Everyone's Hero

Everyone's Hero is a 2006 computer animated comedy film, directed by Colin Brady, Christopher Reeve (who was working on this film at the time of his death), and Daniel 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 Studios. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox, and released theatrically on September 15, 2006. Everyone's Hero had a moderate performance at the box office, earning only $16 million worldwide during its theatrical run, but the film was not released in several major countries. The film is also dedicated to the memory of director Christopher Reeve.
==Plot==
In 1932 New York City during the Great Depression, Yankee Irving is a 10-year-old baseball fan but is picked on by the other kids for his poor skills. On that day, he finds a talking baseball he names Screwie, though other people can’t hear him. Yankee's father, Stanley, works as a custodian at Yankee Stadium. While the two are on the premises, a thief disguised as a security guard steals Babe Ruth's famous bat Darlin'. Stanley is falsely blamed and is temporarily dismissed until Darlin' can be found. Stanley foolishly blames Yankee for being alone in the locker room and setting him up despite his insistence he never stole the bat. Stanley sends him to his room, but the real thief is Lefty Maginnis, a cheating pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. Whom Yankee recognizes from his baseball trading cards, Maginnis works for the Cubs' general manager Napoleon Cross, 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 goes to the train station and takes it from Maginnus, but fails to get off before the train takes them to another stop. Darlin’ the bat also has the ability to talk and urges Yankee to talk her back to Babe Ruth in Chicago, where the next World Series game will be held. Unbeknownst to Yankee, Maginnis attempts to steal the bat from Yankee during a wild chase. Yankee decides to return Darlin’ to Babe Ruth and thereby clear his father's name and save his job. Yankee meets others who help him in his quest such as hobos Andy, Louis, and Jack, a girl named Marti Brewster, her baseball pitcher father Lonnie Brewster, who helps him drive to the city and teaches Yankee to set his feet right, and Babe Ruth himself. Maginnis 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.
After Yankee escapes the office, he evades several security guards, and finally gives Darlin’ back to Babe. Cross tries to talk Babe out of accepting the victory, saying that Yankee is too young to be a counting player. Despite this, Babe gives Yankee a confidence boost by telling him it’s not the bat, it’s the batter. Yankee manages to hit Screwie after two strikes. While the numerous Cubs players tried to strike Yankee out, he dodges and trips them. Maginnis tries to make his last attempts to strike him out, but Yankee manages to outsmart him by jumping over him (as payback for getting both him and Stanley in trouble) and landing on home plate, scoring a run. This restores the morale of the Yankees, who score seven more runs to take the lead and win the World Series.
The revelation of Darlin's theft leads to the arrest of Cross, who says that he was a fan that cheated. When his involvement as an accomplice and as a cheater is also revealed, Maginnis is kicked off the team and is also arrested. Stanley apologizes to Yankee for not listening to him earlier, while his name is cleared and is 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 Maginnis sweeping the streets as part of their work release. Yankee happily plays catch with Screwie and the hobos' dog.
==Cast==
* Jake T. Austin as Yankee Irving
* Rob Reiner as Screwie
* Whoopi Goldberg as Darlin
* Robin Williams as Napoleon Cross
* William H. Macy as Lefty Maginnis
* Brain Dennehy as Babe Ruth
* Forest Whitaker as Lonnie Brewster
* Raven-Symoné as Marti Brewster
* Mandy Patinkin as Stanley Irving
* Dana Reeve as Emily Irving
*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
==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.
==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.
===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. Another aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes, scored the film 41% 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." Jack Matthews of the New York Daily News wrote, "Whoever wanders into the theater should leave a winner". L.A. Weekly called the themes "fairly pro forma" and cited the film's "antique Rockwellian look" as "its greatest pleasure". 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.
==Cable syndication==
In the United States, Cartoon Network aired Everyone's Hero on April 12, 2009. Cartoon Network later added the movie to its rotating lineup again on November 5, 2016, treating it as the network premiere of the movie. In Latin America, Cartoon Network Latino aired the film on November 23, 2011. In Asia, Disney Channel premiered May 29, 2012. It also aired on Disney XD in the United States on April 8, 2013, and March 7, 2014.
==Soundtrack==
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.
#The Best – John Ondrasik  – 3:49
#Keep On Swinging – Brooks & Dunn  – 4:12
#Dream Like New York – Tyrone Wells  – 3:44
#Chicago (That Toddling Town) – Chris Botti featuring Lyle Lovett  – 2:16
#The Best Day of My Life – John Randall featuring Jessi Alexander  – 3:13
#Keep Your Eye on the Ball – Raven-Symoné  – 2:27
#What You Do – Wyclef Jean featuring Kontrast  – 3:12
#Swing It – Brooks & Dunn  – 3:34
#Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Lonestar  – 2:43
#The Bug – Mary Chapin Carpenter  – 3:48
#The Tigers – John Debney featuring Paris Bennett  – 1:46
#At Bat – John Debney  – 3:44
==See also==
* List of animated feature films
* List of computer-animated films
==Videos==
 
Everyone's Hero (2006) - Clip Talking Baseball|Talking Baseball
==References==
==External links==
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Category:2006 films
Category:2006 computer-animated films
Category:2000s adventure films
Category:2000s American animated films
Category:2000s comedy films
Category:2000s fantasy films
Category:2000s sports films
Category:American films
Category:American baseball films
Category:American children's adventure films
Category:American children's animated films
Category:American children's fantasy films
Category:American comedy films
Category:English-language films
Category:Baseball animation
Category:Computer-animated films
Category:Films set in Chicago
Category:Films set in New York City
Category:Films set in the 1930s
Category:Films set in 1932
Category:New York Yankees
Category:Cultural depictions of Babe Ruth
Category:20th Century Fox animated films
Category:20th Century Fox films
Category:Film scores by John Debney
Category:Films directed by Christopher Reeve
Category:Films starring Jake T. Austin
Category:Films starring William H. Macy
Category:Films starring Rob Reiner
Category:Films starring Whoopi Goldberg
Category:Films starring Robin Williams
Category:Films starring Mandy Patinkin
Category:Films starring Brian Dennehy
Category:Rated G