Rating: 
Summary: My favorite movie
Review: I was about 9 or 10 when this movie came out. I love everything about it. After I saw it I wanted a cupboard just like the one in the movie with a key and everything. I remember spending hours in the kicthen putting little figurines in the cupboards and seeing if they came alive or not. This is the best movie. I just wish it came in french.
Rating: 
Summary: Not A Very Beievable Acting Job
Review: In this movie, they show the character's feet at seemingly random times. Play upbeat music when it isn't needed, and some of the parts don't make any sense. When Omry (guy on the front) is asked (by his mom) how he felt, he said, "I fell pretty (BEEP!) good!" and the mom just stood there, smiling. (I'd like to see some REAL kid pull that one without getting busted)Omry gets a cupboard, that when something is placed in it, locked in, then taken out; is alive. when he first meets the Indian (very scared at the time) and tells him his name is Omry, the Indian suddenly calms down, as if his name was soothing (????). And Patrick, Omry's friend, is probably the worst acting job of the movie. A not-so-good acting job and lame plot don't make this movie worth your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for younger children(agea 4-8)
Review: My six year old son opened this movie up after reading the book, and was fairly disappointed because it moved rather slowly. It had no music score to keep you interested as most good movies do, and it skipped a lot of the best parts of the story that are found in the book. On the whole, I would recommend reading the book and forget about the movie. Kids have a great imagination and should use it to picture the story from the book.
Rating:
Summary: Indian falls short of the garbage
Review: Omri receives several gifts for his birthday, including a cupboard and a plastic action figure of an Indian. That night he discovers that he can make the Indian, Little Bear, come to life by putting him in the cupboard. Bear builds a house but yearns to return to his "other" life. In the meantime, Omri's friend, Patrick, is envious of Little Bear and puts a plastic cowboy in the cupboard and brings him to life. Soon the Cowboy, Boone and Little Bear are fighting and Omri must seek help when Boone is wounded. Eventually Omri learns some important lessons about real and play lives.
This is a good movie for both adults and children. The special effects are good. There's a nice fantasy element and lessons are learned without preaching. Frank Oz, the Director, tends to be a little too fancy at times with his camera shots, which, for an adult at least, interferes with the story, but kids probably won't mind.
The DVD comes with very few extra features. Viewers have a choice between Full Screen and Wide Screen versions, which is a great option. There's also a Director's Commentary and a few still pictures from the movie, including some with the oversized props used in the film. I wish they had done a feature on how the special effects were done instead of those few pictures.
I've never read the book, so I can't compare the movie to it. However, the watching the movie makes me want to buy the book!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie!
Review: The Indian In The Cupboard is not just a great Kids movie but a great movie for all ages!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies in the 90's
Review: The Indian in the Cupboard stars Hal Scardino and Litefoot. It is about a boy who turns 9 years old and gets a magical cupboard as a birthday present. And the cupboard brings to life toys. As the movie opens, Omri (Hal Scardino) got a cupboard as a birthday present. But there is no key. So his mom (Linsay Crouse) promises Ormi if he finds a key that works the cupboard she will give it to him. And the key that works is a key that his mom got for her dying grandma (when her grandma had nothing to leave her). Ormi puts in a liitle indian he also got for his birthday for his best freind Patrick (Rishi Bhat).
Rating: 
Summary: Misconceptions of First Nations Peoples
Review: The white family portrayed in this movie is not a normal disfunctional family. The three brothers seldomly argue, the parents are in constant state of bliss with each other living in a beautiful big house in an urban city in the United States of America. This view is a complete opposite of what the First Nations Peoples family life is considered to be and sets up the notion that First Nations Peoples would be better of with the White man's lifetsyle.
The youngest child brings to life a traditional image of an Haudenusaunee toy, decked out in feathers, leather loin cloth and a shaved head, with a magical cupboard given to him by his brother for his birthday. The child's reaction to seeing the toy alive was, "are you a real Indian?" as if they were extinct like dinosaurs. Throughout the movie there is no encounter with a present day First Nations Peoples to balance the movie or to quash the idea of extinction. Once they aquaint each other and Little Bear explains that he is from 1761, he trustingly jumps into the child's hand as the music grows. So historically the White man was always nurturing to the indian, right? In another irony, the boy gives a plot of land. He took his mothers flower box for growing infant plants and even brought a tippi to life so as Little Bear could have a home.
The boy feels the need to educate himself on his new found pet and takes out books on the Iroquois, known officially as the Haudenusaunee (meaning "people of the long house") that are almost as old as Little Bear and are tainted with Eurocentric views on the Haudenusaunee. The name Iroquois came from their enemy, the Algonquin who called them the Iroqu, meaning "rattlesnakes." The French later added the suffix "-ois" to the previous name given by the Algonquin.
When the boy's friend catches on about the 'closet,' his friend puts in a cowboy and brings it to life. This ruff, alcoholic and his horse is fearless and starts yelling out "I'dien?" when he finds out about Little Bear. Once he sees him he starts screaming "Redskin" and the dialogue continues in the same vein, which would be considered unacceptable if the word was "nigger" and it was a clansman that came alive. This Cowboy and Indian brings up memories of the adults' childhoods that are watching the movie with their kids, not correcting their own misconceptions.
Rating:
Summary: Insidious anti-Indian film
Review: This film looks wonderful at first glance. But when you stop to analyze what's going on, you realize that the boys are playing with real living toys (i.e. thay take the living figures to school when they know better). The boys never let the Indian have a gun to have equal protection. And the whole idea behind the story is a re-inforcement of the US government's attitude toward Indians: "You're nothing but little people. We'll take care of you because you're too small to take care of yourself in this big (read "real")world." This film is dangerous to young children's attitudes about Indians.
Rating:
Summary: A captivating and rewarding film for adults and children.
Review: This is a wonderful story of a slightly awkward young boy discovering the deeper meaning of friendship, honor and loyalty. The themes are explored through a thoroughly enchanting fantasy in which the boy's toy indian comes to life when placed in a cast-off cupboard given to him as a birthday gift. It is captivating, charming and filled with genuine warmth and wonder. A truly rewarding film.
Rating: 
Summary: The kind of movie I like my kids to watch
Review: This movie has a lot to offer. The most obvious is that it's a fun story. It has a simple premise, but one which is intelligently explored and expanded on as the movie goes on. Second, it has a great pace and tone that is rare among modern kids' movies. It stays interesting, and even exciting and suspenseful, while still remaining understated and not taking on a frenetic pace. But the best thing is that this already good mix is enhanced with thoughtful lessons on life, presented in a way that kids can digest. Overall, this is a great kids' movie, and I hope to see more like it from Mr. Oz.
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