With a co-directing credit for Christopher Reeve (yes that Christopher Reeve), a great subject matter (not the biggest baseball fan but it's fun to see film and television revolving around it every now and again and a voice cast that includes Whoopi Goldberg, William H. Macy, Mandy Patinkin and Forrest Whittaker, 'Everyone's Hero' promised a lot.Unfortunately, this promise is not fully lived up. 'Everyone's Hero' is not awful, it is a little bit better than has been said but the criticisms against it are to me not hard to agree with, and has elements that make it worth a one-time watch, but not enough to be worth fully getting on base for. It could have been much better, the cast deserved better and while there are things that Reeve has done that were worthy of him and worth remembering him for (like his iconic portrayal of Superman) his posthumous co-directing credit for 'Everyone's Hero' is not one of them sadly.'Everyone's Hero' is watchable, despite major short-comings. It is a very well intentioned film, not giving up in the face of adversity (an everyday struggle to overcome) is not a new idea but is a very easy to relate with one for particularly anybody who has been there like me. The positive messaging is not always subtle to put it lightly, but they were very much appreciated and are important values for anybody regardless of gender and age and regardless of how many times they have been dealt with in media.Some of 'Everyone's Hero' is funny and touching in equal measure, the baseball setting is beautifully realised and fun to watch. There are some interesting ideas and some colourfully portrayed characters, especially the relatable lead characters and a truly enjoyably vile villain. The animation is bright and colourful with some nice attention to detail, the soundtrack is dynamic and uplifting and the voice acting is enthusiastic and fitting, especially the barn-storming turn of Macy who truly relishes the film's juiciest character. The target audience is clear and the film does its best to attract a wider audience, including those not big on animation but are die-hard fans of baseball.For all its good things and good intentions, 'Everyone's Hero' to me was heavily flawed. The story does tend too often to be too formulaic and lacking in spark to stop blandness from creeping in, it too is rather too pat and nice for any conflict to be convincing and there are elements that are under-explored or not made clear enough, coming over as strange instead. The twist agreed is too ridiculous to be taken seriously, one of the most unbelievable twists personally seen in a film seen recently.Despite some moments, there are too many cheap and predictable gags that one can see coming from miles away. Complete with references that really don't hold up well, and would go over the heads of even much older audiences who lived during the period the film is set or close to it. Even they are likely to be unfamiliar with who and what some of the jokes are referencing or find them too mean-spirited to be clever and funny (that Eleanor Roosevelt joke was a good example).Although the clear target audience and attempts at wide audience appeal are to be applauded, it's almost as if the film tried too hard to cater to fans of old-time baseball that are the most likely to completely get the portrayal of the sport at that time and some of the jokes and even they may question the strange choices the film makes and the lack of accuracy. While most of the animation is good, some of the character designs are crude, stiff and lack focus and generally it's all very striking and competent but not always imaginative.On the whole, watchable and laudable for its good intentions but uneven lacklustre. 5/10 Bethany Cox

I don't know why this movie has taken such a hit or lack of interest. I rented it one day for my 4 year old, and we wound up watching about 20 times in a week! She absolutely loves the movie, and tells me all the time that it is her favorite. It is totally appropriate for kids, no foul language and the humor is cute for adults as well. The story line was very well done, and entertaining. The constant bickering back and forth between Screwy (ball) and Darlin' (bat) was very comical as well. Naturally the kid is going to be successful as being the hero, but the stuff he had to go thru along the way kept me interested also. Being a lifelong baseball fan and coach, the fact that finally someone involved the Negro Leagues was great to see. Yes, everyone was happy and fuzzy and no racial issues in the movie, but it is an animated kids movie. I keep reading how people had a problem with this movie not addressing the racial issues of the time, but it is a kids movie! Overall, I thought this was a very underrated movie and it is very entertaining. My wife even loves this movie! I have since purchased this movie on DVD and I'm sure we will get more than our money's worth. I gave it a 10 because is a very good movie and it hasn't gotten old yet. Forget the naysayers and see this movie and decide for yourself.

Oh, yes, EH's language is safe for kids. No f-, d-, b-, s-words at all. General ideas of taking care about parents, and believing in yourself are OK. Yes, Finding Nemo or Bug's life were about the same points, but that's the only thing, which they have in common.Animation is visually plain and poor in design, nothing to compare with Pixar's production. The most disappointing thing about EH was animation of stunts. When animators didn't have a clue how to solve a stunt they just added supernatural abilities to realistic heroes. Stretching limbs, twisting spine, etc. Dialogs and lines were at level of that garbage animation on Nickelodeon, times inferior to Pixar's scripts. There is one thing I found weird about the Hero as a parent. 7 year old 3D-boy easily jumps between moving trains, dangles at 20-meter height, runs from home, talks to homeless people, and this is served as right things to do, no doubts or warnings. As my 6 y.o. son likes to repeat after heroes I'm not sure it's perfectly safe to show him this flick. No, I'm not a cuckoo parent obsessed with safety. While watching Incredibles or Harry Potter he knew that they were supernatural, so he didn't want to repeat after them. But together with EH's finale message of "despite of you're small, you can do everything" I'm not that sure.And the last point - it's absolutely not enjoyable for adults, so calling it a family movie is a big exaggeration.

Everyone's Hero was an awesome movie and was even more profound when I saw that Christopher and Dana Reeves had produced/directed it. The characters,story line, and music were all great. I especially liked the fact that it was truly a children's story and not made for adults with underlying hints of adult themes. movies recently attended supposedly for children had underlying adult themes of sex, cussing and violence. My 4 year old grand son loved it, followed it, laughed etc. The only question I had as a life time Cincinnati Reds baseball fan was why the Cincinnati team was called the Cincinnati Tigers.Hope many will see it, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to stay long in theatres.I plan to purchase several DVD's as gifts.Thanks for your time.