Waking Up Horton is a cool movie that is steeped with Native American folklore. It was originally released in the United States as The Adventures of Young Brave in 1997. It is a family movie that all ages can enjoy.

The story has a double plot. First, there is the search for hidden gold. Second, there is the test to become a medicine man. It will keep you on the edge of your seat or rolling with laughter all the way through.

Horton Laughing Feather (Raoul Trujillo) comes from a line of medicine men and women. His grandmother, Lila (Barbara Pilavin), is trying to school him in the ways of medicine, but he prefers to use his powers to play practical jokes or, even worse, to win games of chance. Poor Lila cannot convince the boy to get serious.

When they go into town to get supplies, they encounter a man searching for a guide. He agrees to give Horton his rifle if Horton will guide him to the pass that leads out of the valley. Lila tries to tell Horton not to go because she has a bad feeling, but he does not heed her warning. When they reach the pass, the man explains to Horton that he is a bank robber and has a load of gold. Then he shoots Horton.

Lila, meanwhile, has shape-shifted into the form of a white wolf and followed the two. She arrives in time to talk to Horton. Because he has never proven himself as a medicine man, the shot to his heart is going to kill him so, instead, Lila transforms him into a crow. He will have to remain in crow form until he is summoned back to work his medicine for the good of others.

One hundred years pass. A production company arrives to do a movie about Indian zombies. The director is a snooty, hateful woman named Isadora (Barbara Carrera). She starts to pursue Tyler (Dirk Benedict) but his young daughter, Amelia (Ashley Peldon), cannot stand the woman. Instead, she wants him to marry the museum curator, Mariam (Karen Morcrieff). Mariam's son, Mark (Zachary Browne) joins forces with Amelia to get their parents hitched. They borrow a magic book prop from the movie set and try to work a spell to bring their parents together. Instead, they manage to bring Horton back to human form and the fun begins.

Poor Horton finds his belongings on display in the museum. You have to feel sorry for him. The last thing he wants is to be returned to crow form. He agrees to help the kids keep the mean woman from ensnaring Tyler in her web. Too late, they learn that she is the great-granddaughter of the bank robber and is only there to find the gold. She will stop at nothing in her efforts to locate the hidden loot. The action goes into high gear and lives hang in the balance of two kids and a ghost. Make that two ghosts. Lila comes back to try to guide the unruly Horton down the right path.

I loved this movie. It is the basic good vs evil war, revolving around Native American folklore. It will touch all your emotions and make you want to rewind it and watch it again immediately. There is not a bad scene in the movie, and every character excels in their parts. Horton in particular is a character that you will fall right in love with. You cannot help it, even when he is messing up big time. He somehow always manages to remain childishly innocent and playful not matter what he is doing.