Search - The Indian in the Cupboard on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1995 DVD Release: 07/03/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 37 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Members Wishing: 21 Genres: Fantasy, Children's/Family, Children's Fantasy, Fantasy Adventure, Coming-of-Age

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, All Movie Guide

Hal Scardino - Omri
Litefoot
Lindsay Crouse - Jane
Richard Jenkins - Victor
Steve Coogan - Tommy
Rishi Bhat

Many family films have received short shrift when brought out on DVD, so it's nice to see that Columbia TriStar has treated The Indian in the Cupboard so respectfully. Not only do they provide a spotless digital transfer of the thoughtful movie but they've even thrown in a couple of extras that will interest older fans of the children's film. A clean widescreen anamorphic transfer is on one side of the disc and it really shows off Russell Carpenter's warm camera work. The pan and scan version of the film is on the other side of the DVD but there really isn't any compelling reason to watch it other than to see how much of the image is actually cut off of the screen. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround sound audio track is bright and well balanced and it also sounds fine if played through a television set instead of a stereo system. The DVD comes with a few extras but the real winner is director Frank Oz's audio commentary. This was a challenging film to make and Oz guides you through the entire production. It really is to Oz's credit that he had the team work so hard to make seamless special effects that don't distract from what is really a rather intimate story. Oz handles the moral of the picture delicately and it contains a message that many adults could still learn from. ~ Nick Dedina, All Movie Guide