One morning, a young boy wakes up to a wild surprise, every toy in his room is alive! But instead of just playing, they treat him like their parent. Now, he has to guide them, protect them, and keep their secret safe.

‘SPOILER ALERT’

After school on his birthday, a boy named Omri gets picked up by his mom, Jane, who takes him home. When they get there, Omri sees that his family has planned a small surprise party for him. He looks happy about this, and after they sing a birthday song for him, they give him the gifts they got for him.

While his dad, Victor, gets him a skateboard, one of his brothers, Gillon, gives him an old cupboard. Jane asks if Gillon washed the cupboard, and he says he did. As Omri looks at the cupboard with his best friend, Patrick, he asks if it has a key, but Gillon says it doesn’t.

Jane then tells Omri not to worry about that because she has a lot of keys which she used to collect when she was younger. As Omri and Patrick then play with the skateboard, Victor says they have to go outside to do that. Since they can’t go alone, Omri begs his other brother, Adiel, to follow them.

Adiel agrees to do this, and he heads out with the boys. When they get to a place where some other boys are skating, Omri and Patrick just sit to admire them. After a while, Patrick gives Omri a small Native American toy for his birthday.

Omri thanks him and says that it looks like an antique, but Patrick mentions that the toy just reminds him of his best friend. Shortly after, Omri heads home, and Jane helps him look for a key that can work for his cupboard. After one of the keys in her collection works, she tells Omri that it was the one her grandmother gave her before she died.

As Omri opens the cupboard and looks inside, he asks Jane what he should keep there, and she throws his Native American toy at him and tells him to put it there. Omri does just this and closes the cupboard before arranging the things in his room. He then reads a book with Jane, and after this, he goes to bed. The next morning, Omri wakes up and hears a strange sound coming from the cupboard. As he goes close to it, the key suddenly gets knocked down, and Omri looks shocked.

After he picks up the key, he opens the cupboard and sees that his native American toy has transformed into a living Iroquois man named Little Bear. Omri looks amazed by this, but Little Bear seems scared of him because of his size. As Omri points a finger at Little Bear, he brings out a knife from his bag and speaks a strange language.

Omri doesn’t understand him, but as he puts his hand into the cupboard again, Little Bear pokes it with the knife. Omri is shocked by this, and as he complains about what happened, Little Bear calls him a giant demon. Omri looks confused, but as he sees his dad coming into the room, he quickly closes the cupboard.

Victor then tells Omri to come outside because it’s time for school. Following this, Omri leaves for school, but while he’s there, he seems impatient and keeps checking the time because he wants to go home to meet Little Bear. After school that day, Omri quickly runs home and opens the cupboard, only to see that Little Bear is now a toy again.

Omri looks disappointed by this, but he still keeps the toy inside the cupboard and locks it. Later that night, while the family is having dinner, Omri looks sad and tells his mom that he’s feeling sick. Jane then takes him to her room so he can spend some time with her.

Shortly after, Omri falls asleep, and Victor carries him to his room. Much later, Omri suddenly starts hearing strange sounds from the cupboard again, and he looks excited because he knows that Little Bear is alive again. As he opens the cupboard, Little Bear looks scared, but Omri says he won’t hurt him.

Little Bear then asks if the cupboard is magical or if he’s dreaming. Omri says he’s not sure, but that it’s possible Little Bear is dreaming. Omri then asks if he’s a real Indian, but Little Bear says he’s an Iroquois man. Omri asks if he has always been small, but Little Bear says he’s not small. He adds that Omri is the one who is too big.

Omri finds this surprising, but Little Bear asks if he can be the peacemaker who will stop the war in the place he’s from. Omri says he’s just a kid, but Little Bear asks how a Great Spirit like him can be a child. Suddenly, Omri closes the door to his room and turns on the light.

He then asks Little Bear how he knows English, and the Iroquois man says that his people understand the language because they fought in a war for the British. Omri asks what year the war happened, and Little Bear says it was 1761. Omri looks shocked and realizes that Little Bear is from the 18th century.

Almost immediately, he asks if Little Bear wants to come out of the cupboard. As Little Bear then comes out, Omri looks at him closely and says that he looks very real. After a while, Little Bear says that if the cupboard is magical, then he’d like to go back home.

Omri says there’s no need to rush because he just arrived, and he also gives Little Bear one of his plastic toys that looks like a hut. Little Bear doesn’t seem to like it, but Omri puts the toy into the cupboard and turns it into a real hut. He then tells Little Bear that he can sleep there for the night.

After Little Bear enters the hut, Omri looks excited and tries to transform some of his other toys into real characters, but as he sees them fighting, he looks scared and quickly changes them back. He then removes all the toys from the cupboard and goes to bed while thinking about what just happened. The next morning, Little Bear wakes up Omri and asks if he can transform some plastic things for him.

Omri asks what he wants, and he says he’d like a white man’s gun. Omri doesn’t agree with this, and Little Bear asks if he can meet King George. Omri says he doesn’t have any kings, and Little Bear then asks why he doesn’t have a fire in his room.

He also asks how Omri’s wife will be able to cook, but Omri says they can’t make a fire because they’re inside the house. He also mentions that he doesn’t have a wife, but he asks if Little Bear has one. Little Bear says she’s dead, and Omri feels sorry for him. Shortly after, Little Bear says he has decided to stay for a while, and Omri looks happy.

He also says that he’ll make a bow and arrow for Little Bear, but the Iroquois man also mentions that he needs tools to build a long house because he can’t sleep in the hut anymore. Omri then asks what a long house is, and Little Bear says it’s a strong clan home that is made of wood. As Little Bear stands close to the window, he sees the tree outside and asks if Omri can take him there.

Following this, Omri sneaks out with Little Bear and drops him on the ground. As Little Bear walks around, he says that the place reminds him of where he’s from. After a while, Omri tells Little Bear that they have to go back inside.

On the way, Omri stops to pick up some things from his dad’s workshop. Unfortunately, a bird attacks Little Bear, but Omri quickly saves him. After he returns to his room with the things he took from his dad’s workshop, he checks up on Little Bear and sees that he’s injured.

He looks worried about this, but Little Bear tells him to get husks so he can stop the bleeding. As Omri heads to the bathroom to look for husks, he doesn’t find any, so he gets an idea and sneaks into his brothers’ room while they’re still sleeping. He then takes a box and returns to his room.

Surprisingly, it turns out that the box contains a military doctor toy, and Omri puts it into the cupboard to make it come to life. After this happens, the doctor, Tommy, looks scared and wonders where he is, but Omri says he’s just having a dream. As he then mentions that someone is hurt, he carries Tommy over to meet Little Bear.

Tommy says he can help Little Bear, and as he does this, he talks about the war and how terrible things have gotten. After he’s done, Omri asks if he would like to wake up from his dream, but Tommy says he doesn’t want that. As he talks about the war again, he changes his mind and says he would like to leave because his country needs him.

Following this, Omri puts Tommy back in the cupboard and tells him that he might be able to dream again very soon. After Omri changes Tommy back into a toy, Jane opens the door and sees that he’s already awake. Omri looks worried that she might see Little Bear, but she just asks if he’s okay, and he says he’s feeling much better.

Jane smiles as she hears this, and she tells him to come down for breakfast. Before he heads down, he tells Little Bear that he can build his house on the board he got from his dad’s workshop. Little Bear says he needs some tools, and Omri mentions that he’ll get them for him.

As Jane keeps calling Omri to come downstairs, Little Bear asks who she is, and he mentions that she’s his mom. Little Bear seems amazed by this, but Omri just asks what he wants for breakfast. After Omri gets downstairs, he tells his mom what he wants, and she seems surprised by his choice, but she doesn’t ask him anything.

Following this, Omri returns to his room and gives Little Bear some food. Almost immediately, Omri says he has to go to school, and Little Bear asks what it means. Omri says it’s a place where he learns things every day, and Little Bear mentions that he likes it. He adds that Omri should learn about his ancestors at school. After giving him some tools, Omri asks what else Little Bear needs, and he says he wants a hatchet.

Omri then takes it from one of his toys and gives it to Little Bear. Before he leaves, Omri tells Little Bear that he’ll miss him. Little Bear doesn’t understand this, but Omri just heads out and leaves for school with his brothers. When he gets to school, Omri’s teacher tells the students to write stories about a unique experience in their lives. After a while, the teacher tells the kids to read what they’ve written so far, and Omri talks about his magic cupboard and how a plastic Indian toy came alive after he put it there.

As he continues talking about Little Bear and what they’ve done so far, the teacher looks impressed with his story and commends what he has written so far. However, Patrick looks confused and stares at Omri while wondering if his friend has really turned the toy he gave him into a real person. After school closes for the day, Omri goes toward the toys on display and takes another Native American who is holding a bow and arrow.

When he gets home, Omri sees that Little Bear has finished building his house, and he commends him for the work he has done. Omri then mentions that he learned a lot about Little Bear’s people at school. He also shows Little Bear the toy he took from school. Little Bear looks shocked and asks if he’ll bring the man to life. Omri says he just wants to take the man’s bow and arrow, and Little Bear asks if he can watch.

Omri says he can, and Little Bear follows him to the cupboard. After the toy comes alive in the cupboard, it turns out to be an old man, but Omri still snatches his bow and arrow. The man looks really scared of Omri, and he instantly dies of a heart attack.

Omri is shocked by this, and he tells Little Bear to check on the man. Little Bear does this and says that he’s dead, and Omri cannot believe this. He also asks if he killed the man, but Little Bear says he was already old. Little Bear then says they must bury the man, but this leaves Omri shocked.

Little Bear looks confused and asks if they don’t have dead people where he’s from. Omri says they don’t, and Little Bear asks if people don’t die in his world. Omri says they do, but that they don’t just get to see them. Little Bear doesn’t understand this, but Omri asks if he can just send the old man back to where he’s from. Little Bear then realizes that Omri is scared of the dead man.

He also figures out that Omri is just a child and not a great spirit like he had thought. As Victor calls Omri to come downstairs, Little Bear says he can send the old man back if he wants. Omri seems worried that the man might be alone, but Little Bear says it doesn’t matter.

Omri then asks where Little Bear was when he brought him to life. Little Bear says he was guiding his nephew through the woods to live alone for a season. He then tells Omri to learn to be a man. He adds that Omri shouldn’t do magic that he doesn’t understand. As Victor keeps calling Omri, Little Bear tells him to send the old man back because that’s what he would want.

Following this, Omri closes the cupboard to make the old man a toy again. Before he leaves to meet his dad, Omri asks Little Bear if he’s mad at him, but he doesn’t say anything. When Omri gets downstairs, Victor asks for some of his tools that are missing.

Omri says he buried them, but Victor doesn’t get why he would do that. He then suggests going to buy new ones at a nearby store, but Omri says he can go alone because the place is just a block away. He adds that he’s not a baby anymore, and that his dad doesn’t need to come with him.

Victor finds this surprising, but he eventually gives Omri some money and tells him to go to the store alone. After a while, Omri buys the tools his dad needs, but as he heads home, he gets bullied by a boy who collects the change left with him. As Omri sits by the road to cry, Patrick suddenly shows up in front of him and says that he has found a new cowboy toy for his friend.

Omri still looks sad, but as Patrick’s mom asks what’s wrong, he tells her what happened. She then takes him home, but as he gets there, he realizes that his brothers are inside his room. He quickly runs there and sees them looking at the house Little Bear built. Omri sends them away, but they refuse to leave. They also ask how he built the house, but he ignores their questions and insists that they have to leave.

As they still refuse, Omri sees Gillon’s rat ball in his room and kicks it outside. His brothers then leave to check on the rat, and Omri tells Patrick that there’s someone he wants to show his friend. Just then, Omri sees Little Bear hiding under a drawer.

Little Bear says he had to find a place to hide when Adiel and Gillon entered the room. Omri says he did well, but Little Bear asks if they were his enemies. Omri says they’re his brothers, but Little Bear doesn’t get this. As he says that he needs to go back home, Omri says he just brought his friend to see him. Little Bear asks if Patrick is another giant spirit who will create another man like him, but Omri says they won’t bring any more toys to life.

Omri then calls Patrick to check out Little Bear, and he looks shocked. As he asks if Little Bear is the plastic Indian toy he gave him earlier, Omri says he’s now real. Patrick asks how he did it, and Omri says he used the cupboard.

As Patrick asks more questions, Omri takes him to the cupboard and says that it can make the toys come to life. He also sees that Little Bear has wrapped the body of the dead old man, and he tells Patrick that the toys can die like real people. Patrick says he wants one, but Omri refuses to let him use the cupboard because he believes that taking care of a living toy is a big responsibility.

Just then, Omri heads down to give his dad the things he bought. Victor says he heard what happened, and Jane also consoles Omri, but he says he’s fine. As Omri then returns to his room, he sees that Patrick has already made the cowboy come to life.

Just as the cowboy nearly falls to the ground, Omri saves him and puts him on the bed. Patrick looks happy, but the cowboy shoots at him when he comes too close. Patrick is shocked by this, but Omri gets him to calm down. After the cowboy walks on the bed for a while, he looks confused and wonders where he is. Patrick then asks for his name, and he says he’s Boone.

Patrick tells Omri that he wants to keep Boone, but Omri refuses to let this happen. As Patrick keeps begging him, Omri agrees, but he mentions that Boone has to stay with him for the night. Patrick says he doesn’t mind, and he tells Omri to bring Boone to school the next day.

Omri doesn’t think it’s a good idea, but Patrick begs him to do it. He also tells Omri not to put Boone and Little Bear together because Indians and Cowboys don’t like each other. As Boone hears that they’re talking about an Indian, he looks concerned and eventually sees Little Bear.

After Patrick leaves, Omri sees Boone trying to shoot Little Bear, so he grabs the cowboy and puts him in a drawer. Little Bear then looks disappointed at Omri for bringing another toy to life. Later that day, Omri allows Little Bear to go hunting while he buries the dead old man.

That night, Jane enters the room to ask if she should leave the door to Omri’s room open, but he says she can close it because he’s no longer scared. After she leaves, Little Bear asks if Jane knows about him, but Omri says she doesn’t. Little Bear then looks sad and mentions that he needs a wife because he’s alone.

The next morning, Omri wakes up, only to see Little Bear and Boone fighting. As he stops the fight, the men continue arguing, and Omri tells Little Bear that Boone is leaving soon. Boone then asks where Omri is taking him, and he says they’re going to his school.

Little Bear says he also wants to come along, but Omri mentions that he won’t like it there. Little Bear insists that he wants to go, and a while later, Omri puts them in a pouch and walks slowly to school. When he gets there, Patrick gets too excited and collects the pouch from Omri.

Shortly after, while they’re in class, Omri looks uncomfortable watching Patrick carrying the pouch. Interestingly, Boone and Little Bear appear to be calmer, and they talk about their past. Boone also feels sorry for Little Bear over the loss of his wife and child.

Boone then asks if Little Bear would love to have another wife and child, and he says it would make him happy. After their class ends, the teacher calls Omri aside and says that he likes Omri’s story about the Iroquois. The teacher asks what he knows about them, but Omri seems quite distracted as he watches Patrick touching the pouch.

Just as Patrick is about to open it, Omri runs to stop him. He then says that Patrick needs to understand that Little Bear and Boone are real, and he shouldn’t put them in danger. The teacher looks confused and asks why they’re arguing, but the boys don’t say anything.

He then asks to see what’s inside the pouch, and as Omri hears this, he goes close to Patrick and shouts that there are plastic toys inside. The teacher still insists that he wants to see what’s there, and as Patrick brings them out, Little Bear and Boone pretend to be toys. The teacher then tells the boys to stop fighting, and they walk away together.

After school, Omri asks Jane if Patrick can spend the night at their house. Jane agrees, and Omri shows Patrick that he has gotten a wife for Little Bear. When they get home, Omri shows Little Bear the toy that will become his wife, but as he checks his table, he sees that the cupboard is missing.

Omri looks shocked and goes to meet his brothers to ask for the cupboard. He eventually finds out where the cupboard is, but he doesn’t see the key. After Omri and Patrick look around the house for the key, they fail to find it, and this leaves them disappointed.

As Boone hears this, he sounds worried that he won’t be able to go back to his time in 1879. Little Bear also seems disappointed, but he doesn’t say much. Shortly after, Omri and Patrick watch a movie with Boone and Little Bear. Interestingly, the movie has a war scene in which some white men are killing some native Americans. While Boone seems to be enjoying this, Little Bear looks terrified and even tries to shoot his arrow at the TV.

As he eventually gets overwhelmed, he turns to Boone and shoots him. Boone is shocked by this, and he falls to the ground immediately. Omri and Patrick cannot believe this, but they realize that Boone might be dead. As Little Bear checks on him, he says that Boone is still alive. Omri then asks if he can remove the arrow, but Little Bear says that Boone will lose a lot of blood.

He says they could really use Tommy’s help, but Omri mentions that he hasn’t found the key. As Little Bear looks disappointed, he tells the boys to leave him alone, and they step back. Almost immediately, Jane enters the room to say goodnight to them.

Before she leaves, she mentions that if they hear anything under the floorboards, they should know that it’s Gillon’s rat. She adds that Victor pulled up the loose floorboard under the table and tried to look for the rat, but he was unable to find it. Omri asks if there could really be a rat under the floorboards in his room, and Jane says it’s possible.

She, however, mentions that the rat might’ve also moved on. After she leaves the room, Omri and Patrick realize that they can’t go to bed because the rat could show up and eat Little Bear. They then agree to take turns to stay awake and watch Little Bear.

Despite this, the two boys fall asleep, but Omri eventually wakes up just as he hears the rat moving under the floorboards. He then wakes Patrick, and as they try to find the rat, they see that the key to the cupboard is stuck between two floorboards. As Omri tries to get it, the key falls beneath the floorboards, and he looks disappointed.

However, he eventually gets Little Bear to go down to get the key. Unfortunately, the rat chases Little Bear around, and the boys look worried. They eventually stop hearing Little Bear’s voice, and as Omri looks concerned, he hopes that his little friend is still alive.

He then puts his hand into the loose floorboard, and Little Bear hangs on to it and brings out the key. Omri looks happy about this, and he uses the cupboard to bring Tommy to life. After Tommy looks at Boone’s wounds, he says they should be happy that the arrow missed Boone’s heart and lungs.

As he then patches him up, Omri heads to the bathroom to see if he can get anything for Tommy to work with. Unfortunately, he doesn’t find anything, but as he looks at himself in the mirror, he realizes that it’s time for him to do the right thing. Following this, he heads back to the room and says that he’s sending Little Bear and Boone back to where they came from.

He adds that Boone has a doctor where he’s from, and he’ll be better off there. Patrick doesn’t think they have to do this, but Omri believes it’s the right thing to do, and Little Bear looks proud of him. After Tommy is done patching up Boone, he says that the cowboy just needs some rest.

Omri then thanks him again, and Tommy says it’s a pleasure. After Omri sends him back, Patrick shows his best friend that Boone is now awake. They look happy about this, and as Boone jokes about what happened to him, Little Bear and the boys laugh together.

Later that night, while the others are asleep, Omri decides to bring an Indian lady toy to life, but Little Bear stops him because it could disrupt her life. Omri says he doesn’t want Little Bear to be alone, but the Iroquois man says he’ll have his people. The next morning, as Little Bear and Boone prepare to leave, the cowboy asks Omri if they’ll go back to where they came from or if they’ll go to the future instead.

Omri says he doesn’t know, but Boone mentions that he hopes he goes to the future. He then asks where Little Bear is headed, and the Iroquois man says he was on a journey with his brother’s son, and that he believes he’ll wake up in the woods. Boone looks happy for him, and Little Bear says that if Omri were his nephew, it would almost be time to walk him through the forest.

Omri says he would go if he could, and Little Bear tells him how things usually turn out during their walk through the forest. As Omri thinks about this, he imagines himself being in a real forest with Little Bear, who says that when he’s gone, he’ll take Omri as his nephew. Following this, Little Bear and Boone enter the cupboard and prepare to leave.

Boone tells them not to forget about him, and the boys say they won’t. Little Bear then asks Omri about his people and if they were always great. Omri says that even though things were quite difficult for them, they were always great people.

Following this, Omri closes the cupboard and turns Little Bear and Boone into toys again. As Omri then stares at Little Bear, he can’t help but cry. Days later, Omri completes his story at school and mentions that even though he doesn’t know where Little Bear is, he’s sure that his friend will have many children and always take care of his people.

After receiving an old cupboard for his birthday, Omri discovers that it can turn his toys into real people. He looks excited and turns Little Bear into a real person, and after a while, Patrick also gets him to do the same thing for Boone. However, Omri eventually realizes that he actually took the toys away from their real lives, and even though he had already grown fond of them, he decides to let them go. Sometimes, doing the right thing means letting go, even if it might be hard.

The Indian In My Cupboard 1995 .