Breaking the rules

The Lil River Rats: Adventure of the Lost Treasure
AMC Clearwater
See Big Screen for times

I must confess a certain love for the genre of kids’ adventures, where improbable events, a dose of faith, truth and courage, plus rule-breaking with a vengeance, add up to success for the gang. The locally produced The Lil River Rats: Adventure of the Lost Treasure excels with its relentless dedication to form in a genre that was old back when Mark Twain was doing it.

All the elements are in place: the homestead in peril, Civil War gold, the mysterious prophecy, even a sneering evil land developer who wants to bulldoze the orphanage. Throw in a secret map, a bear, a witch and a rickety wooden boat and you’ve got yourself the makings of a minor classic.

The gang consists of the five-person team all kid capers require: the leader, the rough one, the smart one, the sidekick, the comic relief. All the kids give good performances, but Molly Hall in particular shines as the leader and heart and soul of the group.

Director Dan T. Hall (Molly’s father) has crafted an excellent, engaging tale that holds the viewer through to the end. The sheer logistics of the project are mind-boggling — most of the film is shot on water, and just ask James Cameron how much hassle THAT can be — but Hall coaxes great performances out of all his actors.

The script is by Hall and Cindy L. Parrish. “It’s about trying to express the freedom of when you’re a kid and you want to explore and take a boat down the river,” Hall said. “It’s based a little bit on my own experiences when I would try to do the same thing. My parents would let me get just far enough. As a parent, I think you should expose your kids to things that will get these ideals through to your kids: faith, truth, courage, just like in the movie.”

“It’s the hero’s journey,” Parrish added. “You’ve got all your archetypal ideals in there. Molly is going on an ancestral quest down this river. We wanted to write something especially for girls, to showcase strong women.”

The sold-out premiere was one of the glitzier affairs I’ve seen so far in Indianapolis film, all tuxes and evening gowns and an autograph line that went on for an hour.

“It was a lot harder working with my dad than it would have been with another director,” Molly said. “I thought my character was a little bit too sentimental or quiet for me. Normally I’m a lot more outrageous!”

No kidding. Molly Hall signs her autographs like a true diva, spelling it “Moli” with a little star over the I. But she’s also endlessly polite and rolls up people’s posters for them, so Indianapolis’ newest film star hasn’t gone all Hollywood on us. Yet.