The Indian in the Cupboard (1995)

68% of critics liked it
(19 reviews)
41% of users liked it
(59,250 ratings)

Based on the popular children's book by Lynne Reid Banks, this fantasy concerns a young boy who discovers that his toys are developing lives of their own -- which presents him with unexpected responsibilities. Omri (Hal Scardino), a young boy growing up in Brooklyn, receives an odd variety of… More Based on the popular children's book by Lynne Reid Banks, this fantasy concerns a young boy who discovers that his toys are developing lives of their own -- which presents him with unexpected responsibilities. Omri (Hal Scardino), a young boy growing up in Brooklyn, receives an odd variety of presents for his birthday: a wooden cabinet from his older brother, a set of antique keys from his mother Jane (Linsday Crouse), and a tiny plastic model of an Indian from his best friend Patrick (Rishi Bhat). Putting them all together, Omri locks the Indian inside the cabinet, only to be awoken by a strange sound in the middle of the night. Omri opens the cabinet to discover that the tiny Indian has come to life; it seems that he's called Little Bear (Litefoot), and he claims to have learned English from settlers in 1761. Omri hides this remarkable discovery from his mother but shares it with Patrick; as an experiment, Patrick locks a toy cowboy into the cupboard, and soon Little Bear has a companion, Boone (David Keith), though predictably, the cowboy and the Indian don't get along well at first. Omri comes to the realizations that his living and breathing playthings are also people with lives of their own, and he begins to wonder how much control he should really have over their lives. The Indian in the Cupboard was directed by Frank Oz, best known as one of the original puppeteers for The Muppets and the voice of Miss Piggy. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 36 min.
Directed By: Frank Oz
Written By: Melissa Mathison
Genres: Drama, Kids & Family, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Jul 14, 1995 Wide
On DVD: Jul 3, 2001
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Douglas Pratt, DVDLaser
The 98 minute drama takes good advantage of the premise, however, to provide some simple intelligent lessons about tolerance. cultural diversity and the nature of life, utilizing the magic of filmmaking to ignite the imagination and stir some excitement,
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Inventive children's yarn with good special effects.
Daniel M. Kimmel, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
(No quote available.)
Fred Topel, About.com
Wonderful adaptation of classic book

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Luke B

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… More
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.
AJ V

I didn't like this movie when I was a kid, but I haven't seen it since, so I don't remember why really... I should see it again sometime.
Candy R

Children's movie about a boy who finds a real life Indian in the cupboard.
Conner R

An unintentionally weird and bizarre kid's movie. I really do wish I had this cupboard, but Omri had no idea how to control or take advantage of this amazing tool. This really just doesn't go anywhere except into a semi-history lesson about the nature of cowboys and… More
An unintentionally weird and bizarre kid's movie. I really do wish I had this cupboard, but Omri had no idea how to control or take advantage of this amazing tool. This really just doesn't go anywhere except into a semi-history lesson about the nature of cowboys and Indians. There was no need for it to be preachy. However, it does have some good moments and it was honestly a nice try.
Tim S

Pretty bad.
KJ P

Very good! Very well made!
Wahida K

I can watch this Movie over and over again, it is such a sweet TV Movie.
Jason S

Good movie for the kids. I liked the part where he brings his Robocop and Darth Vader figures to life.
Nani V

I loved it when my teacher read this book to us in 5th grade. The movie was pretty neat also.
Film C

i like this film its very sweet and gd
Rachel F

It was a pretty cute movie.
Lafe F

I thought it would be as fantastic as "The Neverending Story". Nope. It's a movie about responsibility and friendship; even with some humanitarian and history lessons thrown in. The trailers showed the space toys fighting with the dinosaurs; but it was only one shot for… More
I thought it would be as fantastic as "The Neverending Story". Nope. It's a movie about responsibility and friendship; even with some humanitarian and history lessons thrown in. The trailers showed the space toys fighting with the dinosaurs; but it was only one shot for the ads. The cupboard was used for the cowboy and indian figurines primarily. I felt like I was reading a scholastic book, with its elementary plot. There were no great bounds of imagination to be found in this somewhat disappointing film.
Gavin C

I remember watching this as a fourth grader in elementary school after reading the book in which it was based on and after viewing this a few times, it's kind of a very decent movie. Not great, but its really good and here's the reason why. The premise about Omri… More
I remember watching this as a fourth grader in elementary school after reading the book in which it was based on and after viewing this a few times, it's kind of a very decent movie. Not great, but its really good and here's the reason why. The premise about Omri realizing that a magical cupboard brings toys to life (and no, it's not like that CGI animated film Toy Story) was very interesting. The performances were very good including the performance from Omri and Patrick. The special effects from the famous Industrial Light and Magic Company were quite spectacular and the blue screen effects were very good. Even the music was good and very emotional. The movie, while being faithful to the book, does have some flaws that didn't leave an impact. In the book, Little Bear has a wife before saying goodbye to Omri while in the movie, he doesn't. In the book, Little Bear becomes chief after the chief dies when he was very frightened of Omri, but in the movie, however, he doesn't become a chief. In the book, Omri and Patrick get sent to the principal's office before Patrick explains that they have a real live Boone and Little Bear in his pocket, but in the movie, that didn't really happened. That's all I gotta say about the flaws because some of scenes were quite faithful to the book. To conclude this, The Indian in the Cupboard isn't great, but its a very good family-adventure movie and it's really worth checking out. 6.7 out of 10
Juan C

a seriously enjoyable fun family film that deserves credit for being as strong and innocent as E.T.! A
Joseph E

Classic!
Marcus W

Moving swiftly on and ignoring the massive amount of deus-ex-machina in this film (to be honest it would take a whole other film to explain it all), we quickly accept that boy has magic cupboard that can turn toys into people. The crux of the movie is in it's message about… More
Moving swiftly on and ignoring the massive amount of deus-ex-machina in this film (to be honest it would take a whole other film to explain it all), we quickly accept that boy has magic cupboard that can turn toys into people. The crux of the movie is in it's message about children learning responsibility, and this is done brilliantly without getting heavy-handed or overly sentimental. It's a film that every child should watch so they learn to think about the possible consequences of their actions. I also have to give an extra half-star for the bit when Darth Vader fights a Tyrannosaur.
Andrew P

A childhood classic of mine, and absolutely holds up through time. A fun little origional adventure to watch with a lot of heart. It still has that cheesy 90's vibe but that doesnt ruin the fun of the whole film.
Sunil J

Just okay but I loved it when it came out.
Sarah B

Magical. The indian that is, not the film. I do want to see it again just because I don't remember Steve Coogan or Vincent Kartheiser, and I want to see the Indian again.
Leo L

A childhood favorite! Litefoot is phenomenal!!