O Pequeno Herói

OK, I know it was a kid's movie, but couldn't they have picked another team to be the villains of the movie? LOL, OK, but other than that I watched Everyone's Hero last night, wasn't too sure what it was about before I watched it, and I checked out the rating on IMDb, 5.4 isn't that good for an animated film that usually gets 6.0 or above. But I can understand why, Everyone's Hero didn't really blow me away or got me excited. I'm not basing this on the fact that I'm a Cubs fan, just the story was alright, it's perfect for a kid's movie, it's just a good clean cut story, but for adults, it doesn't really give anything for them to enjoy it with their kids. But while this movie was probably aimed for the kids, it seemed like the writer was maybe expecting like another Shrek or The Incredables, where the whole family could enjoy it, but it ended up being just a kid's flick.

Yankee Irving is a young boy who isn't that good at baseball, but he has big dreams to play as a New York Yankee. It's 1932, his hero is Babe Ruth, and Babe Ruth has a lucky bat, Darlin', but Darlin' is taken by the Cub's pitcher, Lefty, to win the World Series. Yankee's dad is fired from Yankee Stadium, he's the janitor, so it was his job to make sure that everything was secure. Yankee finds a ball that can talk to only him; together they go to look for the bat, they find it, but want to take it to Chicago to give it to Babe Ruth himself. But Yankee has to make sure to keep it away from Lefty and the Cubs manager.

Everyone's Hero isn't a bad movie by any means, it's just a kid's movie, I guess I was expecting more. Not to mention the Cubs bashing was hurtful, sorry, I'm from Chicago, if you're a Cubs fan, you can definitely relate on this subject, you must be faithful to them, LOL. OK, back to the movie, the movie is cute and has a charming story, but it wasn't anything that stood out for me. I could understand the 5.4 rating, I'm sorry to the writers and cast, but Everyone's Hero is just a kid's movie, nothing more.

5/10

With a co-directing credit for Christopher Reeve (yes that Christopher Reeve), a great subject matter (not the biggest baseball fan but it's fun to see film and television revolving around it every now and again and a voice cast that includes Whoopi Goldberg, William H. Macy, Mandy Patinkin and Forrest Whittaker, 'Everyone's Hero' promised a lot.

Unfortunately, this promise is not fully lived up. 'Everyone's Hero' is not awful, it is a little bit better than has been said but the criticisms against it are to me not hard to agree with, and has elements that make it worth a one-time watch, but not enough to be worth fully getting on base for. It could have been much better, the cast deserved better and while there are things that Reeve has done that were worthy of him and worth remembering him for (like his iconic portrayal of Superman) his posthumous co-directing credit for 'Everyone's Hero' is not one of them sadly.

'Everyone's Hero' is watchable, despite major short-comings. It is a very well intentioned film, not giving up in the face of adversity (an everyday struggle to overcome) is not a new idea but is a very easy to relate with one for particularly anybody who has been there like me. The positive messaging is not always subtle to put it lightly, but they were very much appreciated and are important values for anybody regardless of gender and age and regardless of how many times they have been dealt with in media.

Some of 'Everyone's Hero' is funny and touching in equal measure, the baseball setting is beautifully realised and fun to watch. There are some interesting ideas and some colourfully portrayed characters, especially the relatable lead characters and a truly enjoyably vile villain. The animation is bright and colourful with some nice attention to detail, the soundtrack is dynamic and uplifting and the voice acting is enthusiastic and fitting, especially the barn-storming turn of Macy who truly relishes the film's juiciest character. The target audience is clear and the film does its best to attract a wider audience, including those not big on animation but are die-hard fans of baseball.

For all its good things and good intentions, 'Everyone's Hero' to me was heavily flawed. The story does tend too often to be too formulaic and lacking in spark to stop blandness from creeping in, it too is rather too pat and nice for any conflict to be convincing and there are elements that are under-explored or not made clear enough, coming over as strange instead. The twist agreed is too ridiculous to be taken seriously, one of the most unbelievable twists personally seen in a film seen recently.

Despite some moments, there are too many cheap and predictable gags that one can see coming from miles away. Complete with references that really don't hold up well, and would go over the heads of even much older audiences who lived during the period the film is set or close to it. Even they are likely to be unfamiliar with who and what some of the jokes are referencing or find them too mean-spirited to be clever and funny (that Eleanor Roosevelt joke was a good example).

Although the clear target audience and attempts at wide audience appeal are to be applauded, it's almost as if the film tried too hard to cater to fans of old-time baseball that are the most likely to completely get the portrayal of the sport at that time and some of the jokes and even they may question the strange choices the film makes and the lack of accuracy. While most of the animation is good, some of the character designs are crude, stiff and lack focus and generally it's all very striking and competent but not always imaginative.

On the whole, watchable and laudable for its good intentions but uneven lacklustre. 5/10 Bethany Cox

EH was a simple, emotional, sports, fantasy movie about a child in the 1930's and his hookey pookey baseball and Babe Ruth.

If you like baseball and literally and thought Babe Ruth was a god then you might like this movie. I liked it, but it wasn't the best of movies. The movie lacked a better mission to care about. I just don't care about these hookey pookey baseball games. This child risked his life for a damn game. Movies like these can really be toxic to young viewers.

This was an ok movie. Children may last a good 45 minutes watching it before they realize the main purpose of the movie is dull.

Far from a masterpiece, but boy did I love this film. Liked it when I was 8 when it came out, and I still like it 13 years later at 21! There's just something about it taking place in the 1930s and all about the ballgame that I love. Sure it's goofy and unrealistic but it's a kids film, and it does touch on some bigger topics.

All I can say: This movie is a guilty pleasure. I think it's way better than people give it credit for and I really wish I hadn't lost the DVD for this movie..... :(

My wife and I took our 3-year-old to see it and all three of us enjoyed it very much. The animation was incredible...the story was very great and the awesome message that the movie gives is applicable in not only children's lives but it's something that we (adults) could adopt as our own "motto." I had no idea that Chris Reeve directed this movie until the end credits. I see now that he died while working on it. His wife and son did voices in it too. It certainly was refreshing to see a story like this after being bombarded by all these animated animal movies that seem to be a dime-a-dozen lately. I think we need more family shows of this caliber. I can't wait to see it again.