Alright, wow, it looks like we are now fifteen movie reviews away from reaching the 550th movie review. Wow, did not expect this to happen quite as quickly. Man, does time fly! Anyway, today, we are going to be reviewing one of quite a few live-action Disney films that were released over the course of the 1990s. Now, obviously, Disney has released quite a few of these over the decades, specifically from the 1950s, and onwards. However, correct me if I’m wrong, but it seemed as if live-action Disney films seemed more common in the 1990s, and maybe even 2000s, especially when it came to more ORIGINAL stories. In the 1990s, at the same time that Disney had their Renaissance period going on with their animated division, they also released a great many live-action films especially in the 1990s, like Iron Will (1994), Heavyweights (1995), Jungle 2 Jungle (1997), The Kid (2000), and a great many more. Well, in addition to these films mentioned, and others, Disney also released a live-action film in theaters just a month after the company also released it’s 32nd animated feature, The Lion King. And that’s the film we shall be talking about today. So, without further ado, behold my review of 1994’s Angels In The Outfield!
Plot: When a coach of the California Angels named George Knox (Danny Glover) has had a long streak of losing seasons with his team, all hope seems lost, however, upon discovering to foster boys named Roger Bomman (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and his friend JP (Milton Davis Jr.), things may start to look up after Roger, one night, prays for a miracle for the team, and the possibility of him, and JP getting adopted. Will his prayers be answered? Will the Angels start a record of winning streaks? And will Roger, and JP finally get out of their foster home, and be adopted either by Coach Knox, or someone else?
Well, I will start things off bet saying that it‘s good to be shown how much better can be than one might have thought as a kid. I mean I remember watching this film a few times as a kid. However, I don’t think that I recall seeing, and/or realizing how much depth, and meaning there was to a film like Angels In The Outfield. First of all, seeing as there were points where the main character JP was so optimistic to the point where he said that anything could happen in any situation, wow, what a great kid. It just comes to show that kids seem to be more optimistic about life than adults have ever seemed to be, you know? Well, hey, isn’t it any wonder that Jesus compared the faith of any person to that of a little child. Not to mention that Jesus also talked about how we need to have the faith like a child. What’s more is how even main character Roger Bomman, who of course is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, begins to have faith about things like how angels exist, and things like that, you know? The setting was also great, and how could one not love the concept of this story overall? It’s also interesting how we have a movie about baseball, as well as have main characters be kids that live in a foster home. I mean how often have we heard of a movie, particularly a more family-oriented one, having kids be in a foster home, and waiting for adoption? Let’s even keep in mind that Angels In The Outfield was released over a decade before Disney released one of it’s earlier computer-animated films from Walt Disney Studios, Meet The Robinsons, which also had main character kids be in a foster home, but with a different storyline. Yeah, because of that, the film does a great job of putting in a fun sport like baseball, while also inserting in the whole concept of foster homes, adoption, and things along those lines. While a lot of people love movies about baseball, how often would one want to see a movie about foster holes if it wasn’t executed in a more fun manner? That being said, Angels is amazingly clever about the whole foster home situation, with elements like baseball, well, and meaningful characters, and other creative elements along those lines. You also have a fun score from composer Randy Edelman, whose works also included scoring for films like Beethoven (1992), and Dragonheart (1996), among some other films. Yes, his score can be a little repetitive at times even in this film. Still, his score does help keep the film engaging like any good musical score is supposed to do. The characters are also really phenomenal. I mean Coach Knox, the kids Roger, and JP, Maggie Nelson, the foster mom to the two boys, they are all really great characters with excellent character arcs, growth, and any element that helps make for a likable character in the first place. In addition to those characters mentioned, the movie ends up having a really good jerky type of character. Oh, and how could you not love the Angel characters that appear throughout the course of this film? That is especially for Christopher Lloyd as the main Angel character, Al. Lloyd, just like any character that he’s played, most definitely knows how to bring life, spunk, and personality into this character. There’s also the climax of this film. I won’t give away what exactly happens. However, let’s just say that you’d be surprised how creatively well-handled it ends up being. The only potential flaw, is that there are some points in where the story might feel executed in a possibly cheesy way. Still, Angels In The Outfield is great at getting a good message across about believing for miracles, hoping for the impossible, and being willing to be positive about life even when it might seem hard to.
And that is now my review for Angels In The Outfield. It has fun characters, a very well-executed storyline, and some amazing messages that we could use more in both family films, and more adult films alike. And wow, can you believe that this was released during the same summer that the original Lion King film was released? Not to mention that both films had amazing storylines, deep, and powerful messages, and well-thought our characters. If you haven’t seen Angels In The Outfield, definitely make sure that you do dinner rather than later. You will most definitely love this film with all the great elements, and more, that I mentioned before.
Final Grade: A
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 