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The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993) More at IMDbPro »

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24 comments in total

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Appears to be Disnefluff, but isn't., 20 October 2006

Author: fullonrobotchubby from United States

Say what you will about Mark Twain, but the story of Huckleberry Finn and Jim was truly his best. Forget Tom Sawyer and his fence - the tale of a mischievous child from an abusive home escaping with a runaway slave capable of enlightening said-child's perspectives on freedom gets my vote. At the height of the popularity of Bart Simpson, Disney released another adaptation of the classic starring a new up-and-coming child actor named Elijah Wood as Huck and a Yale graduate named Courtney B. Vance as Jim. But wait! The stars just keep on coming; Back-to-back Oscar-winner Jason Robards as the King, pre-Harry Potterized Robbie Coltrane as the Duke, Ron "Hellboy" Perlman (I could've sworn it was Tom Waits!) as Huck's drunk pappy, and Anne Heche (still hiding her cuckoo) as Mary Jane Wilks. There are also cameos by "Six Feet Under's" Frances Conroy, Curtis "Booger" Armstrong, and Pete's younger brother Pete Danny Tamberelli. There are quite a few dark moments for this PG-rated film, but maybe that's a big part of why I support it; Huck's gun-wielding confrontation with his father happens to be my favorite scene, though it's certainly not the darkest (That would be Billy's big scene.). The end of the movie is quite different from the end of the book - of course, they took the happily-ever-after approach - which sucks and ultimately makes a film filled with beautiful scenery and an unbelievably terrific score by Bill Conti seem like just another piece of Disnefluff. I know a bad ending can slay an entire movie, but one can't deny there's some good stuff in this one.

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
A perfect movie with a perfect ending., 9 January 2001

Author: Scott Miller from Dallas, TX

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.

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4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the best live-action version of a classic children's story., 3 March 2002

Author: BadWebDiver from Perth, Australia

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.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
I've yet to see a perfect film version of Twain's excellent story, but this version is still quite alright, 28 April 2008

Author: jmgalvan-1 from United States

I have read the popular novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain and I found it to be an instant classic and a book definitely worth my time. When it comes to movie adaptations, I've seen very few. The 1993 version titled "The Adventures of Huck Finn" stars a young Elijah Wood as Huckleberry and Courtney B. Vance as Jim and also featured in the cast are some other well-known faces such as Ron Perlman, Jason Robards, Robbie Coltrane, and James Gammon. Overall, with this star-laden cast, the movie is quite entertaining in its own way. Like other films I can think of, it's beginning made little sense and happened a little too suddenly with no room for proper pacing or development. But once this had gone by, I did find myself enjoying the movie quite a bit.

Wood was, and still is a fine young actor and his performance as Huckleberry was noteworthy. I did like Courney B. Vance's performance as Jim and I think he rendered and portrayed the character with absolute perfection. After him, I did like Jason Robards and Robbie Coltrane as the bumbling con artists who call themselves the king and the duke. Ron Perlman was also a good choice to play Huckleberry's deranged father, unfortunately he wasn't given enough screen time to show his quintessential talents for the role and he wasn't quite involved in the story enough as he was in the book.

One thing that did disappoint me was that the screenwriters wrote out the character of Tom Sawyer, probably due to concern of containing too many characters for a 108-minute film. So I can understand the filmmakers' decision and accept it. Maybe the inclusion would have slowed the movie down, maybe not. But all and all, I did very much enjoy "The Adventures of Huck Finn" and although it is not a perfect adaptation of Mark Twain's excellent book, I still enjoyed it.

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4 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Not the book, but it doesn't have to be, 4 September 2005

Author: ClassicGal from United States

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.

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1 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Overview on Huck Finn, 23 December 2005

Author: aireagle11 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I have read the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and now watched the move Huck Finn by Elijah Wood. I feel that this is a great movie for a younger child who likes adventure novels and whose parents are willing to watch the movie with them to help them interpret key parts. It teaches many values of life, and one of the most important told by Jim the slave himself was to not always think that something is always right just because other people tell you it is. It is a good movie and I would recommend it to young children and adults alike especially after reading the novel.

The novel by Mark Twain shows the relationship between a young white uncivilized white boy and a black runaway slave named Jim. Huck is living with a Widow and he likes to go on adventures and play pretend games with his friends especially his one friend Tom who has quite the imagination. Huck's harsh "Pap" comes to get him because Judge Thatches has a large lump sum of money that is supposed to be Huck's someday and he is after the money. He takes him to a secluded log cabin in the middle of the woods and Huck has to live with his alcoholic dad for all this time and he treats Huck Finn poorly.

Eventually Huck finds a way to escape and he takes a boat and gets to an island where people seldom visit. He finds Jim who is the slave of the widow where Huck was previously residing. Jim tells him the secret that he ran away because he didn't want to be sold into slavery into the South he is on a hunt for freedom and wants to buy back his family. So Huck agrees to help Jim on his journey to Cairo and then go back up the river to the free states and earn money to buy his family back from slavery.

In this novel Huck learns that just because the majority of people are doing something that it doesn't mean that it is the right thing to do. He learns that African Americans are people too and the color of their skin doesn't change that. He learns that Jim has feelings for his family and he sees just how much Jim cares for him when he shows how excited he is to see Huck. The movie shows all of the main scenes with some twists to keep the viewers attention and understanding, but it still portrays the same feelings and morals. Overall this is a great novel and movie and I recommend both to anyone.

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1 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Enjoyable, 23 June 2005

Author: Lizard391 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

At first i wasn't to sure about the movie. It seemed boring and a bit little kiddish. But as the movie went on i realized how much i really liked it. 12 year old Elijah Wood plays the role of Huck Finn a motherless boy who is taken in by a sweet widow and her friend. The widow's slave, Jim, and Huck are close friends. So when Huck fakes his death and Jim is accused of his murder, the two of make for the free states by taking a raft down the Mississippi river. There is MUCH more to the movie so you will have to watch it for yourself to find out what happens to Jim and Huck on their adventures down the Mighty Missip. (The movie contains a few swear word and some intense moments that might not be suitable for children under the age of 8)

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0 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
a liturature lesson minus the book, 13 November 2003

Author: veronica from usa

The movie does great at showing the hardships of slavery, yet throwing in tons of humor, adventures(duh), and morals. Great performances all around, especially by Courtney B. Vance,Robbie Coltrane, and Elijah Wood. Suitably filmed on the missisippi river, the gorgeous landscape provides a beautiful backdrop for the story of freedom, frineds, and new beginings. Bottom line: its cool- something grandmas and 13 year-olds agree on.

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0 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
You Can't Help But Love This Movie, 19 January 2004
Author: hayley4orli from New Zealand

This is definitely one of my favourite movies, and although I am inclined to be a tad biased as Elijah Wood is one of my favourite actors, I can tell you that that has nothing to do with it. The essence of Mark Twain is always present in this film, which comes from the mastermind of the "Mummy" movies. Elijah Wood plays the role of Huck Finn superbly, his performance is so accurate that avid Twain readers will not be offended. Courtney B. Vance also plays the role of the lovable crook "Jim" - the two make an unlikely but unforgettable pair. This movie will make you cry and make you laugh. I will not bother recommending it to the fans of Mark Twain out there - because there is no doubt that they have already seen it several times! But even if you have never read a sentence Mr Twain has written, you will love this movie - you'd have to be pretty cold-hearted not to.

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0 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Children's story, 23 December 2003
Author: Tcjy8 from Monterey, California

I'm sorry but your mistaken. Huck Finn is not at all children's story. Twain uses satire throughout the novel to deliver very serious messages. Satire makes on look at themselves and change. You may have thought this because Tom Sawyer is children's novel, but Huck Finn is a totally different type of book.

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