Once you’ve watched the Pixar oeuvre, and recycled all your favorite childhood movies, what’s left to watch that’s worth watching? A whole bunch of movies from the ’80s and ’90s that you probably missed, that’s what. One 1995 gem is The Indian In the Cupboard, an adaptation of the fantastic children’s fantasy novel by Lynne Reid Banks. In both, a boy named Omri receives a secondhand cupboard and a plastic Native American doll for his birthday. He discovers that an old key fits in the cupboard’s lock, and that when he puts the Native American doll in, it comes to life and turns into a Iroquois warrior named Little Bear.
But Little Bear is no storybook Indian, and his creator is thrown into turmoil. What debt does he owe Little Bear for bringing him to life in a world of giants? How can he keep Little Bear safe and happy in a dangerous world, and keep the secret of his magical cupboard to himself when he’s the youngest in a family of pushy, nosy brothers? The young actor who plays Omri, Hal Scardino, is wonderfully natural and his conflicts gripping and real. And Native American rapper Litefoot, who plays Little Bear, is dignified and shown respect, and gets to debunk some Native American stereotypes (for instance, he doesn’t live in a teepee and he’s never heard of a cowboy).
The Indian in the Cupboard is great for kids aged 7 and up; there are some realistic scenes of another brought-to-life small Native American dying that may cause younger kids some pause, but there’s little else to offend.