Film Review: The Adventures of Huck Finn

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet seen this film, please go and do so before proceeding

            Mark Twain is definitely my favorite American author and there are few books of his I enjoy more than The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its longer and still more acclaimed sequel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I love Twain's sarcastic, perceptive prose and the very atmospheric, interesting stories he weaves. But because I so dearly adore the books, most film adaptations just don't quite manage to live up to the experience I get whenever I read them. That is where the 1993 Disney adaptation starring baby Elijah Wood comes in because, honestly, it is the best film adaptation of a Twain book that I have ever seen.

Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- I love the way this film starts off, with the woodcut illustration credits. Another Elijah Wood Disney film (Oliver Twist) uses the same trick. Was this a trend at the studio or something?

- "Personally I can't see no glory in whupping an ignorant lardass." The dialect used in Twain sometimes takes a bit of getting used to...but it certainly adds a lot of immediate character. 

- Elijah Wood is quite young in this film, but he just absolutely knocks the role out of the park. He really manages to get the whole 'face of an angel, mind of the devil' aspect of Huck's personality across.

- The two old ladies Huck lives with in the beginning of the film are a real riot. Miss Watson is stern and suspicious and as willing to box Huck's ears for misbehaving as she is to hug him. Widow Douglas, on the other hand, is perfectly willing to coddle him because she knows, for Huck, that is punishment in and of itself. I like her. She's sneaky.

- I appreciate the way that this adaptation doesn't shy away from the uglier aspects of Huck's personality. In the original he lies, he steals, he smokes, he swears, he's prejudiced against Jim, and he's exceedingly selfish and self-protective. And that's all a part of his character here and I am SO grateful that they didn't try to 'clean that up' in order to make him into a role model or something. Because that's not who Huckleberry Finn is. He is so compelling because he is self-protective and selfish. Unlike, say, Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he's not some angelic little waif with a heart of gold who instantly brightens the day of everyone about him with his selflessness. He's bad to the core and he knows it. In fact...he's proud of it. That makes us root for him all the more whenever he has to make a choice between the right thing and the wrong thing. He's not perfect, so we want to see him do well. 

- The ugliness of what happens to him isn't toned down at all either. His Pap is still an abusive alcoholic who, in a drunken fit, kidnaps and tries to murder Huck who only escapes through his ingenuity and willingness to get his hands dirty.

- "I ain't no angel, Pap. You can ask Miss Watson!"

- Huck faking his own death always makes me grin. Smart kid.

- The cinematography is just beautiful. The sunsets on the river, the green of the foliage, the blue of the sky, the way the shots are framed...wow. Absolutely gorgeous!

- The score is pretty awesome too. It would have been easy to go with a banjo sound or some kind of 'current' soundtrack...but instead we're giving sweeping strings and a sound that is as timeless as the Mississippi River itself.

- I love the way this film manages to go from playful to tear-jerker at the drop of a hat. Case in point being the scene where Huckleberry finds out that Jim has become a runaway slave and has to decide whether or not to help him. He eventually decides to help, though he does grumble a lot and utter more than one "Hell's bells!" as he debates with himself.

- Jim sends him for supplies and, since Huck is 'dead', he has to disguise himself. *snort* He looks better in that pink frock than most girls would.

- "I might end up being a murderer myself one day." It's rather sad the way Huck is so pragmatic about what he might one day be driven to make his career.

- This film really gets the slavery issue (especially the deep-seeded mentality behind it) across really well without shoving it down our throats. Huck is constantly battling himself over 'doing the right thing' and turning Jim in or 'giving himself a one-way ticket to Hell' and continuing to help his friend. This extremely skewed way of thinking just highlights the problem without making it too obvious that is what they are doing. This script is extremely smartly written.

- I love Huck's lie to the bounty hunters about how his whole family has the pox. Ewwww. That just sounded nasty!

-  Parlay vu francine?! Geeze, Huckleberry, your French pronunciation is worse than mine...

- Alas poor Billy...he didn't even know what he was fighting the Shepherdsons for. The death of this boy happens off screen, but it's somehow worse whenever we're just seeing Huck's reaction and his then finding the body of his dead friend. This movie really doesn't try to tone down the darker aspects of the book (feuding, slavery, prejudice, etc.) but it does to an excellent job never painting this issues in black and white. Nobody's really a cartoon villain. It's more about human nature than anything else.

- The Duke and The Dauphine...gotta love 'em! They are two of my favorite literary characters of all time and I will forever be sorry that I didn't get to see this version of them act out the 'tent meeting' that Twain includes in the book. It's very irreverent...but oh so funny!

- Their names take forever to type, though, so now I'm going to refer to them as 'D&D'.

- They offer to teach Huck the 3 E's...robbery, forgery, and burglary.

- "He only murdered me!" I probably shouldn't find that so funny...

- So, SPN fans, fun fact for you: Curtis Armstrong (the man who plays Metatron) was in this movie as a big-mouthed drunk flathead that D&D pump for information. I'd recognize that smile anywhere...

- Am I the only one cringing at the 'Swahili Warrior' get-up and concept?

- That whole affair was just...uncomfortable.

- "...the damn dog next door." This becomes a running gag in Act 3 of this film...and it never gets old.

- Susan (the youngest Wilks sister) is hilarious. I'm ever so glad that the screenplay writers didn't make the choice to set her up as a love interest for Huck...even in a kiddy kind of way. Oh thank God! Not only would that be VERY CONTRARY to Huck's personality, but there would be absolutely no point to it.

- It is at this point that the film descends into mental hijinks and more lies than you can keep straight in your head. D&D have Huck over a barrel because they know who Jim is and what he was accused of. They also have dirt on Huck because he is implicated in their dastardly scheme even though (for once) he is nearly innocent. He doesn't want to see the sisters hurt, but he also can't abandon Jim and he's afraid of being tarred. Eventually he can take it no longer and tells Mary Jane the truth.

- Just in time for another set of Wilks brother to come into town and the whole thing to fall apart.

- "Personally, boy, I think you're just a damn good liar." "Well thank you for the compliment, sir."

- In the book the confrontation about the Wilks estate takes place close to the end of the second act, but in this film the last part of the book (rather superfluous, to be honest) is cut out and this is made into the climax. And what a climax it is!

- D&D are tarred and presumably run out of town or hung. Huck and Jim try to escape, but Huck is shot in the back and Jim - rather than leaving Huck to die in the woods - sacrifices himself for the chance to get his young friend back to a doctor. Jim is nearly lynched and Huck nearly dies, but both are saved by Mary Jane who knows the whole truth now, thanks to Huck's earlier choice to be honest.

- I'll admit that I don't cry during a whole lot of films, but I sure tear up a bit during this climax when emotions are running high and the tension is nearly unbearable. Even having read the book and knowing how it turns out, I was on the edge of my seat. It's just that good.

            This film is just a joy every time I watch it. The acting is superb, the visuals are stunning, and the music only helps to enhance the high emotion of this great story. It is the best adaptation I have ever seen because, despite the changes made in the adaptation process, manages to retain the charm and message of the original perfectly because it shows great respect for the source text and for the issues that the book dealt with. It has a great message about prejudice, loyalty, and questioning societal norms instead of just accepting them at face-value. The Adventures of Huck Finn is a classic and a 5/5.


What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?