, the only love of his brother's life, Walter starts to question the truth behind their past. Indeed, having witnessed Hub's (apparent) sleepwalking, Walter doubts the sanity of his uncles.

Earlier, however, on arrival at their decaying home, the child has discovered a well-traveled cabin trunk; and, upon opening it, discovers sand covering a portrait of whom he later learns is Jasmine - the love of Hub's life. Later, in a show of bravado when he names the ageing "secondhand" lion "Jasmine", the threads of Hub's story come together and, intriguingly enough, when Walter appears to be leaving, it is Hub whom he fiercely hugs. In a sense, Hub's loss of Jasmine mirrors his own emptiness.

OK. It's gentle, but I offer that the constant (I would argue not intrusive) symbolism and allegories work. Walter exposes a pointless existence in as much as the brothers are waiting to die - and gives them a reason to live. And, of course, they live beyond his and their wildest dreams. But those dreams are shown, finally, as truth. The denouement, twee as it might seem, fits the script. The treasure/money which Walter's mother Mae told him to seek becomes the love/relationship which he needed.

(By the way, it's OK to cry. Big boys do that too. I did.)

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Secondhand Lions (2003)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Can anyone tell me what the original ending was? harpe025
Finding Easter Eggs dfniles
my fave movie emmof
why is this movie called secondhand lions? shadow_ninja
mae and stan smilychic555
So how did the uncles actually get the money? luckienikki133
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