The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993)

 

The exploits of Huckleberry Finn have not lessened with the passing of time. Since his adventure with Tom Sawyer and Injun Joe’s stolen treasure, Huck (Elijah Wood) has moved into different circles. Taken in by the wealthy Widow Douglas (Dana Ivy), he attends school (when he feels like it), befriends whom he pleases, and returns home to win the younger Ms. Douglas over to his side with a fantastical explanation for why he has a black eye, where his school jacket’s gone off to, and why it looks like he’s been swimming when he really hasn’t been. Huck is amid a fistfight with a fellow school boy with Tom cheering him on from the sidelines when his fist falters.

  

Staring down past the boy’s terrified face to the imprint of a shoe, he backs off in horror. He knows that print with the inlaid cross. It’s his Pap’s. Sprinting past the crowd of jeering boys, he dashes for the security of his Negro friend Jim (Courtney B. Vance), whom he believes can foretell the future. Jim tells him his magic hairball doesn’t reveal everything, but it would be best to slip away for a while. Foolishly, Huck tarries too long and gets kidnapped by his father (Ron Pearlman), who is determined to have what little money Huck’s mother left to him. The mean old man is as ‘drunk as a pig’ and attempts to kill the boy but comes to his senses the following morning. He locks Huck up in his cabin and sets off for town to get another bottle of whiskey.

 

Huck has no choice to make a run for it… and along with Jim, will encounter a sunken ship full of murderers, a bloodthirsty rivalry between two southern families, and a pair of con artists out to make a fast buck, all the while learning to trust and care for one another.

 

Elijah Wood is at his best as the good-hearted but tough-headed Huck Finn, playing the role with the right amount of innocence and formidability. His character goes through some good changes and bad; ultimately Huck always does good when his conscience demands it. The costuming is attractive and appropriate for the time. But Huck Finn proves the world is a dangerous place. A dark, cruel, and sinister world unfit for children plays out in this two-hour drama that tries to make light of serious situations, but fails. While it portrays excellent lessons in honesty, friendship, and the unfairness of slavery, the film takes a much darker turn than Tom ‘n Huck and stretches the PG rating by a mile. It’s very violent and too scary for little ones.  

   

Language:

Huck uses phrases like 'hell's bells, Jim!' frequently; there is a spattering of profanities and a few abuses of God's name.

   

Violence:

Violence comes in an abundance, from an abusive father to an implied bloodbath when the southern feud comes to a climax, and an attempted hanging. A corpse is dug up to prove a point. We witness a ship cave in on itself, apparently killing everyone inside. Dead bodies are scattered through various scenes, and Huck nearly kills his Pa by sleeping with a gun. 

   

Other:

There's a lengthy scene in which Jim is entertaining his family and friends with a séance. It's all bunk, but he also agrees to tell Huck's future with the aid of a hairball.