Der Indianer im Küchenschrank (1995)

Der Indianer im Küchenschrank: Directed by Frank Oz. With Hal Scardino, Litefoot, Lindsay Crouse, Richard Jenkins. Omri, a young boy growing up in Brooklyn, receives an odd variety of presents for his birthday: a wooden cabinet from his older brother, a set of antique keys from his mother and a tiny plastic model of an Indian from his best friend Patrick.

“Underrated and highly involving movie for kids. A young boy finds out that his cupboard has magical powers and can turn plastic into reality. He first turns a plastic Indian into a real human being. The movie teaches about responsibility but in an understandable way. It isnu0026#39;t patronizing nor childish, which means older audiences should relate to it also. It also mediates on life and death at certain points, and was the first film in a long time to be genuinely emotionally shocking. The relationship between the Indian and the cowboy was very well developed as they started to bond over their tragedies. The film does have a number of loose edges. Rishi Bhat was particularly annoying at times, but in a way he was necessary to play off Scardino. Even Scardino wasnu0026#39;t always a lovable protagonist. In one scene he kicks his brotheru0026#39;s pet rat down the stairs, in an event where the rat clearly would have died. As the film hadnu0026#39;t relied on cartoon logic up until that point it was a bit out of place. Great effects, and seeing Darth Vader vs. a T-Rex kind of made up for those moments. A more innocent time when childrenu0026#39;s movies didnu0026#39;t have to be loud and crass.”