The Footballest

Parents need to know that The Footballest is a Spanish comedy (original title Los futbolísimos) with English subtitles, about a kids soccer team and contains positive messages and slapstick action. The movie is based on a popular series of Spanish books and shows the importance of teamwork, friendship, and togetherness, both on and off the pitch. Pakete (Julio Bohigas-Couto) must face his fear of taking a penalty, while also building up the courage to tell his teammate, Helena (Milene Mayer) how he really feels about her. Helena is a strong female role model, who not only leads the team, but is also one of their best players. The rest of the team are made of people with different body shapes and from different family backgrounds. However, there are some cliched "jokes" about one larger teammate always eating and another with glasses being "blind." There are also some fleeting references to gender stereotypes. The violence is very slapstick with characters knocked and thrown to the ground. However, some younger viewers may be slightly scared when the referees experience hallucinations -- a result of having their drinks spiked. There is also some overly aggressive threats made by the parents of an opposition team, although the mood is very much comedic. There is much discussion about romance both between tweens and between adults with some kissing.