Overview
When 12-year-old Rob Horton discovers a caged tiger in the woods near his home, his imagination runs wild and life begins to change in the most unexpected ways. With the help of a wise and mysterious maid, Willie May and the stubborn new girl in school, he must navigate through childhood memories, heartache, and wondrous adventures.
Potential Spoilers Ahead!
Introduction
12 year old Robert Horton is a young boy who lives with his dad in a small motel. A few years back, he lost his mom to cancer. Therefore, it is up to him and his dad to continue on and try to live a normal life. However, one day, Robert discovers that the owner of the motel has captured a wild tiger and is hiding him. While Robert wonders what to do, Willie May, his school crush tells him that he needs to let it go. However, the owner of the motel entrusts Robert to care for the tiger and everyone besides Willy is telling him it is best for the tiger to stay locked up. Robert must decide what is best for the tiger and do what is right…. or wrong.
Ripe Apples
I really like Robert’s dad in this film. After losing his wife, he doesn’t get addicted to alcohol like they normally show in these movies or abuse his son. Sure, we do see him get into a few small fights with his boss, but nothing unreasonable. Robert’s dad tries to be there for his son, since he knows that they are all they have for each other. He is seen dealing with the loss of his wife but he does it in a respectful way. He realizes that she is gone and there is nothing he can do about it but take care of his son. This was the best part of the movie in my opinion.
I also like the maid in this movie because she tries to also help Robert make the best choice. When she finds out about the tiger she advises that Robert leave it locked up since it is safe in there, even though she believes it to be humane. She advises that they do something else besides just let it go.
Robert has a lot of flashbacks about his mom, and they usually help him. From the flashbacks we see that she was an excellent mother that did a great job raising her son while she was alive.
Rotten Apples
We see one animal shot in slow motion. There are a few small fist fights and one person throws a bag of meat against the wall. That is all the violent content in this film.
Robert has a crush on Willy, and in one scene Robert wants to take Willy to see the tiger but Willy asks if she can borrow some clothes. Robert gives her some and then just stands there. Willy asks, “Can I get some privacy?”
The owner of the motel is seen smoking.
We hear some d words uttered from the owner of the motel. We hear one name-call.
Additional Thoughts
Like I said above, I really like the lesson in this film. Robert realizes that his first instinct is not the best one. He needs to heed the advice of his elders so that the best decision can be made. I also like how Robert’s parents do a good job at raising Robert and want to help him be a great kid.
Conclusion
In the end, this is a great film for the entire family to watch! I highly recommend it for the entire family to watch on movie night! The story and characters are easy to relate to and its a very touching film! If you like this film, be sure to let us know in the comments what you thought.
Featured Image from Imdb
Thanks to youtube.com for the trailer
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