Die Entführung von Häuptling Rothaut

I saw this movie in Language Arts and it's a well acted, well written, generally funny. There are some very corny cliché' jokes at the beginning (bad guys falling into mud, been there, done that). It's based on O Henry and of course the storyline and especially the ending is fantastic (he is famous for those ironic twist endings, like THE GIFT OF THE MAGI. Girl sells hair to buy husband chain for watch but husband sold watch to buy girl combs. Classic.) This film does have some great jokes and really surprisingly great acting. I was surprised to find out this was only a TV movie! The plot basically is that a troublemaking little boy is kidnapped by two bad guys (your average bumbling, kinda stupid, yet nice,) trying to make some money when their recent purchase of a mine fails. Since the boy is a trouble maker so, naturally, the parents don't believe him at first. I can't spoil the ending now can I?

I'm a big fan of Christopher Lloyd, and I really love the original short story of this. But I'm not a really huge fan of this version (though I don't exactly hate it either).

Christopher is very good in this (and it is the sort of role that seems tailor-made for him). Alan Ruck makes a pretty good job with the small role of the thankless father. And Haley does show a lot of personality and charisma as the main kid, even if he is a bit too "soft and nice". (I swear I saw a version with Alex Linz in the role - who is a lot more inheritantly mischevous. Maybe I just imagined it).

What I don't like about this is that fact that a lot of the broad wit of the original story has been severely toned down and "cutsified". I half-suspect it's because of the mid-90s era, the time of PC and everyone in America is expected to to be gushingly sweet to each other, and nothing bad or mean should ever be shown of tv, or that sort of thing. The whole while feels really tame (and cheap), and really lacks the dynamic punch that made the original story so good.

It's alright as a cutsey family film for undiscerning kids, but it could have been a lot funnier and more "rascally".

You walk into class, and your teacher states that you would be watching short stories that were developed into movies over the next couple of weeks. Your response: Yippe (in a sarcastic way). You finally get to 'Ransom of Red Chief' and it already sounds boring. This happened to me. I didn't really start paying attention until some of my classmates started giggling. Actually, nobody was watching it until it appeared to be a great movie. It was a comedy, about two guys trying to make a quick buck. They had this master mind plan about raising money by kidnapping a man by the name of Ebenezer Dorset's little boy. One would think that the boy, AKA Red Chief would get hurt, but it was the criminals who did. At the end our sides were split listening to it! Have fun with it, and believe me when I say that it is worth while.

I thought this movie was indeed a little bland at points, but overall it's a good movie to watch, sitting at home with your family, and gives a sense of warmth into the picture. I have always liked Christopher Lloyd (Back to The Future, Dennis The Menace, etc.) and I feel that he has done well in this movie. Haley Joel Osment (I'll Remember April, The Sixth Sense, Forrest Gump etc.) has always been one of my favourite child-actors, (next to Trevor Morgan of course), and does an explicitly wonderful job. I can admit, maybe he was a little too soft and, the little boy he played, is anything but nice. A dastardly, mischievous, little wretch, who enjoys nothing more than breaking the rules, (and no, no-one imagined Alex Linz playing the role of the little boy in a previous movie, he did, and played the role with much more trouble in him) but, I can say, that I did enjoy this movie immensely. And so did my kids, sat through it and watched it the whole way through without any interruptions. (Which is actually quite of a miracle, because usually all they enjoy watching is cartoons and The Disney Channel). I say well done, apart from the mishaps, and unfortunate casting in some parts (that I won't mention) a feel-good movie that I enjoyed, and would watch again! Also, I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a little mischief, and also, quite some feeling.

This film came as a shock to me, i found this extremely funny and intelligent (not including bill.) Good performances by the cast and an excellent screenplay make this a must see film. Bill, the bumbling side-kick has his share of laughs, and Andy's father gets a lot of laughs with his sarcasm.

Haley Joel Osment, even though much younger still manages to steal the show with another excellent performance.

A class act all round, top notch film 10/10, and thats only because i can't go higher.