Everyone's Hero

It's easy to understand why Christopher Reeve, who never gave up, should have been drawn to this story (which he's credited with directing although it was completed by others after his death), with its moral to “keep on swinging” whatever the odds. Everyone's Hero is the computer-animated tale of Yankee Irving, a young Depression-era boy and great Babe Ruth fan (but strikeout shrimp himself) who goes to extraordinary lengths to retrieve the Sultan of Swat's bat, stolen by the evil owner of the Chicago Cubs to help his team win the 1932 World Series against the New York Yankees. Everyone's Hero is ridiculously fictional, of course, but it's also bland and predictable, with most of the film devoted to a chase in which the boy is pursued by a bumbling Cubs player. Still, there are cute supporting characters—such as Ruth's bat Darlin', which sports a southern accent, and a wisecracking yammering baseball named Screwie—and the film boasts decent animation and a fine voice cast (including William H. Macy, Whoopi Goldberg, Rob Reiner, Raven-Symone, and Forest Whitaker). Even so, Everyone's Hero is no more than a typical entry in the recent steady stream of mediocre computer-animated flicks. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include both widescreen and full screen versions, audio commentary (by filmmakers Colin Brady and Dan St. Pierre and co-writers Jeff Hand and Rob Kurtz), the 26-minute “The Little Guys Journey” making-of featurette, a “Remembering Chris” featurette on the late Christopher Reeve (12 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a so-so kid's film.] (F. Swietek)