Movie Review: The Indian in the Cupboard

For my movie review, I decided to compare the book to movie of The Indian in the Cupboard. I remembered reading the book in school when I was younger, and thinking it was one of the most marvelous stories. Growing up, every child has at least one toy that they play with that sets their imagination running wild. I had my Grand Champion horses that I used to play with, and it soon only took a minute before the horses seemed to come to life. I became a part of their world, and them mine. We used to go on some of the greatest adventures together. But in this story, imagination becomes reality, and as a kid, we dream that someday this could happen to us.

Overall, I thought that the producers did a wonderful job at recreating the movie from the book. While there were certainly small things that I noticed were missing from the movie, and other things that were changed altogether, I felt that they were able to capture the most important pieces, and make even some parts better. The first difference I noticed between book and movie was in the cupboard itself. In the book, the cupboard was white and metal, and in the movie, it was still white, however made of wood this time. The book took place in England, while the movie took place in the middle of New York City. A part of the book that I thought was fun and exciting to read about was during Little Bear's first time outside. Before going outside, Omri allows Little Bear to select a horse to keep out of the collection of plastic ones. Omri then changes the horse to real life, and carries the two of them out for an adventure. Here, the two ride down the path, and through the grass and over the stones as if in an overgrown wilderness. During the trip back inside, carried in the box that Omri used to carry them outside, Little Bear is hurt by his horse kicking him in fright. This is when they first meet Tommy Atkins, a medical soldier who, after being magically changed to a real man through the cupboard, patches up Little Bear's leg. However, in the video, Little Bear never gets his own horse, and he is instead hurt by a bird pecking at the box he is being carried in. This was a scene that I would have loved to have seen put into the movie, because it seemed like it would be very exciting to actually see instead of just reading about. I also found it less plausable that he would have been injured by the bird unless the bird had actually gotten into the box, which it hadn't.

Something I enjoyed that was changed about the movie from the book was the urgency to not say anything to anybody about anything regarding the magical events that had happened at Omri's house. Throughout the book, the narrator talks about how difficult it was for Omri to keep his secret a secret. He wants so badly to be able to share his secret with everyone, and wants to be able to take pride in his cupboard's abilities. For a kid his age, that is completely realistic that it would be very difficult, and the chances of him actually being able to do it are pretty slim. While there was still a sense of urgency to make sure nobody really found out about it in the movie, I liked how the producers allowed Omri the ability to write about his adventures in his school journal to share with his class. It was set up in a way so that it had some historical facts that he was sharing with the class, but was creating (what the rest of the class believed to be) a fictional story behind the facts. I believe that this created the release that Omri really needed in order to keep his secret safe, and Little Bear as well.

There was something else that I noticed about the story/movie that I never thought about as a child, however, it is something that more recently has become important to think about, especially in schools. The story really isn't being politically correct in calling Little Bear an "indian", and in many ways is demeaning the character. Little Bear was actually a Native American, and because of this use in language, I wonder about whether it is a story that is still used in schools. I remember how much I loved sitting during silent reading and discovering the adventures within the pages, but I wonder now if it is a story that children are still able to enjoy, or if many even know about it anymore. I would love to say that I would use the book/movie with my own students, but I'm not so sure it's appropriate anymore, unless there is a discussion accompanied with it to talk about what is politically correct to say about the Native Americans, and talk about when the story came to be in relation to this.

It was certainly a wonderful experience to be able to reread this story, and to watch the movie again, as I haven't done either in years. Both pieces were beautifully done, and I am sure that I will find myself reading the story again in the future, and will definitely be watching the movie again. When I have spoken with others about this particular project, and mention the story that I chose for it, everybody I've spoken to have lit up with excitement, and begun to remenise about reading the story themselves when they too were younger. Every reaction I've received has been positive about both book and movie, and I believe that to be a sign of a truly good story.