Indian in the Cupboard

Story

Omri (Hal Scardino) receives an old cupboard for his birthday. It’s missing its key, and Omri’s mother lets him to go through her key collection to find one that might work. A mysterious skeleton key, once belonging to her grandmother, eventually fits the lock and Omri is thrilled. Much to his amazement, he discovers that when the cupboard and key are used together, they have magical powers and can bring inanimate objects to life.

Omri’s friend Patrick (Rishi Bhat) gives him a small Iroquois figurine named Little Bear (Litefoot), and Omri brings Little Bear to life. As Omri begins to understand Little Bear’s needs, he must make sacrifices and choices, the consequences of which he doesn’t fully understand. When Patrick places a cowboy called Boone (David Keith) in the cupboard, life suddenly become a lot more complicated.

Meanwhile, Little Bear teaches Omri valuable life lessons about power, responsibility, compassion and friendship. They soon form a bond that bridges the gap between cultures and centuries, a bond with the power to transform obvious enemies into faithful friends.

Themes

Magic; the misuse of power and ‘playing God’; the moral implications of bringing inanimate objects to life; causing accidental death; cultural and racial stereotypes

Violence

The Indian in the Cupboard has some violence. For example:

Little Bear stabs at Omri with a knife.
Darth Vader fights a dinosaur figurine with his light sabre.
Toy soldiers shoot at characters in a cabinet.
A bird attacks Little Bear and injures his leg.
A character describes some of the horrors of war he has witnessed, including bloody rats eating a wounded man.
Boone warns Omri, ‘Better watch out that the savage doesn’t scalp you in your sleep’.
Little Bear kills a rodent and speaks to its spirit, offering thanks as he kneels before the lifeless creature.
Little Bear shoots an arrow at Boone.
Boone shoots at Little Bear.
Little Bear describes how his wife died of smallpox and how he also lost his child.
Omri takes a bow from an old Native American man, who immediately dies from a heart attack.
A bully grabs Omri and forcibly takes his money. Omri is later shown with a cut along his arm.
Omri roughly kicks his brother’s rat (which is in a circular rolling ball) out of his room and down the stairs, where the rat crashes into a door.
Boone shoots Patrick in the face, but he’s unharmed.
Boone nearly shoots Little Bear.
Patrick and Omri roughly shove each other when they disagree over something.
Little Bear shoots Boone with an arrow and later pulls it from his chest.
Omri steals a figurine of a young woman, intending that she should become a wife for Little Bear. Little Bear refuses to let Omri do this, explaining that the young woman already has a life, and she might even have a husband and a child.
Toy soldiers battle with weapons.
Scenes show Little Bear hunting and fighting.
A scene shows a character dying after a heart attack.
As Omri brings Little Bear to life, Little Bear is confused about what has happened and has a small scuffle with Boone, a cowboy.
Later in the movie, Boone shoots Little Bear with an arrow and wounds him.
A violent massacre of Native Americans is shown on TV.
As Little Bear goes beneath the floorboards, a rat follows him, but it’s quickly removed.

Sexual references

The Indian in the Cupboard has some sexual references. For example, Little Bear tells Omri that he’s ‘alone and in need of a wife’.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

There is some use of substances in The Indian in the Cupboard, including:

A character says, ‘I need a drink’.
Boone rolls a cigarette and begins to smoke.
A character asks for whiskey.
A character refers to ‘hitting the old tornado juice’.
A medic suggests that Patrick and Omri give Boone a drop of brandy.
Boone, nearly unconscious, asks about getting some brandy.

Nudity and sexual activity

The Indian in the Cupboard has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

Little Bear is bare chested and wears a loin cloth that covers his front and backsides. The cloth is open at both sides, revealing the sides of his buttocks and upper thighs.
Omri, Patrick, Little Bear and Boone watch a music video full of girls in bikinis doing high kicks and sexy dance moves.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in The Indian in the Cupboard:

The book Stuart Little by E.B. White
Action figures like Darth Vader and He-Man
Lego
The games Boggle and Operation.

Coarse language

The Indian in the Cupboard has some mild coarse language, insults and racial slurs.

Ideas to discuss with your children

The Indian in the Cupboard is a fantasy drama based on a classic children’s book by Lynne Reid Banks. The movie features a diverse cast and shares some powerful messages about friendship and culture, as well as some hard truths about historical practices and the misuse of power.

Because of its content, The Indian in the Cupboard is best suited to older children, teenagers and adult audiences.

These are the main messages from The Indian in the Cupboard:

Every choice has consequences.
We shouldn’t ‘play God’ with the lives of others.
Compassion and understanding can bridge the gaps caused by mistrust and cultural divides, transforming old enemies into firm friends.

Values in The Indian in the Cupboard that you could reinforce with your children include empathy, responsibility, friendship, courage, wisdom, tolerance and understanding of cultural differences.

The Indian in the Cupboard could give you the chance to talk with your children about issues like taking responsibility and making amends. You could also talk about the real-life consequences of things like:

the use and misuse of power
cultural sensitivity and respect
the effect of racial stereotypes
stealing
cultural genocide and its effects on native communities around the world.