Everyone's Hero

Everyone's Hero is a 2006 American computer-animated sports comedy film directed by Colin Brady, Christopher Reeve and Daniel St. Pierre. Starring the voices of Jake T. Austin, Rob Reiner, William H. Macy, Brian Dennehy, Raven-Symoné, Robert Wagner, Richard Kind, Joe Torre, Dana Reeve, Mandy Patinkin, Forest Whitaker, and Whoopi Goldberg, the film was produced by IDT Entertainment in Toronto with portions outsourced to Reel FX Creative Studios. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, Everyone's Hero was released theatrically on September 15, 2006 to mixed reviews from critics and earned $16 million.

Everyone's Hero
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Produced by
  • Ron Tippe
  • Igor Khait
Screenplay by
  • Robert Kurtz
  • Jeff Hand
Story byHoward Jonas
Starring
Music byJohn Debney
Cinematography
  • Jan Carlee
  • Andy Wang
Edited byJohn Bryant
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox[1]
Release date
  • September 15, 2006 (2006-09-15)
Running time
87 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$35 million[2]
Box office$16.6 million[3]

Plot

In 1932 New York City during the Great Depression, Yankee Irving (Jake T. Austin) is a 10-year-old baseball fan whose father Stanley (Mandy Patinkin) works as a custodian at the Yankee Stadium. While the two are on the premises, a thief (disguised as a security guard) steals Babe Ruth's famous bat Darlin' (Whoopi Goldberg), for which Stanley is falsely blamed and is temporarily dismissed until Darlin' can be found. An irate Stanley foolishly accuses Yankee of stealing it and setting him up, and Stanley grounds Yankee by sending him to his room. The real thief is Lefty Maginnis (William H. Macy), a cheating pitcher for the Chicago Cubs who works for the Cubs' general manager Napoleon Cross (Robin Williams), who desires to see the Cubs defeat the New York Yankees during the 1932 World Series.

Determined to reclaim the bat and save his family from being evicted and being out on the streets, Yankee journeys to Chicago where the next World Series will be held. After putting the bat back on the train, Yankee decides to return it to Babe Ruth and thereby clear his father's name. Darlin' and her counterpart Screwie (Rob Reiner), a baseball, gain the ability to speak. Unbeknownst to Yankee, Lefty attempts to steal the bat from Yankee during a wild chase. Yankee meets others who help him in his quest such as hobos Andy, Louis and Jack (Richard Kind, Ed Helms and Ron Tippe respectively), an African American girl named Marti Brewster (Raven-Symoné), her baseball pitcher father Lonnie Brewster (Forest Whitaker) who helps him drive to the city and Babe Ruth (Brian Dennehy) before Lefty steals Darlin and gives her to Cross, who kidnaps Yankee. During the Game, Cross manipulates Yankee inside the office and reveals his plans to him.

A series of improbable coincidences allows Yankee himself to play for the Yankees. This restores the morale of the Yankees, who score 7 more runs to take the lead and win the World Series. After Yankee escapes the office and evades several security guards, Cross tries to talk Babe Ruth out of accepting the victory, saying that Yankee is too young to be a counting player after he was trying to return Darlin’ to Babe Ruth. Despite this, Yankee has shown confidence in beating the Cubs and manages to hit Screwie after two strikes. While the numerous Cubs players tried to strike Yankee out, he dodges and trips them. Lefty tries to make his last attempts to strike him out, but Yankee manages to outsmart him by jumping over him and landing on the home plate, winning the World Series for the New York Yankees.

The revelation of Darlin's theft leads to the arrest of Cross, who says that he was a fan that cheated. When his involvement is revealed, Lefty is kicked off the team and arrested. Stanley is cleared and officially reinstated as the stadium's custodian. Yankee, his parents and his new baseball friends, Screwie and Darlin, celebrate the Yankees’ World Series win in a victory parade where he becomes an official player while Cross is handing out the Babe Ruth bobbleheads with Lefty sweeping the streets as part of their work release. Yankee happily plays catch with Screwie and the hobos' dog.

Voice cast
  • Jake T. Austin as Yankee Irving; a young 10 year old boy who dreams of being a baseball player, looks up to the idol Babe Ruth, who saves his dashing and beautiful baseball bat Darlin
  • Rob Reiner as Screwie; a talking baseball who bickers over with his counterpart, Darlin
  • Whoopi Goldberg as Darlin; a talking baseball bat owned by Babe, Babe and Darlin are inseparable, Babe takes her anywhere he goes, and will protect her at any costs. Darlin loves her owner and feels safe around him.
  • William H. Macy as Lefty Maginnis; a cheating baseball player who is sent to try and steal Babe’s bat, Darlin, and has revenge against Yankee for giving her to Babe.
  • Robin Williams (insisted to be uncredited in honor of his good friend Christopher Reeve) as Napoleon Cross; the general manager of the Chicago Cubs and Lefty's boss.
  • Brian Dennehy as Babe Ruth; the famous New York Yankees baseball player
  • Raven-Symoné as Marti Brewster; Lonnie and Rosetta's daughter
  • Mandy Patinkin as Stanley Irving; Yankee's father and custodian at Yankee Stadium
  • Forest Whitaker as Lonnie "The Rooster" Brewster; an African American king of the curve ball, who is the star pitcher in the Negro leagues and the father of Marti and the husband of Rosetta
  • Dana Reeve as Emily Irving; Yankee's mother
  • Robert Wagner as Mr. Robinson, the general manager of the New York Yankees and Stanley's boss
  • Richard Kind as Hobo Andy / Maitre'D
  • Joe Torre as New York Yankees manager
  • Cherise Booth as Rosetta Brewster, Lonnie's wife and Marti's mother
  • Ritchie Allen as Officer Bryant
  • Jason Harris Katz (credited as Jason Harris) as Announcer
  • Ed Helms as Hobo Louie
  • Ray Iannicelli as Conductors/Umpire
  • Gideon Jacobs as Bully Kid Tubby
  • Marcus Maurice as Willie
  • Will Reeve as Big Kid
  • Ron Tippe as Hobo Jack
  • Jesse Bronstein as Sandlot Kid #1
  • Ralph Coppola as Sandlot Kid #2
  • Conor White as Bully Kid Arnold

Additional voices by Ritchie Allen, Rochelle Hogue, Sondra James, Matthew Laborteaux, Greta Martin, Christie Moreau, Sean Oliver, Charles Parnell, Dennis Pressey, Tyler James Williams and Cornell Womack.

Home media

Everyone's Hero was released on DVD on March 20, 2007 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The movie was released on Blu-ray on March 5, 2013 and is exclusive to Walmart stores.[4]

Reception

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $6.1 million in 2,896 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #3 at the box office, behind Gridiron Gang and The Black Dahlia. By the end of its run, Everyone's Hero grossed $14.5 million in the US and $2.1 million internationally, for an approximate total of $16.6 million worldwide.[5]

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 51% based on 20 reviews, which indicates "mixed" reviews.[6] Another aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes, scored the film 42% based on 69 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Everyone's Hero is such a predictable and bland tale that it'll appeal mostly to little kids; others seeking something in Pixar's league are looking in the wrong ballpark."[7] Jack Matthews of the New York Daily News wrote, "Whoever wanders into the theater should leave a winner".[8] L.A. Weekly called the themes "fairly pro forma" and cited the film's "antique Rockwellian look" as "its greatest pleasure".[9] Gregory Kirschling of Entertainment Weekly rated it B− and wrote, "Everyone's Hero re-creates Depression-era America with surprisingly agreeable anachronistic panache", though he criticized the character designs.[10]

The Austin Chronicle primarily criticized Everyone's Hero for focusing too much on sentimentality over entertaining moments.[11] Tasha Robinson of The A.V. Club opined the film "ranges from improbable to nonsensical to just plain dull. [...] The lame banter, the one-note characters, the predictable clumsy stabs at emotional uplift, or the booger jokes [don't help]."[12] Screwie and Darlin were bashed on in a review by The Washington Post's Stephen Hunter, panning their inability to "move or express emotion;"[13] and Slant Magazine's Ed Gonzalez disliked the lack of reasoning for anthropomorphic baseball gear for being "random."[14] The anachronisms, such as its out-of-time slang, pop-song-dominated soundtrack, and use of an African-American-voiced talking bat, were also panned,[13][15] with Gonzalez even calling the Great Depression setting "nonexistent."[14]

The story did have its supporters. Variety reviewer Joe Leydon lukewarmly honored Everyone's Hero as a "modestly engaging mix of broad comedy and nostalgic fable," picaresque plot and the inclusion of a Negro leagues player; however, in addition to disliking its gross-out humor, he questioned the rejection of segregation that occurred in the 1930s era the film is set in. He also suggested the film would have a hard time selling to children: "the toon’s target demo — i.e., toddlers and grade-schoolers — are too young to know about the Reeves, and pic could be a hard sell to youngsters who aren't baseball fanatics and recognize Babe Ruth only as the name of a candy bar."[16] Seattle Post-Intelligencer writer Manny Lewis concluded that "the film certainly will appeal to kids; with its beating-the-odds theme and its dramatic finale involving a crucial at-bat in the World Series, it is reminiscent of a boyhood daydream."[17] Orlando Sentinel film critic Roger Moore concluded that "the kids will laugh and there's enough heart in Everyone's Hero to bring it over the plate -- barely."[15] MaryAnn Johanson similarly spotlighted the "sweet gentleness" and "can-do-it-iveness" that made its otherwise typical children's film plot stand out.[18] Time Out London applauded the characters, especially Screwie, which recouped for its "lacking" amount of tension.[19]

The visuals garnered a mixed response,[11] Robinson calling the animation "bland" and "generic"[12] and Leydon "herky-jerky."[16] Lewis found Screwie and Darlin's visual gags "stale" but praised those of Lefty, reasoning "his flailing limbs giving him a clumsy grace far more entertaining to watch than either the ball or the bat."[17] Hunter acclaimed the animation as "quite advanced, bringing emotional subtleties, vivid eye dilations and expressions and complex movements to exceptional life";[13] while Moore opined "the animated people look plastic, but the backdrops are pretty, and the slapstick bits are a 'stitch'."[15]

The voice acting was praised.[16][15]

Cable syndication

In the United States, FX aired Everyone's Hero on July 12, 2009. In the United States, Telemundo aired the film on October 4, 2009. In Latin America, Cartoon Network Latino aired the film on November 23, 2011. In Asia, Disney Channel premiered May 29, 2012. In the United States, FXM aired the film on June 16, 2012. It also aired on Disney XD in the United States on April 8, 2013 and March 30, 2014. It also aired on Cartoon Network in the United States on November 5, 2016. It will premiere on Freeform in the United States on May 7, 2021.

Soundtrack
Everyone's Hero: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
Released2006[20]
GenreFilm soundtrack
Label

The soundtrack, released on the Columbia Records/Sony Music Soundtrax labels, features tracks by the star of the film Raven-Symoné, Grammy-winners Wyclef Jean, Brooks & Dunn, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and various other artists.

  1. The Best – John Ondrasik  – 3:49
  2. Keep On Swinging – Brooks & Dunn  – 4:12
  3. Dream Like New York – Tyrone Wells  – 3:44
  4. Chicago (That Toddling Town) – Chris Botti featuring Lyle Lovett  – 2:16
  5. The Best Day of My Life – John Randall featuring Jessi Alexander  – 3:13
  6. Keep Your Eye on the Ball – Raven-Symoné  – 2:27
  7. What You Do – Wyclef Jean featuring Kontrast  – 3:12
  8. Swing It – Brooks & Dunn  – 3:34
  9. Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Lonestar  – 2:43
  10. The Bug – Mary Chapin Carpenter  – 3:48
  11. The Tigers – John Debney featuring Paris Bennett  – 1:46
  12. At Bat – John Debney  – 3:44

See also

References
  1. "Everyone's Hero". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  2. https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2006-3/everyones-hero/
  3. Everyone's Hero at Box Office Mojo
  4. "Everyone's Hero Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  5. "Everyone's Hero (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  6. "Everyone's Hero". Metacritic. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  7. "Everyone's Hero". Rotten Tomatoes. September 15, 2006. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  8. Matthews, Jack (September 15, 2006). "'HERO'A BIG-LEAGUE HIT". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  9. "Film Reviews". L.A. Weekly. September 13, 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  10. Kirschling, Gregory (September 13, 2006). "Everyone's Hero". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  11. Clark, Brian (September 22, 2006). "Everyone's Hero". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 19, 2006. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  12. Robinson, Tasha (September 15, 2006). "Everyone's Hero". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  13. Hunter, Stephen (September 15, 2006). "Strictly Bush League". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  14. Gonzalez, Ed (August 26, 2006). "Review: Everyone's Hero". Slant Magazine. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  15. Moore, Roger (September 15, 2006). "Heart saves 'Hero' from being a zero". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  16. Leydon, Joe (September 14, 2006). "Everyone's Hero". Variety. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  17. Lewis, Manny (September 15, 2006). "Baseball 'Hero' should play well with the kids". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on November 25, 2006. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  18. Johanson, Maryann (September 14, 2006). "Seen It All Before? See Everyone's Hero 'Again' Anyway". MTV News. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  19. "Everyone's Hero". Time Out London. September 14, 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  20. "Amazon.com: Everyone's Hero (Motion Picture Soundtrack): Everyone's Hero Music From The Motion Picture: Music". amazon.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
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