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This is the fifth screen retelling of Mark Twain's river
saga, given a contemporary polish, courtesy of Disney. Elijah Wood plays Twain's answer to
Bart Simpson and Courtney B. Vance is his good buddy Jim.
SEX/NUDITY 0 - None.
VIOLENCE/GORE 5 - Several fist fights erupt, with solid, painful-looking
blows. Huck's father threatens him with a knife, and Huck holds him off with a rifle.
Eventually the father is shown dead of a gunshot wound. Huck kills a rat by winging a
bottle at it. He also shoots a boar, drags it around and smears its blood on the walls of
his father's cabin. During a gun battle between feuding families, a young boy named Billy
is shot (off-screen) and his corpse is found floating in the river. A slave receives a
whipping, just out of camera range. Huck's companion, Jim, shows the deep welts of a
whipping he's been subjected to. During a mob scene, a shooting and a stabbing occur. Two
villains are shown to have been coated with hot tar. A noose is placed around Jim's neck,
but he does not hang.
PROFANITY 2 - Huck enjoys salty language, consisting mainly of mild
profanities. [profanity glossary]
DISCUSSION TOPICS - The mindset behind slavery is examined, though hardly
in-depth. Alcoholism and child abuse are demonstrated by Huck's father. Huck smokes a
pipe.
MESSAGE - The value of friendship is the point most strongly delivered here.
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