Angels in the Outfield

Angels in the Outfield (known simply as Angels in some countries) is a 1994 Walt Disney Pictures film remake of the 1951 , starring Danny Glover, Tony Danza, and Christopher Lloyd. It also featured appearances from future stars Adrien Brody, Matthew McConaughey, and Neal McDonough.
Unlike the original film, which focused on the Pittsburgh Pirates as the team in heavenly need, this one focused on the California Angels, now the Los Angeles Angels, who started play ten years after the original one came out. It did, however, make a connection to the Bucs by having its world premiere at the Pirates home at the time, Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The premiere actually drew on on the stadium's highest attendance figures, even with it hosting two World Series championships for the Pirates and four Super Bowl-winning teams in the Pittsburgh Steelers, who also drew well regardless due to that team's rabid fanbase.
==Plot==
Young foster children Roger Bowman (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his friend, J.P. (Milton Davis, Jr.), love to sneak into baseball games of the hopelessly dreadful California Angels.
Still in limited contact with his widowed father, Roger asks when they will be a family again. He replies sarcastically, "I'd say when the Angels win the pennant." Taking his words literally, Roger prays for God to help the Angels win. After he prays, a star, unseen by Roger, twinkles in the sky.
Then, in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays which Roger and J.P. attend, he sees a group of angels led by Al (Christopher Lloyd) helping the team. Although Roger can see the angels quite clearly, everyone else can only explain the seemingly impossible acts as freak occurrences.
Roger's unique ability to see which players are receiving help from angels leads the Angels' skeptical manager, George Knox (Danny Glover) (who dislikes children) to keep Roger around as a good luck charm/consultant. Due to the much needed help, the Angels start to win games and make a surprising second-half surge to the top of their division. They have made it to the Division championship, but Roger is forced to miss the first Championship game because of a court hearing, only to find out that his father permanently gave up custody of him instead. Knowing that he had come a long way for nothing, and seeing his father leave forever, he bursts into tears.
Meanwhile, the Angels lose the first game and J.P. is crying. When Knox goes into his office, J.P. accidentally reveals to antagonistic sportscaster Ranch Wilder (Jay O. Sanders) that Roger has the ability to see angels, and that Knox has been winning through the advice he gave him. Then, later, their caretaker, Maggie Nelson (Brenda Fricker), and Roger return home at the same time Knox and J.P. do, Maggie tells Knox what happened, then he tells Roger that when he was his age he and his brothers rarely saw their father, because he couldn't take care of himself and also if Roger continues to think people would let him down, like Knox, he would dislike children when he becomes an adult.
Meanwhile, Ranch, hoping to destroy Knox informs the press of what J.P. told him and tells owner Hank Murphy (Ben Johnson) who threatens to fire Knox for this seemingly absurd notion that angels are helping the team. Roger comes clean about his special ability and at a press conference they and the entire team defend Knox in front of the press. Moved by their faith, Murphy allows Knox to continue being the manager of the team and play for the championship.
At the championship game, none of the Angels show up to help the team. Later on, Al explains that championships must be played without help from the Angels, and that he was just checking Mel Clark (Tony Danza), who will be one of them soon (as he's been a smoker for years, and has only six months left to live). Throughout the game, Clark has been in, but is getting tired after 156 pitches. When Knox goes in, everyone thinks he's going in to take him out, but instead, he gives Clark some motivation, with help from Roger, the team, and finally, the entire audience, as well as Murphy and the broadcasters (minus Ranch).
Clark makes his pitch and after his opponent hits the ball, he dives and catches it with his glove, therefore, clinching the game and the pennant for the Angels. Knox tells him that they really didn't need the Angels' help and that Clark did it on his own, Wilder gets fired by Murphy over Wilder's insults about the Angels and Knox over the radio.
When Knox returns Roger and J.P. home, Maggie tells Roger that he must depart from her to live in a new home. J.P. is crying and gets nervous about losing him; so, he runs back to his room and Maggie goes after him. Knox then tells Roger that he called the Family Court and asked them if he would become Roger's new dad and adopt him, and they agree. Roger says he would only go if J.P. went with them. Then J.P. returns, still crying, and Knox then says that he will be living with them too, and that he will be Roger's new brother. He stops crying and runs over to them and they share a hug. J.P. wants Maggie to join them too, but she says she has to stay behind and hopefully get new angels living with her, too. J.P. turns to see Al at the window, who smiles. J.P. smiles back, and says, "I knew it could happen". Al circles around the house and says "We're always watching" and flying off into the stars, which re-enact a baseball game.
==Cast==
*Danny Glover as George Knox
*Tony Danza as Mel Clark
*Christopher Lloyd as Al the Boss Angel
*Brenda Fricker as Maggie Nelson
*Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Roger Bowman
*Milton Davis, Jr. as J.P.
*Jay O. Sanders as Ranch Wilder
*Taylor Negron as David Montagnue
*Ben Johnson as Hank Murphy
*Tony Longo as Triscuit Messmer
*Matthew McConaughey as Ben Williams
*Stoney Jackson as Ray Mitchell
*Adrien Brody as Danny Hammerling
*Neal McDonough as Whitt Bass
*Tim Conlon as Wally
==Gallery==
Angels in the Outfield poster art.jpg|Art by Drew Struzan
Angels1.jpg
Angels2.jpg|The school bus
Angels3.jpg
Disney's Angels in the Outfield - 1995 Promotional Print Ad - VHS Poster.jpg|Promotional print ad for the VHS release on March 24, 1995.
Ranch-Wilder-570x319.jpg
==Trivia==
*Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brenda Fricker share the same birthday: February 17.
Category:Disney films
Category:1994 films
Category:Live-action films
Category:Films featuring Sports
Category:Angels in the Outfield
Category:PG-rated films