The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993)

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And to think I thought Something Wicked This Way Comes was the darkest Disney film ever! Boy, was I wrong!

I had known that Disney made a film adaptation of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but never saw it before nor heard anyone ever mention it before, so I didn’t know what to expect. Let’s just say it was quite the ride! Sit back as I review The Adventures of Huck Finn!

And remember, SPOILERS AHEAD!

Directed by Stephen Sommers, the film takes place in Missouri during the mid-1800s (I’m assuming). We’re quickly introduced to a young, mischievous boy named Huckleberry Finn, played by Elijah Wood. He’s a likable character although he has a penchant for skipping school, playing with his friends, roughhousing, and telling tall tales.

He’s cared for by two elder sisters, Miss Watson and Widow Douglas, played by Mary Louise Wilson and Dana Ivey, respectively. His mother has since passed away and his father is a no-good drunk who hasn’t been seen in a long time. So Miss Watson and Widow Douglas take it upon themselves to care for Huck and try their best to “civilize” him, something which he doesn’t take to at all.

One night, his father, Pap Finn, played by Ron Perlman, returns and forcibly kidnaps him. He takes Huck back to his log cabin in the middle of the woods. While in a state of inebriation, he tries to kill Huck so that he can inherit money that was meant for him when he turns of age. Huck keeps his father at bay by pointing a gun on him all night until Pap Finn regains sobriety.

The next day, Pap Finn has no recollection of his attempted murder spree and locks Huck in the cabin while he makes a trip to town. Huck manages to escape through the chimney though and decides to fake his own death by killing a wild boar and leaving the carcass and blood in the cabin. When Pap Finn returns and sees the scene, he comes to the conclusion that Huck was murdered.

Now that Huck is “dead”, he can do whatever he wants and escapes to a deserted island nearby. There he runs into his friend, Jim, played by Courtney B. Vance, a slave owned by Miss Watson and Widow Douglas. He’s run away though as the two sisters were offered money from a slave trader that would have sent Jim to New Orleans separating him forever from his wife and kids. Jim decided to head to Cairo, Illinois where he would be a free man and afterwards, send for his wife and kids, so that they can be reunited.

There’s more trouble in store for Jim though, as the townspeople assume he killed Huck, since he disappeared at the same time as Huck was found “murdered”. Huck promises to help Jim get to Cairo and together they set down the Mississippi River in a small boat.

Along the way, they run into a bad storm and seek temporary shelter on a sinking barge. Aboard the barge is a gang of robbers, one of whom is Pap Finn who has been killed by one of the other robbers. Only Jim sees his corpse though and keeps this a secret from Huck. He and Huck manage to take the robbers’ raft as the barge sinks resulting in the deaths of the robbers.

As they continue along the journey, Jim keeps Pap Finn’s death a secret because he realizes that Huck will return home if he knew as there would be no further reason for him not to. He and Huck also get into a discussion of slavery with Huck shocked that Jim could even think that slavery is something wrong. Huck begins to get qualms about helping a runaway slave as he feels this is a great sin. He almost turns Jim in to a sheriff he meets along the way, but regrets his feelings and makes amends with Jim.

They’re soon hit by a steamboat and separated. Huck is picked up by a rich family known as the Grangerfords who assume him to be a member of the Shepherdson family, a family they’ve had a feud with for years. When they see he’s not a Shepherdson, they pretty much adopt him (after he spins a tale lying about his identity and past). He even befriends one of the Grangerford boys near his age, Billy, played by Garette Ratliff Henson.

Huck enjoys his new life of leisure, wealth, and family who care for him. But what happened to Jim? Huck (and us) soon finds out that the Grangerfords caught Jim that night as well and kept him as one of their many slaves. Huck pretends not to know who Jim is when he’s around the Grangerfords, but once they’re alone, Jim tells Huck how they should run away soon.

Huck feels let down because now his life is so perfect and he accuses Jim of only thinking about himself. But after some reflection (and seeing whip scars on Jim’s back), he apologizes and plans to escape with Jim.

Things take a turn, however, when one of the Grangerford girls runs away with a Shepherdson boy and pretty soon both families are after each other with guns. Multiple deaths occur as a result, including that of Billy’s, a death that just shatters Huck!

He and Jim escape and continue along their journey, this time bumping into two conmen known as The King and The Duke, played by Jason Robards and Robbie Coltrane, respectively. The King and The Duke discover that Jim is a runaway slave and blackmail him and Huck into helping them with their scheme.

They’ve arrived in a town where an elder Mr. Wilkes has passed away and the family is expecting the arrival of his two brothers from England. Nobody has seen the brothers for years, so The King and The Duke decide to impersonate the brothers. They offer beer to one of the townspeople and while inebriated, he tells them all the details about the Wilkes. After he passes out drunk, they pretend to be the two Wilkes brothers along with Huck as their valet, and Jim as their Swahili-speaking slave they picked up in a safari.

They soon meet the daughters of the late Mr. Wilkes, Mary Jane, Julia, and Susan, played by Anne Heche, Renee O’Connor, and Laura Bell Bundy, respectively. The King and The Duke regale the family and townspeople with anecdotes which convinces them that they are the true Wilkes brothers. A couple of people have their doubts though, including Susan.

As they stay with the Wilkes longer, Huck gets qualms about conning the Wilkes sisters, so he eventually discloses the truth to Mary Jane. She’s upset as one can expect, but he urges her not to disclose the truth yet as Jim has been imprisoned and he needs time to free him. When Huck visits Jim in the prison cell, Jim admits to Huck that his father died. Huck feels hurt and betrayed that Jim would lie.

Further complications develop when the real Wilkes brothers arrive resulting in both sets of Wilkes brothers trying to convince the townspeople that they’re the real deal. Long story short, the townspeople discover that the King and Duke are frauds and take them away to be tarred and feathered. They also go after Huck and Jim, the latter of whom they attempt to lynch.

Fortunately enough, Mary Jane and her sisters arrive in time to stop this from happening. They inform the townspeople of Huck’s and Jim’s innocence in the overall scheme.

Huck faints and when he awakens, he finds himself in bed at the Wilkes’ residence with the Widow Douglas at his bedside. She’s overjoyed to see and be reunited with Huck again. Huck discovers that Miss Watson has since died and freed Jim in her will, having felt so ashamed that she even considered taking the offer from the slave trader.

The film ends with the Widow Douglas trying once again to civilize young Huck, but Huck runs off into the distance trying to get out of the fancy clothes she’s put him in.

And that was The Adventures of Huck Finn! Boy oh boy, was this a dark movie! It’s an enjoyable one, don’t get me wrong, but I haven’t read the book in so long, so I didn’t remember just how dark plot elements got. Heck, I’m not even sure how accurate this was to the book, but boy, was this movie dark!

I found the acting to be good overall, with Elijah Wood’s being the best! If he never made a name for himself as young Frodo, Huck Finn would be his quintessential role, in my opinion. I felt Courtney B. Vance could have been better, but he was still good.

I also really enjoyed the musical score of this film which is something I almost never notice. My main gripe with the film was its pacing. This film felt way longer than its 1 hour and 45 minutes! Also, the first and second halves of the film felt like two totally different movies. But then again, maybe that’s how the book is too.

All in all, this film wasn’t bad, but it’s gonna be hard to find another Disney movie darker than this one!

So, my final score for this film is 26/35 = 74.29% (C) !

The next review will be posted on November 26, 2024.