In the film, mischievous young Tom Sawyer witnesses a murder by a vicious half-Native American criminal known as "Injun Joe". Tom befriends Huck Finn, a boy with no future and no family, and is forced to choose between honoring a friendship or honoring an oath, when the town drunk is accused of the murder.
Plot
One dark stormy night, Native American crook Injun Joe goes to meet Dr. Jonas Robinson for some shady business. Meanwhile, a boy named Tom Sawyer runs away from home with his friends to become steamboat men. This ultimately fails as their raft collides on a rock in the Mississippi River, throwing Tom into the water. His friends find him washed up on the shore, and Tom finds it was Huckleberry "Huck" Finn who carried him to safety. Tom later meets Huck discovering an unusual way to remove warts - by taking a dead cat to the graveyard at night. There, they witness Joe and Muff Potter, the town drunk, digging up the grave of Vic "One-Eyed" Murrell for Robinson. A treasure map is discovered and Robinson assaults Muff and Injun Joe in an attempt to take it for himself. He manages to knock out Muff, but Joe fights back by fatally stabbing Doc with Muff's knife.
The next morning, Muff is charged for the murder. Tom and Huck had signed an oath saying that if either of them came forward about it, they would drop dead and rot. The boys embark on a search for the treasure map Injun Joe has, so they can declare Muff innocent while preserving their oath. Eventually, however, Joe finds the lost treasure and asks his partner to hide it in a cave before burning the map. With the only evidence to prove Muff's innocence destroyed, Tom and Huck's friendship starts to decline, and Huck eventually leaves Hannibal. Joe then discovers that Tom was a witness to the crime. He finds Tom and threatens he will kill him if he ever tells anyone about the murder.
At Muff’s trial, Tom decides that his friendship with Muff is more important than his oath with Huck and exposes the truth. Joe unsuccessfully attempts to kill Tom before leaving Hannibal. The townspeople declare Tom as a hero for his bravery and plans to throw a festival to commemorate the occasion. Knowing that Joe wants him dead, Tom decides not to attend. Huck later sneaks into Tom's bedroom one night, criticizing Tom for breaking their oath before leaving town again.
The next day during the festival, a group of children, including Tom and his love interest Becky Thatcher, enter the caves, where Tom and Becky become lost. Meanwhile, the judge is alerted by the sheriff that Joe ended up killing his partner. Huck, who secretly attends the festival, overhears all this and goes after Tom. Tom and Becky eventually stumble upon Injun Joe in McDougal's Cave. He traps them, but Tom and Becky manage to escape. Tom and Becky later discover the spot where Joe hid his treasure. Tom then finds an opening in the cave and asks Becky to get her father.
Joe ultimately finds Tom and attempts to kill him before Huck suddenly shows up. After a brief struggle, Joe easily overpowers Huck. Just as Joe is about to land a finishing blow, Tom quietly empties the contents from the treasure chest and threatens Joe by throwing the treasure chest over a chasm. Joe then tries to get the chest from Tom, only to fall into the chasm to his death. The boys reconcile as they claim Joe's treasure and are declared heroes by the people. Tom is praised on the front page of the newspaper, and Widow Douglas adopts Huck.
Bronwen Murray as Cousin Mary: Tom's maternal cousin
Reception
Box office
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $3,210,458 in 1,609 theaters in the United States and Canada, debuting at number 9 at the box office.[3] In its second week it rose to No. 8 where it grossed $6,789,871.[4] The U.S. and Canada box office for Tom and Huck was $23,920,048.[1]
Critical
The film received mixed to negative reviews.[5][6][7][8] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 25% of eight critics reviewed the film positively, with an average rating of 4.2/10, earning the film a score of "Rotten".[9]
Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy Film
Rachael Leigh Cook
Nominated
Home media
The film was released on VHS and LaserDisc on May 1, 1996. It was first released on DVD on May 6, 2003, and on February 10, 2009 was released as a double feature with The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993). The film was released on Blu-Ray on July 13, 2021. It is also included on Disney's streaming service, Disney+.
