MOVIE REVIEW : ‘Huck Finn’: A Whole Raft of Fun

In all the annals of boyhood, has there ever been a lad quite like Huckleberry Finn? Irreverent and intrepid, prone to doing whatever’s handiest and not likely to let the truth get in his way, good-hearted Huck is the most engaging urchin in American literature, and in scamp-and-a-half Elijah Wood he comes to life more than he ever has before.

“The Adventures of Huck Finn” (citywide) is in no way the first time Mark Twain’s celebrated novel of a boy, a slave, a raft and a river has been made into a film. But not even Mickey Rooney and Jackie Coogan, who starred in two of the earlier versions, captured the spunk and the spirit of the boy who wouldn’t be civilized in quite the way Wood has.

With a face lively even in repose and eyes like great dark saucers, Wood displays more of an irrepressible imp persona than he showed in “Avalon” and “Radio Flyer.” Yet it is not just his wholehearted relish for pranksterism that sets this Huck apart, it is his air of capability and self-possession. This is one small boy whose survival on his own is not at all hard to believe.

Huck, of course, is not totally on his own. His companion is Jim, the commonsensical runaway slave he shares adventures and raft space with. Given how much racial sensitivities have changed since Twain wrote his novel in 1876, this part is in many ways even more difficult to cast than Huck, but in Courtney B. Vance the film once again has gotten it right.

An accomplished stage actor who was Tony-nominated for his roles in the original productions of “Fences” and “Six Degrees of Separation,” Vance projects a natural dignity that is the more impressive for not seeming anachronistic. He and Wood have developed a genuine rapport, and their scenes together reflect the quirky sense of equal partnership that animated the book.

Though it is basically a PG-rated family film, boy’s adventure division, with actors this capable “Huck Finn” can’t help but interest unaccompanied adults as well. It does bog down seriously in the middle, when the plot pushes Huck and Jim to the background, and it also exhibits a tendency to be more preachy than grown-ups may find diverting, but overall this is a successful effort, a straightforward yarn that will probably remind parents of the kind of cheerful Disney films they themselves grew up with.

Aside from the stars, much of the credit for this should go to 32-year-old writer-director Stephen Sommers, who not only adapted Twain’s book with a reasonable amount of faithfulness but also did a nicely self-effacing job of directing. Intent on telling the story, not showing off his virtuosity, Sommers demonstrates what you can accomplish by not imposing an intrusive personal style on material that is better off without it.

Though Huck seems cheerful enough giving a boxing lesson to an unlucky local tyke in the film’s opening sequence, he soon turns frightened when he sees a distinctive footprint on the shores of the Mississippi. It can mean nothing but the return of his dread father, Pap, and after consulting with Jim, who does a little conjuring on the side, Huck decides to leave town.

But the evil-tempered, alcoholic Pap (played by Ron Perlman like Tom Waits with a mean hangover) is too quick for him, and Huck ends up having to fake his own death to escape him. But when he sneaks back into town disguised as a girl (a sequence of the purest hilarity), Huck finds out that Jim, who has since run away, is suspected of his murder.

Though Huck has been taught to believe slavery is the Lord’s plan, he can’t bring himself to turn his friend in for fleeing, and he agrees to accompany Jim down the river to Cairo and freedom. Aside from various tumultuous adventures, Huck and Jim ending up sharing more conversations of the “all men should be free” variety than is strictly necessary (or that the more subtle Twain would have been happy with), though parents seeking to instill good values in their offspring will not be likely to object.

Also not particularly inspired is the interlude Huck and Jim spend under the spell of those faux-aristocratic frauds, the King and the Duke. Jason Robards and Robbie Coltrane are solid enough in these roles, but the whole extended sequence feels overly familiar and clashes with the freshness that Wood and Vance bring to their parts. When those two are front and center and the film is concentrating on their more rambunctious antics, all feels right in this particular world.

‘The Adventures of Huck Finn’ Elijah Wood: Huck Courtney B. Vance: Jim Robbie Coltrane: The Duke Jason Robards: The King Ron Perlman: Pap Finn Dana Ivey: Widow Douglas

A Laurence Mark production, released by Walt Disney Pictures. Director Stephen Sommers. Producer Laurence Mark. Executive producers Barry Bernardi, Steve White. Screenplay Stephen Sommers, based on the novel by Mark Twain. Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski. Editor Bob Ducsay. Costumes Betsy Faith Heimann. Music Bill Conti. Production design Richard Sherman. Art director Randy Moore. Set decorator Michael Warga. Running time: 1 hour, 48 minutes.

MPAA-rated PG.