Highly Overrated But Still Good

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

I, for one, am unenthusiastic about and really disappointed in this Disney-distributed live-action feature film adaptation of the Great American Novel, but I don't really think it's horrible. I just wish it was distributed by a studio other than Disney, because they have to make their movies kid-friendly and Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not kid-friendly in all its aspects.I saw this movie in my literature class in the 11th grade after reading the novel and both my teacher and my peers were just as displeased as I was. The movie skips over some interesting parts from the book and the scenes Disney chooses to include, they're quick, dull and without atmosphere, which the movie doesn't really have. I also think Elijah Wood was a careless choice for the part of Huck Finn, and they did it just for the sake of stardom. One thing that I was pleased with in this movie however was Ron Perlman as Huck's father, but even he can't save this movie.I'm pretty sure if Mark Twain were alive today and saw this film, he would be exasperated not only with the film itself, but with the way it's being told to today's generation. It does compare to the original source material, but in a way that is unsatisfactory, unlikeable and, dare I say it, embarrassing. But if you want to introduce yourself and/or your kids to the Great American Novel as a censored, pandering, shallow, and bland as heck version, don't let this review stop you.

The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnAlong the Mississippi River heading North, Huck, Elijah Wood, and Jim, Courtney B. Vance, are on the run. The movie The Adventures of Huck Finn takes place between 1835 and 1845. This film is an adventurous, comedic, drama. Some of the prominent stars of the film were Elijah Wood, Courtney B. Vance, and Ron Perlman. Huck and Jim, Elijah and Courtney, leave their Missouri town and start to head north. They meet some people named The Duke and The King. These new people take Jim and Huck away from their original destination and get Jim put in jail. To get Jim out of jail Huck pulls a con on the two liars, The King and The Duke. One aspect of filmmaking that I noticed was the background music. The music lets you know ahead of time if something bad was going to happen or if something good was going to pass. Another thing that the music does is it gives the movie a slight happy mood to it. Another aspect is the acting. The acting by Ron Perlman, Pap Finn, was really good as was the acting by Courtney B. Vance and Elijah Wood. The Duke and The King could have been portrayed by different actors but the actors used were okay. They made the movie funny and enjoyable. My overall review of the movie is that it is a must watch if you don't want to read the book. This movie is really good and it gave me a different view on how people were treated back in the 1800's. I got a good feeling from this movie and it was really inspirational and moving. I would give it 6 out of 10. Joseph Duran American Literature Student 3rd block: Mr. Mauzey's Class Written May 24th, 2012

Huck Finn (Elijah Wood) has a knack for getting into trouble. He spends the majority of his days playing hooky from school, getting into fights, and lying to his guardians Mrs. Watson (Mary Louise Wilson)and Widow Douglas (Dana Ivey) about how he got black eyes. One day, Huck's drunken, abusive father (Ron Perlman) arrives and takes his son away with him, looking for a way to get his hands on $600 left to Huck by his mother who is deceased. Huck escapes from his father's cabin, after a night of fighting for his life, and, in the company of a runaway slave named Jim (Courtney B. Vance), the duo sets off on a journey by boat down the Mississippi with the goal of getting Jim's freedom. Along the way, the pair meets a number of interesting people and become dragged into several adventures that don't always lean towards their favor. Disney has a rep. for watering down things that may cause a social argument. Huck Finn deals with a single major issue: slavery. In the book, Mark Twain never holds back punches which are good when using a type of fiction realism since The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was the first book to be wrote in full dialect. Although the movie never uses the word "nigger", that's about the only thing that has been sanitized because it is meant to be a children's/Family movie. The evils of slavery are still shown, rather graphically, at times and it would be wrong to assume that The Adventures of Huck Finn doesn't have a social agenda. Family films are hard to find, and those that fit into the category of "good entertainment" are even less common. The Adventures of Huck Finn is a great exception, although young children may be a little frightened by some of the violence. Same as the book, there are many levels on which the story can be appreciated. Children will enjoy the adventure, but the sarcasm and funny wit is mainly for adult consumption. The Adventures of Huck Finn is a great movie and Disney has produced a film of some quality. It's not a 5 out of 5 , and it can't be considered the real version of Twain's work but it deserves some recognition and credit. I give the movie 3 out of 5 because it was entertaining and the wasn't really and crappy animation like some of the other movies of that time period.

During CA this year, my class watched The Adventures Of Huck Finn. The movie takes place in the 1800s. I think the movie was classified more as a drama than any other genre. Even though it had some comedy parts. The movie Huckleberry Finn is about a little boy that gets kidnapped by his abusive drunk of a father. Throughout the movie Huck tries to set his friend, that's a slave, free. At one point they come across this thief's stash of gold. They pretended that they were sent from London and were high class people. Soon people started realizing that they weren't who they said that they were. So the thief's went after Huck and his friend. I thought that the set and the costume design matched the story line really well. It wasn't like most movies where they don't have the same hairstyles and clothes as they did back in the 1800s. Also I thought that the background music matched the action scenes really well. In the movie the characters used realism by talking the same way that people did in that time. They also used realism by the way they dressed. In the background they showed realism by using real people and real places. My personal opinion on the movie was that it was terrible. The story was dry and it wasn't very interesting. I wouldn't suggest this movie to any high school student. I would rate this movie 2 out of 10. Alyssa Hanes American Literature Student 3rd block, Mr.Mauzey Written May 22, 2012