Everyone's Hero (G, 2006)

common sense media says

A bland feel-good flick with a positive message.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that there's very little in this movie that's objectionable. OK, so it's the same old "persevering against the odds" theme that's been done a million times. That said, it's a pleasant look back at an era when kids plastered their rooms with baseball banners and heroes could be found at every baseball stadium.

Positive messages: Yankee takes off on his own to return the bat and encounters peril. Lefty is rude and disrespectful. The kids at the sandlot make fun of Yankee. At least one fart joke. Lying and stealing.
Violence & scariness: The kids at the sandlot throw things at Yankee. Lefty gets kicked in the face and falls onto a railroad track and later gets smacked by the baseball bat. Yankee encounters peril on the trip.
Sexy stuff: Not applicable.
Language: "Butt," "Don't make me break out my whoopin' stick!" (uttered by the bat); the sandlot kids talk rudely to Yankee.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Some smoking among adult characters.

More on Everyone's Hero

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about the importance of putting family first and plugging through the rough times. They can also talk about dreams and the determination needed to pursue them. Was Yankee right to take off on his own to return the bat? Could he have handled it differently to avoid putting himself in danger? Also, what does it take to be a hero? Who are the real heroes in our lives?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Yankee Irving (Jake T. Austin) is a dedicated baseball fan who loves visiting his dad, Stanley (Mandy Patinkin) at his job at Yankee Stadium. When Babe Ruth's (Brian Dennehy) bat goes missing from the locker room on the eve of the 1932 World Series on Stanley's shift, he ends up getting fired. Yankee makes a connection between the person he saw in the locker room, Lefty Maginnis (William H. Macy), and the missing bat (voiced by (Whoopi Goldberg). With his new friend, wise-cracking baseball Screwie (Rob Reiner), Yankee sets off to find and return the missing bat. Helping Yankee on his quest is energetic tomboy Marti (Raven Symone). And Yankee's hard-working mom, Emily (Dana Reeve), believes in her family and looks after them with loving care.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Baseball, kids, family, honor ... it's a nice legacy left by Christopher and Dana Reeve -- this was their last project before their deaths. Though a bit bland and formulaic (let's face it -- we've been desensitized by fast-moving films), this movie offers a positive message about doing the right thing and never giving up, even in the face of adversity.

It also reminds kids that dreams really can come true and that we should always put our family first, even if it means going to the ends of the earth to set things right. And with a G rating, it's one of those rare movies that's great for kids of all ages.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
Director: Christopher Reeve, Colin Brady, Dan St. Pierre
Cast: Jake T. Austin, Raven Symone, Rob Reiner
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 90 minutes
Theatrical release: September 12, 2006
DVD release: March 20, 2007
MPAA Rating: G
MPAA explanation: all audiences

This review was written by Jane Boursaw
 
 

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What parents & educators say

3

Most useful reviews by all members

jagness
parent of 9 and 9 year old
 

yankee01
teen, 16 years old
 
ok i guess
fine movie

Meerdog
teen, 14 years old
 
The horror....
This movie was so idiotic it was almost scary. I mean, a talking baseball and bat? A kid named Yankee? What freak names their kid Yankee, some kind of obsessive Yankees fan? This also is not a good example for kids. Yankee goes off on his own to a city half-way across the country to return Babe Ruth's bat, alone and unsupervised. They're is a lot of potty humor and things, and Yankee gets bullied around a lot. Yankee also lied to the baseball by saying he would return it to the sandlot, which he never did. The bat is rude and way too talkative, the baseball has great disdain towards the bat...yeah, stuff like that. Plus, they let a 10 year old bat in the stinkin' World Series! That's not realistic at all. Couldn't they focus on a team other than the Yankees? What about the Red Sox? You know, the curse of the Bambino and all that? Overall, this movie STUNK. DO-NOT-WATCH-IT!!!!!!!!!

NHBookWorm
parent of 3 and 7 year old
 
Great family flick!
My five-year-old LOVES this film--the talking baseball cracks him up! My two-year-old enjoyed it too.

sillywiz
teen, 13 years old
 
heroic story line
Was a really good movie. I watched it with a lot of youger kids and they allllll loved it!

orangeROX
kid, 12 years old
 
calling all yankees!
This is a cute movie. I liked it. Its very good for young baseball fans!

filmtv
adult
 
Wonderful Family Film!
A film worthy of taking your children to. The messages imparted of friendship and perseverance and honesty and love are messages that we need to see more of in our Theatres. The only negative is the boy running away from home and the parents never closing the circle by reminding their son of the dangers of going out on his own.

NakedBrothersB ...
teen, 15 years old
 
Same concept with every movie, but okay I guess...
I wouldn't highly recommend this movie, but if you're a baseball fan then maybe it'll appeal to you.

Inconceivable
parent of 5 year old
 
It's not bland! It's only weakness is that it's not over the top constantly...but thats not a weakness in my house. We love the simple humorous moments, slapstick, and character dynamics. There are still thrills and tense moments where the little grabs holds his face in a moment of concern for the hero, even though he's seen it 5 times already. If warm, funny, slapstick, no one dies, great chase scenes, positve historically uplifting character interaction is bland then I feel lucky the bar for us is low 'cause we're not getting this movie out of the monthly rotation any time soon.

 
Good basic story with a moral
My 5 year old didn't get the more subtle implications, we had to discuss how he shouldn't have run away, but that he kept trying even though he wasn't a great player. Really a pretty clean cut movie with animation of a baseball and bat. He understood the little bit of violence was sort of slapstick like.

 
Great For Kids
This was the first animated film I've watched with my 6 Year old that I will be proud to own. Compared to the "farting, burping, sexual innuendo,dumbing down of America, etc." world of modern animation, it was refreshing. It was wonderful to sit with my son and have him express curiosity in things that were at his level of understanding. He wondered why the father lost his job for something he didn't do. He was curious as to why a little kid would run away (expressing that he would never do that), etc. It was great!

adrub
adult
 
Finally..good clean animation!
We were glad to be able to take our kids to a movie that was actually made for kids. There didn't appear to be the lure of analogies, euphimisms or just straight crude terms that are supposedly appealing to adults. Good clean kids movie! Can't wait for it to come out on DVD.

BlueCastle
kid, 10 years old
 
bbbbbbbbboring
bad movie but not that bad its just like a only see it 1 time type of movie.its about A boy. who finds a talking base ball.then Babes bat is taking.So he tries to find the bat.at the end the fat guy goes to jail. and he wins the game.and many years later babe dies [not in the movie but in real life he did]

milo remmestein
teen, 15 years old
 
Talking bats will exist one day *emphasis on sarcasm and funny accent*
Hey people, long story short, talking baseball bats are going to exist in the future and yes, Whoopi Goldberg voiced the talking bat.

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age