MovieChat Forums > The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993) Discussion > Wood was good but?

Wood was good but?

posted 20 years ago by cliftoncritic
18 replies | jump to latest

Wood is a great actor. I have seen and enjoyed such movies as Radio Flyer, Forever Young, The Good Son, and the LOTR trilogy. I will be honest and say that I have never seen this version of the famous Mark Twain story, but I have seen enough and do have enough basic knowledge of the "character" of Huk Finn (SP). From what other viewers have posted he seems too nice. This may be so and mack in 93 when this is made, I believe Rider Strong (Shawn Hunter from Boy Meets World) would have exceled in this kind of character. What do you think?

The Clifton Critic

[–] cliftoncritic 20 years ago

Back not mack sorry. I kinda seen it too late.

[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] cliftoncritic 20 years ago

If you read the post following, I said it was too late. I already sent out the message and I did'nt think to edit. I am new to the board. If I would of see the error prior I would have fixed it.

[–] HayleyAndFrodo 20 years ago

I agree about Rider Strong I don't know what makes me think he would fit Huck better but he seems more of a trouble maker i guess because of Boy Meets World but Elijah did such an excellent job as always!!!

[–] vdbke 20 years ago

You can think about Elijah what you want (about he doesn't fit in the character), it was the most touching child actor I've ever seen!!!

[–] HayleyAndFrodo 20 years ago

true!!! he is the best actor in the world!!!!!! I love Elijah!!!

"My friends, You bow to no one"
Happy B-day Lij!

[–] crazy_jen123 20 years ago

what a cute little kid he was in this movie. and what a cute little kid he grew up to be.

[–] HayleyAndFrodo 20 years ago

I agree lol Elijah....(daydreaming)

"Shire.....Baggins."
I Love Elijah and Pierre!

[–] jojo_kopz 20 years ago

i agree! no one could of done it better than elijah!!!!!!!!!

mash em, fry em, stick em in a stew!

[–] morganpony2 20 years ago

I'm reading the book at the moment and it would appear that underneath the smoking and the odd conning that huck is a good kid. In the adventures of Tom sawer he seems to be quite the idol of the boys but I have found that he considers himself less naughty than thomas sawer. However I have not yet seen this film and i find it difficult to see him in a role such as this, but Huck Finn ain't all that bad.

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] PageTurner 20 years ago

I LOVE this flick!It ROCKED! I got it from da library and watched it like 7 times! This movie made me want to read the book (I hadn't yet)and now that I have read them I think that Lij did an awesome job! Did you ppl know that Courtney Vance called Elijah "ja-ja" ? That's cute.

Where's Buckingham palace?
In Bucklingham.
Who's the king married to?
His wife.
What's her name?
The queen.
QUEEN WHAT?
Queen of England!

ACTION! CUT!

[–] keesch83 19 years ago

Rider Strong can't act his way out of a hat.

"Then you leave me no choice than to play you in a game of hungry hungry hippos"

[–] muddwhomper 19 years ago

Elijah made this movie. If it werent for him I would not have seen it. Their was something about Elijah's acting in this time period that made you feel drawn into the movie. I thought he lost that as an adult. He changed my mind again in Try Seventeen (aka All I want) and of course Lord of the Rings.

[–] sugerfoot 16 years ago

I think Elijah Wood was perfect in this role, it suited him to a T! In the books Huck isn't some sort of horribly evil kid, he's just a boy who yearns for a life of adventure and fun. I think Wood brought that to the movie, plus he's a little charmer.

[–] meilinpo 10 years ago

Wait a minute. NO ONE is saying that Huck is some sort of horribly evil kid! That's not the argument. Huck is a boy who has a good heart- a heart of gold, in fact. BUT, he has never been brought up in "polite society"; he is a diamond-in-the-rough,so to speak. With a bit of a spice of naughtiness and mischief about him, at least on the surface- overlaying his good heart and instincts; he lies, he smokes, he cusses, he has to deal with an abusive Pap for a father. And *THAT* is the aspect of Huck that is the question- whether young Elijah is/was too "nice" to capture this in his portrayal. --Or not.

Myself, I only know Elijah as Frodo from The Lord of the Rings. I've never seen this movie- yet- so I can't judge this one. However, one poster here commented earlier, of Elijah, "what a cute little kid"- and THAT is a case in point: the character of Huck Finn, as he is in Twain's books, is not one of whom "Cute!" would be the first adjective that comes to mind.

(...although he does have a great deal in common with Gavroche, the urchin from Les Miserables, of whom "cute" *is* an appropriate descriptor- still, Huck is slightly older, and not *quite* as childishly innocent.)

[–] Felixthecat34213 9 years ago

And *THAT* is the aspect of Huck that is the question- whether young Elijah is/was too "nice" to capture this in his portrayal. --Or not.

He definitely is, he was also a similarly troubled kid in Radio Flyer

Myself, I only know Elijah as Frodo from The Lord of the Rings. I've never seen this movie- yet- so I can't judge this one. However, one poster here commented earlier, of Elijah, "what a cute little kid"- and THAT is a case in point: the character of Huck Finn, as he is in Twain's books, is not one of whom "Cute!" would be the first adjective that comes to mind.

I had the same doubts that you had and I was much more familiar with his childhood work. He really is perfect for the role, he gives the film its heart.

[–] Felixthecat34213 9 years ago

The thing about Huck Finn is that he's a bit of a huckster, but he's generally a decent kid. Elijah wood did a really good job in the role imo and I was never a huge fan as a kid. He just really knows how to emote and can go from charming, sweet, to a lying sack of crap in two seconds. The chemistry between Elijah Wood and Courtney B Vance was great. You really rooted for him and Jim the entire film. He also does a really entertaining London cockney accent, a pretty damn good one for a kid!

Another thing, anyone notice the fantastic cinematography in a lot of these 90s Disney films? Huckleberry Finn, Tall Tale, there's some genuine artistic expression going on in these movies. It reflects the right amount of nostalgia and humor, but is suspenseful and dramatic when it needs to be. The scene where Billy is killed in the ambush was pretty sad.