Cast: Elijah Wood, Cortney B. Vance, Robbie Coltrane, Jason Robards
Director: Stephen Sommers
Producer: Laurence Mark
Screenplay: Stephen Sommers
Music: Bill Conti
U.S. Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
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.
Young Huck Finn (Elijah Wood) has a penchant for getting into mischief. He spends the bulk of his days playing truant from school, getting into fights, and lying to his two female guardians about how he got black eyes. One day, Huck's drunken, good-for-nothing father (Ron Perlman) arrives and takes his son away with him, looking for a way to get his hands on $600 left to Huck by his late mother. Huck escapes from his father's clutches, and, in the company of a runaway slave named Jim (Cortney B. Vance), sets off on a journey by boat down the Mississippi with the goal of getting Jim's freedom. Along the way, the duo meet a number of interesting people and become involved in several adventures.
Family films are something of a scarcity, and those that fit into the category of "good entertainment" are even less common. The Adventures of Huck Finn is a welcome exception, although very young children may be a little frightened by some of the violence,. As is true of the book, there are many levels on which the story can be appreciated. Children will enjoy the adventure, but the wit and satire are reserved for adult consumption.
Young Elijah Wood shows enough aptitude to carry this film. Once he puts on the suspenders and the attitude, he is decidedly convincing. With good supporting performances by Cortney B. Vance as Jim, Jason Robards as The King, and Robbie Coltrane as The Duke, the acting in The Adventures of Huck Finn is problem-free.
One of the things that impressed me the most about this movie is the realism of the river scenes. Of necessity, less of the movie takes place on the Mississippi than in the book, but the river remains an important part of the plot. It's genuinely awe-inspiring, and a little frightening, to see a giant steamboat bearing down on a little raft.
Disney has a reputation for watering down subjects that may cause controversy. Huck Finn deals with a single major issue: slavery. Unlike in the book, the movie never uses the word "nigger", but that's about the only thing that has been obviously sanitized. The evils of slavery are shown -- rather graphically, at times -- and it would be inaccurate to assume that The Adventures of Huck Finn doesn't have a social agenda.
Some will doubtless argue that this latest updating is unnecessary. They may be right, but rarely has the existence of a perfectly good adaptation prevented film makers from doing their own version. In the case of The Adventures of Huck Finn, at least Disney has produced a film of some quality. It's not a milestone, nor can it be considered the definitive adaptation of Twain's work but, on the whole, it deserves some recognition and credit.
© 1993, 1996 James Berardinelli