One Small Hero

One Small Hero is one of the most obscure family movies that is probably worth watching for the whole family with a great and delightful moral no matter what size you are or if you are too little. Joey Cooper is your typical protagonist who's willing to be in the Wilderness club and is also a fan of Cool Man (who is a fictional superman similar to Turbo Man from Jingle all the Way) and lives with his widowed Mother after his Father (who was a Firefighter) passed away a few years ago and always keeps a picture of Him and his father all the time since there's no stopping him on not giving up, despite telling his mother the truth that he did not pass the test for the Wilderness club because of his Coach believes he's just too small (and similar the License to Drive when Les Anderson was too embarrassed to tell his parents how he flunked the test.) so then he hides on the bus with the Wilderness Club campers; On the way to the campsite, they are kidnapped by two crooks (lead by this one guy who has a Beard and wears a green camo cap and even makes me think of the Sheriff of Nottingham played by Alan Rickman or something) after the Bus breaks down. One of the campers is the daughter of a senator, and they want him to release their brother from prison in exchange for the girl. Plus there are even some scenes similar to the 3 Home Alone movies (and before the Infamous 4th Home Alone movie that aired on Television) and the movie itself feels like a family version of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves but set in modern times circa 1999 and minus the Violence, Foul Language and other stuff that's found in the movie with Kevin Costner that's rated PG-13; during one scene in this film, Joey Cooper sets out his camping equipment and wears Sarah's purple bandana after she left it behind after she and the classmates are being held hostage which is similar to that scene in Kids of the Round Table (1995), Joey uses his brain rather than relying on physical strength, succeeding in foiling the kidnappers, and freeing all of the campers. He saves them all and becomes one small hero. I first saw this movie on youtube back in 2016 to my major discovery and despite that it had subtitles in Portuguese and it was a really good family film and yet heartwarming at the same time, the story is very good to great, and the characters are good as well and the moral on not to give up and this is the kind of movie to watch with your family and friends and it's a probably a little Popcorn flick with all the little action scenes as well.

Few movies are filmed in a more beautiful setting! The oaks and the eucalyptus trees would provide a beautiful backdrop for most any movie. The problems with this movie, however, are numerous. First of all, the dialog is very unnatural. It's as if the writer(s) didn't have an ear for dialog or else the dialog was changed for the worse at the last minute on the spot by the director. There are all sorts of real-world issues that don't translate well in the movie. For instance, how could one have cell phone service in the wilderness? Many times it is stated that they are deep in the wilderness and yet they have cell phone service. The movie was filmed eight years ago and even now most of Nevada is without cell phone service. You get a few hundred yards off 395 in the Owens Valley and there's no cell phone service. Which gets us to the eucalyptus trees! Unless this was supposed to be wilderness in Australia, there would be no eucalyptus trees! There are many other problems with the movie, some that border on the absurd, but I don't want to give any of the plot away. At any rate, the movie was mostly pleasant, but there were several times that I found myself distracted by poor dialog and continuity issues!

I found this to be an enjoyable and entertaining movie. As a schoolteacher, I am always glad to find something I can show my students that does not use profanity, have excessive violence, sexual content, or have other things that might be labeled objectionable. The acting is quite good, despite the fact that most of the actors are not well known. They are believable and none of them are show stealers. Particularly interesting is the way in which Joey's nemesis, Reese, goes back and forth in his views of Joey. There are enough interesting sub-plots like this to keep the viewer interested. Movies of this type seem to be increasingly difficult to come by. "One Young Hero" is truly "family-oriented" and entertains without being sugary.

My children and I truly enjoyed this delightful movie. Even though the story line is a little predictable, the actors made it fun to watch. This is a "kid" movie. They loved the slapstick, and the predictability. The scene with Joey on the porch talking to his "dad" was my favorite. It brought tears to my eyes. That boy was very natural and sincere. My children and I thought it was cute,and a lot of fun for family entertainment.

Movie left me feeling that the accomplishments of anyone can affect everyone. Not a bad thing to teach our kids. Some critics will naysay this film, saying that it is childish and puerile. True, but it wasn't made for adults. 'Nuff said.