This Disney live-action film is a
very loose adaptation of Mark Twain's two novels about boyhood friends in Hannibal, MO, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which omits some of the darker themes and undertones in the original books. Television star
Jonathan Taylor Thomas (of
Home Improvement) is the prankish Tom Sawyer. Tom wants desperately to be friends with the renegade orphan boy Huck Finn (
Brad Renfro), who lives on his own on the edge of town. Tom is also smitten with the tomboyish Becky Thatcher (
Amy Wright), daughter of the town judge. On an adventure one night, Tom and Huck stumble upon a murder in a graveyard. They see Injun Joe (
Eric Schweig) killing the town undertaker to get a map to a treasure. Tom's friend Muff Potter (Michael McShane) is wrongly accused of the crime, but Tom and Huck both know the real killer. Huck has made Tom swear not to reveal the truth and both boys fear that Injun Joe will come after them if they squeal. Tom must choose between his friendship with Huck and his desire to vindicate Muff and get the real killer brought to justice. They try to find the treasure and end up confronting Injun Joe in a cave. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide