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This story was certainly inspiring and touching. It starts with a coach (called "Murph", or Mr. Murphy) for a little league team with the worst name of all time, the River Rats, trying to find some real talented players for the already-started baseball season. His car gets stuck in a muddy ditch near a farm, where he comes across a really talented teen with a powerful throwing arm. It turns out the kid, named Mickey, is high-functioning autistic, being born with Asperger's Syndrome. This made his father super protective of him and, when first asked by Murph, was hesitant to allow his son to try out for the River Rats. But with enough convincing of his son's natural talent, the dad lets Mickey try out for the team.

Of course, there are a lot of cheesy montage moments, but I'm glad the film didn't focus on Mickey's failures. He actually did a great job whenever he was on the pitcher's mound for a game. What the film did that I might not have liked was give us a villain, a jealous teammate who didn't like being sidelined while Mickey stole the spotlight. This helped to unite the team and support Mickey, but still, why did this story need a villain? Being autistic in a loud, demanding sport like baseball should have been the focus of the story itself, but there wasn't any real obstacle other than the jealous teammate.

The other things I found a bit weird was Mickey's dad and (No spoilers!) the resolution of the entire rising action. For a story, you need a climax and a resolution, but for a realistic look on a boy with autism in our fast-paced world, everything seemed to work out perfectly in the end for a Disney-esque feel-good ending. And Mickey's dad was so overly critical and harsh, to the point of being such an obstacle in himself. But if he were to be the main obstacle, then fine. But why have an over-bearing father and a villain both be part of the rising action? Just choose one and expand on it.

I was glad that the film included religion. If this was Disney, you know they'd shy away from it like it was a monster. But the film understood the importance and significance of religion in the lives of real people. For that, this film an its message certainly gives it a good rating on my part. If you want a clean, feel-good film about sports and an underdog, then watch this film. I was lucky enough to discover it on Netflix. I hope you guys can catch it there too before it gets removed in the future. If you are looking for a gritty, realistic story, then perhaps this story is not for you. But maybe the book is.

This show is absolutely a surprise. I watched it out of curiosity, and I've been blown away by the clever writing. It's obvious that the writers are lovers of the Transformers lore and franchise. The show strays away from violence, even avoiding the word "death" or "die" whenever possible, but even though the show itself isn't that violent, it is obvious that the universe presented is connected to the universe opened up in Transformers: Prime and Transformers: Robots in Disguise, where peril exists, violence exists, and, most of all, Decepticons exist! In Rescue Bots, we get references to the Transformers lore that work as fun easter eggs for Transformers fans, as well as alluding the possibility of there being "more than meets the eye" to the world that is being presented. The references range from Unicron to Alpha Trion himself! The show even gives us fun movie references, such as E.T., Jaws, Back to the Future, and Aliens!

This show has such well written characters who have interesting personalities that get tested, strengthened, and even grown in the course of the three seasons the show has had so far. We have BLADES, afraid of heights but proving that he's brave enough to face his fears when others are in need. We have BOULDER, homesick for Cybertron but in awe of the wonders and beauty of Earth. We see HEATWAVE, the strong-willed and often arrogant leader of the Rescue Bots who grows fond of the Burns family and will put anyone's life before his own. Lastly, we have CHASE, a law enforcer who follows everything down to protocol, but learns to act on his own will as a Rescue Bot when protocol is not enough.

Along with the Rescue Bots, we have the Burns family, Kade, Cody, Dani, Graham, and Chief Burns, who work alongside the bots, teaching the Autobots while learning from them at the same time. The show demonstrates growth in the characters, both robot and human, while placing challenges and obstacles in their way that reveal vulnerabilities and flaws. No one is perfect, and children watching the show can see that not every person has good intentions, as several characters in the show want nothing but money and power (i.e. Dr. Morocco).

So, as a lover of storytelling and Transformers, I say that this show is perfect for young viewers and Transformers fans alike. Yes, Griffin Rock is the least safe city I've seen in a kid's show. I even nickname it "Murphy's Island", a reference to Murphy's Law, as every event going on in the show goes horribly wrong somehow, and literally nothing and no one is safe from danger. But the writing and character design separates Rescue Bots from shows like Transformers: Prime, which suffered from poor character writing and design (in my opinion). Who knows...maybe we'll get to see First Aid, a Protectobot from Transformers G1! Can't wait for season 4!