The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993)

Whenever a book is adapted into a movie, there are sacrifices and interpretations that must be made because the totality of the written work cannot possibly be translated to the screen. These choices can become exceptionally difficult when the work is one as widely-read and well-beloved as Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. For this latest filmed version, Stephen Sommers' script is faithful in spirit -- if not in all the details -- to the original. Much of Twain's keen insight into human nature, as well as his finely-tuned sense-of-humor, is kept intact in Disney's 1993 The Adventures of Huck Finn. It should be noted, however, that significant chunks of the novel are missing, including the bulk of the ending, and the character of Tom Sawyer doesn't make an appearance. While it's easy to debate the merits of what was cut, the final result manages to convey a good sense of the book's scope.

Fmovies: This film was a typical Disney butchery of an immortal piece of literature. This film manages to rip apart Twain's masterpiece and paste it back together in a totally unflattering form. Several key issues are overlooked, and Huckleberry is presented in a way that is totally arbitrary to the way that Twain presented him. Disney has taken a work that was never intended for children, and watered it down to a sappy melodrama. The result is, a movie that is serviceable for children, but has absolutely no appeal to an educated adult. For one who has never read the novel, I would imagine that this film would be tolerable. I would recommend, however, that one read the book beforehand.

Master Wood is the absolutely perfect Huck Finn, just like he's the perfect Frodo Baggins. This was the first movie I had ever seen Elijah in, and he was incredibly talented even when he was 11!

He has such a sweet, innocent, baby face in this movie, and yet, he isn't all that innocent! People fall for his fibs all the time, and it's rather hilarious to see!

Now I know this doesn't sound like it would be appropriate, a 12-year-old who makes a habit out of lying, but he does learn a lesson. The best movies are those that have a moral to them.

This version of Huck Finn reveals his coming to realize that slavery is wrong! He matures in his thinking, and that is a wonderful lesson!

I highly recommend seeing this movie. Now it isn't appropriate for everyone; there are some scenes that could be scary for little kids, but it will be well worth it for older kids! This is one of my favorite movies!

The Adventures of Huck Finn fmovies. I am a big Mark Twain fan. I love his writing, his stories, and his humor. I used to watch this movie when I was a kid, and I recently rented it for old time's sake and fell in love with it all over again. If you're looking for a movie that's parallel to Mark Twain's novel, this isn't it. But that doesn't mean that this movie isn't fun-loving, creative, entertaining, and an overall great movie. I love this movie. I think it's great for kids as well as adults. It's an adventurous tale of freedom and friendship that leaves you smiling in the end and rewinding the movie with a slight sigh of wistfulness. I recommend this movie to a wide range - but not to someone who's using it instead of reading the book or expecting it to to BE the book. It isn't. It's something different, but still just as wonderful as it should be.

True, Elijah Wood may not match the look and feel of the character Twain had in mind, but in this movie he works well as a young boy learning that friendship, love, and human rights mean more than tradition. Jim, a wise but uneducated runaway slave longs to find freedom so he can earn enough money to buy his family. Huck, a street-smart kid running away from his abusive father, is torn between breaking the law or betraying a freind. Which is the greater crime? Wood's age is put to good use in allowing more immaturity in the character. He can't understand why he can't bring himself to turn Jim in, even though he knows it's the right thing to do. In a heart-wrenching scene in which Huck's selfishness causes Jim to be whipped by a cruel overseer, Huck tries to convince himself that it wasn't his fault, only to realize how much he and Jim actually love and need each other. All of this takes us full-speed into an emotional climax that is quite honestly the best ending of any movie I have ever seen. Huck Finn is perfect.

I consider this film to be one of the top five best versions of a classic children's story. In some film adaptations, you get the impression the writer has put the characters on pedestals, and the actors are playing them like they're afraid of falling off. This film isn't like that at all.

When I was going to see this film, I thought "I bet they chicken out of the feud scene, and I bet they have Huck say something at the end like 'Y'know, I sorta had a funny feeling my whole life slavery's actually a very bad thing' (or something equally corny)". I'm happy to say I was wrong on both accounts. The feud scene is handled very intelligently for a family movie, capturing the emotion without resorting to SAVING PRIVATE RYAN-style blood & guts (which I don't think would suit a world-famous children's story). And the slavery issue is dealt with head-on, being one of the prime dramatic themes of the story. One of my favorite moments is when Huck is asked by some river folk whether the companion on his raft is black or white. Huch thinks for a moment, and then replies "He's white!" That scene makes up for the famous letter writing scene in the novel, which other versions have included.

Elijah Wood really makes his character shine with impish personality and a casual chatting delivery (and this is still my all-time favorite role of his). He is ably supported by Ron Perlman as Pa, as well as Jason Robards & Robbie Coltrane as the rascally King & Duke. Heck, even Anne Heche looks classy. I am very impressed with a film when it does a scene which I'd actually forgotten about, in this case it was the "Missy Finn" bit. My only disappointment was that Tom Sawyer got reduced to a one-line cameo at the beginning (and it doesn't handle any revivalist preaching satire).

FYI, I haven't seen the Mickey Rooney, Jackie Coogan or Jeff East versions yet, but this one is going to be hard to beat. The only other films that I've seen which come close to this are the Ted Turner & Disney versions of TREASURE ISLAND, and David Lean's OLIVER TWIST. Also the later PETER PAN (2003) is right on par with this in excellent classic storytelling.