That filmmakers would even consider turning Mark Twain’s 19th century classic Tom Sawyer into a kids movie at the end of the 20th century is testament to the lasting appeal of Twain’s writings, even if their social setting includes plenty of elements that have been severely dated for more than half a century. That they’d make it an animated musical with an all-animal cast might be questionable, but doesn’t take away from the fact that Twain’s story is still at the heart of things here, even if it does get buried now and again.
To the credit of its makers, this production – while frequented by animated movie clichés – is playful, energetic, good-natured and ultimately quite entertaining. Of course, it helps if you’re a country movie fan. That’s because – along with snippets of Twain’s stories (Tom getting other kids to paint for him, lost on the mighty Mississippi, pursued by scary ‘Injurin’ Joe, and so on) – we also get a heavy dose of country music. Ten songs – not hugely memorable, but still passable enough – are peppered throughout the production, performed by country music stars including Hank Williams Jr., Marty Stuart, Waylon Jennons, Charlie Daniels and others. These folks also provide voices for the cast members, adding even more appeal for country fans.
The production is – at times – highly imaginative, particularly a dream sequence early in the film. In fact, it’s more imaginative than it is Tom Sawyer, as the filmmakers have taken plenty of liberties with the source material. They have, however, left in some of the content that might concern some younger kids – and their parents. For example, there’s a murder, a scary (and eventually dead) bad guy, swarming bats, and even a gallows scene with the near-execution of goofy old Muff Potter (voiced by Don Knotts).
In addition to Knotts and the country music stars, other familiar voices are provided by Betty White and Richard Kind. The animation is of decent quality throughout with some particularly fun images appearing here and there amidst the more mundane Saturday morning television quality material.
The film’s weaknesses – shallow supporting characters like the irritating nerdish Sid and over-dependence on the kids movie cliché of one chase after another – are significant, but don’t ruin the enjoyment.
While it certainly doesn’t rate among the great animated kids movies, Tom Sawyer has a lot of fun with Twain’s story, striking a good balance between typical family movie conventions, references to the old story and the music. The fun-loving spirit of Tom is here, and it’s good to see this appealing kernel supplemented by an updated, spunky Becky Thatcher, an ‘Injurin’ Joe rather than ‘Injun’ Joe, and plenty of toe-tapping tunes.
