Everyone's Hero

Infobox Film
name =Everyone's Hero


caption =Promotional movie poster for the film
starring =Jake T. Austin
Brian Dennehy
Whoopi Goldberg
Ed Helms
Richard Kind
William H. Macy
Mandy Patinkin
Raven-Symoné
director = Christopher Reeve
Dan St. Pierre
Colin Brady
producer =Igor Khait
Ron Tippe
distributor = 20th Century Fox
released = September 15, 2006 (USA)
runtime = 87 minutes
country = USA
awards =
language = English
imdb_id = 0430779

"Everyone's Hero" is a 2006 computer animated film. It is directed by Colin Brady, Christopher Reeve (who was working on this film at the time of his death [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430779/] ), and Dan St. Pierre, with music by John Debney. The majority of this film was produced by IDT Entertainment in Toronto with portions outsourced to Reel FX Creative Studio. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox, and released to movie theatres on September 15, 2006. "Everyone's Hero" performed poorly at the box office, earning only $16 million during its theaterical run.

The film was rated G by the MPAA, being 20th Century Fox's first theatrically-released film to be rated G by the MPAA since 1997's "Anastasia".

tory

The protagonist is a young boy, baseball fan Yankee Irving (Jake T. Austin), whose father works as a janitor for New York City's Yankee Stadium. While the two are on the premises, a thief steals Babe Ruth's famous bat, Darlin' (Whoopi Goldberg), with the result that Yankee's father is blamed and fired. The true thief is Lefty (William H. Macy), a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. Lefty works for Cubs Owner Napoleon Cross, who desires to see the Cubs defeat the Yankees during the 1932 World Series (note that with the obvious exception of Ruth, none of these characters are based on real people).

Stealing the bat back, Yankee decides to return it to Ruth—and thereby exonerate his father—by journeying across the country to Chicago, where the next World Series games will be played. Darlin' is able to speak, as does her counterpart Screwie (Rob Reiner), a baseball. Much of the plot is driven by Lefty's comic attempts to retrieve the bat from Yankee, with slapstick results (while Lefty is knocked out in various ways, including by having a baseball thrown at him, the bat's potential as a weapon is never even hinted at). Other scenes involve Yankee meeting others who will help him in his quest: several hobos; Marty (Raven-Symone), a little black girl (an interracial kiss was apparently nixed in production); her baseball-player father; and in Chicago, Babe Ruth himself.

The actual events of the 1932 series, though dramatic, were not followed in the cartoon (perhaps because of rights issues over depictions of the game). For example, the Yankees swept the Cubs in the series, but in the film, they had lost some games. A series of improbable coincidences allows Yankee himself to bat for the Yankees, resulting of course in a home run and a pennant for the team.

The movie takes a largely nostalgic tone in its presentation of 1930's American life, though the Great Depression is alluded to, as is the existence of separate Negro Leagues. (Marty's father is a member of the Cincinnati Tigers, though the team was actually founded two years later, in 1934.) The announced morals of the movie are to "keep swinging" (i.e., never give up), and the importance of family.

Cast

The film stars the voice talents of:
* Jake T. Austin as Yankee Irving
* Rob Reiner as Screwie
* Whoopi Goldberg as Darlin'
* William H. Macy as Lefty Maginnis
* Raven-Symone as Marti Brewster
* Robert Wagner as Napoleon Cross
* Mandy Patinkin as Stanley Irving
* Brian Dennehy as Babe Ruth
* Dana Reeve as Emily Irving
* Richard Kind as Hobo Andy & Maitre'D
* Joe Torre as New York Yankees manager
* Ed Helms as Hobo Louis
* Conor J. White as Hobo Arnold
* Robin Williams as Napoleon Cross (uncredited)

Crew

* Directed by Christopher Reeve, Dan St. Pierre and Colin Brady
* Screenplay by Rob Kurtz, Jeff Hand
* Based on a Story by Howard Jonas
* Produced by Igor Khait, and Ron Tippe
* Executive producers: Morris Berger, Janet Healy, Stephen R. Brown, Jerry Davis, Dana Reeve, Christopher Reeve
* Music by John Debney
* Edited by John Bryant
* Composition Technical Assistance by Ryan Quaglia

yndication

Cartoon Network will air Everyone's Hero on April 12, 2008.

ee also

*List of animated feature films
*List of computer-animated films

External links

*
* [http://keyframeonline.com/Animation/Everyones_Hero/875/"Everyone's Hero"] at Keyframe - the Animation Resource
* [http://www.everyoneshero.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.greatdaygaames.com/games/everyones-hero-mah-jongg.aspx Everyone's Hero Game] Help Donate To The Christopher Reeve Foundation ("defunct URL?")
* [http://www.candystand.com/play.do?id=17977 Everyone's Hero baseball game] at Wrigley's Candystand viral advertising online gaming website
* [http://www.baseballmovie.com/ Everyone's Hero] at the Baseball Movie Guide
*rotten-tomatoes|id=everyones_hero|title=Everyone's Hero
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