The Indian in the Cupboard

PG

Released Jul 14, 1995

1 hr. 36 min.

Fantasy

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List

70%

23 Reviews

Tomatometer

41%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

On his birthday, Omri (Hal Scardino) is given several simple gifts, including an old wooden cupboard and a small plastic figurine of a Native American man. When he locks the toy inside the cabinet it magically comes to life as a tiny, cagey warrior named Little Bear (Litefoot). The boy then places other toys in the cupboard and they too come to life, even engaging in entertaining battles. But after Little Bear is wounded, Omri begins to understand that his animate toys are not mere playthings.

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Critics Consensus

The Indian in the Cupboard gussies up its classic source material in modern effects without losing sight of the timeless themes at the heart of the story.

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Jacob B

I don't think this movie's bad at all. It's not some masterpiece of cinema and it definitely has its problems - the main child actor's performance isn't great and has a tendency to make the same big smile. I think it can be boiled down to director Frank Oz not being used to dealing with children instead of puppets and/or him having to spend a good chunk of the movie reacting to thin air. There's also the fact that the concept has some...alarming implications that seem to suggest the titular character, and others like him, have been inadvertently brought forward in time - but I found The Indian in the Cupboard to be surprisingly enjoyable. The visual effects, while occasionally wonky, have stood the test of time, the interactions between our protagonist with a one-of-a-kind name and the Native American are entertaining (while I pointed out his big goofy smile earlier, he does a good job getting specific reactions when the moment calls for it and the interactions between the big and small characters is all the more impressive when you consider that this was likely done with the same technique for Julia Roberts in Hook where greenscreen was used and may have never actually met each other during filming), the latter character also gets to go through some solid character development alongside a cowboy who's introduced halfway through as they bond over the trauma from their pasts, the film makes good use of its concept allowing for imaginative moments to shine, isn't afraid to deal with darker aspects like a child witnessing death in front of him for the first time (I mean, this is from the director whose biggest 21st-century success was a black comedy called Death at a Funeral and was also the man responsible for The Muppets Take Manhattan a.k.a. the one where Kermit gets hit by a car, so maybe this makes sense when you keep Frank Oz's filmography outside of puppetry in mind) without being too family-unfriendly and sends a decent message. It might not be breathtaking but, with how amazingly mediocre live-action family-oriented movies could be in the '90s and 2000's, it's always nice to find something that actually isn't painful to sit through. Maybe it's the fact that this isn't a comedy. Yeah, that's probably it. P.S. Another reason why perhaps people have treated this movie too harshly: in what other movie are you going to see Darth Vader fighting a dinosaur in a cameo? And, for that matter, seeing him and RoboCop on screen together and it's not a fan film or a spoof? And given how multiverse mania seems to be all the rage these days, what's not to love about that?

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

this is another one of my childhood favorites from way back in the day! oh what memories.... although the only thing I recall about it is the boy Omri played by Hal Scardino discovered that small figurines came to life in this magic cupboard when the doors closed and then opened again Directed by voice actor Frank Oz of ‘Star Wars’ fame it mainly focused on an Indian named Little Bear who befriends him and later they bring a cowboy named Boone into the mix, of course considering humanity's track record they don't see eye-to-eye the music was also very well orchestrated giving such an emotional beat to it this movie is actually based on the 5 part book series by Lynn Reid Banks which turns out holds a lot of discussions about race, stereotypes, colonialism, and the misunderstood teachings of history when it comes to cowboys and Native Americans there's great themes I was surprised this film managed to get across about tolerance, not using people, bringing up racial issues, understanding cultural diversity, not abusing any form of magic we might acquire, and letting things stay where they should stay Omri at one point shares this amazing cupboard with his friend Patrick, naturally he has to understand why they both can't misuse this remarkable power 'Indian in the Cupboard' is full of magic, warmth, amazing lessons for children when it comes to school teachings, not to mention that history is made of real people and not toys that are just made for enjoyment There's a lot we can take from this children's fantasy in many ways; all we can do to prevent this kind of dark history from recurring is to be honest about what happened and the pain it caused, if we can, perhaps the children who read about it will see things differently Truly this is a movie for all children and families to gain a better, more unique understanding of the many tribes this world inhabits learning to see past petty differences making friendship shine as powerful as any form of magic This is a real winner!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/18/23

Full Review

Emilia G

dissapointing, it want even a real indian. not full sized, just v not good enough, i want a remake

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/06/23

Full Review

Mike J

Sonic is a movie star movie theater movie movie theaters north north of lord

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/28/22

Full Review

robert p

Maybe I am too grown up for this type of Movie but it held little interest for me especially being an older movie!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Lame boring cringe movie about toys turning into little people. The kid was cringe in this movie but wonder what he's doing now.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

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Frank Oz

Director

Robert Harris

Director

Hal Scardino

Omri

Litefoot

Little Bear

Lindsay Crouse

Little Bear

Richard Jenkins

Victor

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The Indian in the Cupboard: Trailer 1

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David Ansen

Newsweek

The didacticism is, for the most part, gracefully meshed with the storytelling, and the special effects never take over the show.

Nov 4, 2008

Full Review

Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 3/5

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

By making the fantasy real, the movie unleashes all sorts of considerations it doesn't really deal with, and the material edges closer to horror than it probably intends.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Sheila Reid

Women in the Life

Even kids will be asking for their money back after seeing this incredibly stupid story.

May 13, 2022

Full Review

David Sterritt

Christian Science Monitor

The story is sensitively told, reminding young moviegoers that history is made of real people, not the caricatures who inhabit Hollywood myths.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 30, 2019

Full Review

Common Sense Media Editors

Common Sense Media

Classic, heartwarming fantasy will rivet kids.

Rated: 5/5

Aug 9, 2013

Full Review

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Synopsis

On his birthday, Omri (Hal Scardino) is given several simple gifts, including an old wooden cupboard and a small plastic figurine of a Native American man. When he locks the toy inside the cabinet it magically comes to life as a tiny, cagey warrior named Little Bear (Litefoot). The boy then places other toys in the cupboard and they too come to life, even engaging in entertaining battles. But after Little Bear is wounded, Omri begins to understand that his animate toys are not mere playthings.

Director: Frank Oz, Robert Harris
Executive Producer: Marty Keltz, Bernard Williams, Deborah A. Forte
Screenwriter: Lynne Reid Banks, Melissa Mathison
Distributor: Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Columbia TriStar Home Video
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating: PG
Genre: Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 14, 1995, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 31, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $31.1M
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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