Little Giants (1994)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Duwayne Dunham

Writers (WGA):

James Ferguson (story) &
Robert Shallcross (story) ...

Release Date:

14 October 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Sport

Tagline:

For everyone who's waited to be chosen, and wasn't... your day has come.

Plot:

Misfits form their own opposing team to an elite peewee football team, coached by the elite team coach's brother.

Plot Keywords:

Coach | Cheerleader | Pee Wee Football | Flatulence | Brother Brother Relationship

Cast

Rick Moranis	...	Danny O'Shea
Ed O'Neill	...	Kevin O'Shea
Shawna Waldron	...	Becky O'Shea
Devon Sawa	...	Junior Floyd
Todd Bosley	...	Jake Berman
Michael Zwiener	...	Rudy Zolteck
Danny Pritchett	...	Tad Simpson
Troy Simmons	...	Hanon
Sam Horrigan	...	Spike Hammersmith
Joey Simmrin	...	Sean Murphy
Marcus Toji	...	Marcus
Christopher Walberg	...	Timmy Moore
Matthew McCurley	...	Nubie (as Mathew McCurley)
Brian Haley	...	Mike Hammersmith
Jon Paul Steuer	...	Johnny Vennaro

MPAA:

Rated PG for kids' rude language and pranks.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | UK:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Arroyo Grande, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The jersey numbers Becky (#56) and Junior (#11) wear are those of former Giants greats Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms respectively while Briggs (#8), Patterson (#22) and Murphy (#48) are those of former Cowboys greats Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Daryl "Moose" Johnston respectively.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The clock ticks down from 5 seconds to 4 seconds long after Spike was tackled near the goal line and the whistle blew. There should have been 5 seconds left for the last play.

Quotes:

Steve Emtman: Just remember, football is 80% mental and 40% physical.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Simpsons: Bart Star (#9.6)" (1997)

Not bad...not great either

I never had my doubts on seeing this film at my local theatre back in 1994, and didn't expect anything special. Just another kiddie football movie with the down-on-its-luck ragtag, underdog squad of little losers... well, you get the idea.

Rick Moranis (where in God's name has he been these past few years?) plays the role of Danny O'Shea, the non-athletic younger brother of Urbania Ohio's (the setting) pride and joy, Kevin O'Shea (Ed O'Neill), former Heisman Trophy winner, and the constant talk of the town, a true All-American. He runs an elite team of pee-wee football players, which draws the attention of his brother.

Danny assembles his own team (rejects of Kevin's squad, daughter in hand and all) and together, challenge Kevin's Cowboys to a match, and thus the aptly named Giants, for which they provide a "giant" effort when they finally do square off, provide light entertainment and a few scattered chuckles for the audience.

There are some "thematic elements," present, but its safe enough for all ages.