Little Giants (1994)

40% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
61% of users liked it
(57,887 ratings)

A successful retired jock and his geeky younger brother play out their sibling rivalry by coaching rival little league football teams in this family comedy. Ed O'Neill plays the older brother, Kevin O'Shea, a former Heisman Trophy winner whose gridiron exploits have made him a local hero in his… More A successful retired jock and his geeky younger brother play out their sibling rivalry by coaching rival little league football teams in this family comedy. Ed O'Neill plays the older brother, Kevin O'Shea, a former Heisman Trophy winner whose gridiron exploits have made him a local hero in his small Illinois hometown. Kevin is the almost unanimous choice to head up the town's Pop Warner football team, and he happily builds an imposing team from the best local players. One of the few objectors is Kevin's young brother Danny (Rick Moranis), an awkward, bespectacled gas station owner who empathizes with the kids rejected from the team, including his own athletic daughter Becky (Shawna Waldron). As revenge, Danny starts his own competing team of misfits, taking on the coaching duties himself. Naturally, despite the total ineptitude of Danny and his players, they eventually find themselves major underdogs in a climactic battle against Kevin's well-trained juggernaut. Director Duwayne Dunham and a team of four screenwriters hit all the expected sports film conventions, throwing in a few innocent romantic subplots and cameos by real football players for good measure. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Duwayne Dunham
Genres: Comedy, Kids & Family

In Theaters: Oct 14, 1994 Wide
On DVD: Jul 8, 2003
Studio: Warner Home Video

Critic Reviews

Randy White, Common Sense Media
The little guy wins in this rote comedy.
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum
One of the worst movies ever made.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
Moranis and O'Neill make a good double-act but the script's as thin as a wafer
Fred Topel, About.com
Unoriginal kids sports movie. Been there, done that. This is no Mighty Ducks.
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
A weak Bad News Bears-style rip-off. Totally unoriginal.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Manu G

Funny and cool movie, I still remember when I saw this movie for the first time in the movie theater. What a blast! In Urbania, Ohio, snobby ex-football star Kevin O'Shea conducts try-outs for the town's Peewee football team, the Urbania Cowboys, which will compete for a… More
Funny and cool movie, I still remember when I saw this movie for the first time in the movie theater. What a blast! In Urbania, Ohio, snobby ex-football star Kevin O'Shea conducts try-outs for the town's Peewee football team, the Urbania Cowboys, which will compete for a chance at the state Peewee football playoffs. Kevin slights his younger brother Danny O'Shea by rejecting Danny's daughter Becky "Icebox" O'Shea, who is a good player. Kevin rejected her simply because she's a girl. Becky and some of her friends, boys who were also rejected, get the idea to start up their own team, to be coached by Danny. After Kevin tries to put a stop to that plan, Danny gets Kevin to agree to a game to decide which team will represent Urbania, because each town is allowed only one team. Danny and Becky scour the town in search of willing players, and they gather a crew of kids who have limited skills and no team spirit. They luck out when Becky discovers Junior Floyd expertly passing rolls of toilet paper right into a shopping cart at the supermarket, as though he's passing a football. With Becky and Junior on board, the new team, the Giants, has a chance to make a good showing, and they begin their training. But low morale continually threatens to break up the team. A chance visit by former NFL football coach John Madden and four NFL football stars -- Steve Entman, Bruce Smith, Emmitt Smith, and Tim Brown -- leaves the team with several tips on how to create an advantage. Becky develops a crush on Junior Floyd, and she's jealous when her cheerleader cousin Debbie flirts with Junior. Becky decides to compete for Junior on equal terms, so she puts on make-up and a cheerleader outfit, joining the cheerleaders and abandoning the team. But the Cowboys will be coming into the game with a vicious new player named Spike Hammersmith. Will Becky be there for the team if they need her?
Lenny M

Childhood classics generally get 3 stars from me regardless if they hold up or not. Little Giants doesn't hold up like The Sandlot does but it's still a fun watch.
Candy R

Movie about kids trying to make it in a football team.
Jason S

This is a good little family movie. It follows the formula pretty closely and really doesn't deliver anything new. The kids will like it.
Jackson W

Same old plot, but much funnier than other movies of its kind
Deb S

A typical and predictable underdog tale about a group of boys who were not picked for a football team and so they formed their own with the nerdy Danny O'Shea's (Rick Moranis) as their team's captain. His brother Kevin O'Shea (Ed O'Neill of Married with… More
A typical and predictable underdog tale about a group of boys who were not picked for a football team and so they formed their own with the nerdy Danny O'Shea's (Rick Moranis) as their team's captain. His brother Kevin O'Shea (Ed O'Neill of Married with children) is a former NFL star and town hero, has all the best athletes but Danny has a secret weapon in the form of his daughter (The Icebox) who is of course a better player than most of the boys on the opposing side and while his team doesn't boast the brawn of his brother's, his little players have big hearts and a lot of will. Cute, funny and overall entertaining!
Joseph E

I can't believe I hadn't reviewed this film on here yet. The Best Children's movie all time! I aboslutely watched this film, a million times. Being a "New York Giant's" fan doesn't help. This film is funny, and encouraging. Even if you are an… More
I can't believe I hadn't reviewed this film on here yet. The Best Children's movie all time! I aboslutely watched this film, a million times. Being a "New York Giant's" fan doesn't help. This film is funny, and encouraging. Even if you are an adult, I still reccomend it. I enjoyed this comic romp, more than even "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle" or "Van Wilder". One of the top 100 Children's films you must see before you die. #1, for me. Highly Reccomended to everyone.
a b

"YOU beat Kevin down Cherry Hill?!" Anyone who doesn't like this movie didn't have a childhood, and I feel bad for you.
Marion R

what is there to say, really?
Sunil J

Kid's playing sports movies are all the same. This one is cute enough but nothing special.

Read all 10 featured audience ratings

Cast

            Rick Moranis as Danny O'Shea

            Ed O'Neill as Kevin O'Shea

            John Madden (II) as Himself

            Shawna Waldron as Becky O'Shea

            Mary Ellen Trainor as Karen O'Shea

            Matthew McCurley as Nubie

            Susanna Thompson as Patty

            Brian Haley as Mike Hammersmith

            Sam Horrigan as Spike Hammersmith

            Todd Bosley as Jake Berman

            Eddie Derham as Fast Eddie

            Danny Pritchett as Tad Simpson

            Devon Sawa as Junior

            Troy Simmons as Hanon

            Joe Paul Steuer
            
            Marcus Toji as Marcus

            Christopher Walberg as Timmy Moore

            Michael Zwiener as Rudy Zolteck

            Michael Blackburn as Mr. Vennaro

            Pat Crawford Brown as Louise

            Timothy Brown as Himself

            Willie C. Carpenter as Ref #1

            Dabbs Greer as Wilbur

            DeJuan Guy as Hoyt

            Myron Healey as Doctor

            Bonnie Hellman as Mrs. Zolteck

            Mark Holton as Mr. Zolteck

            Rance Howard as Priest

            Michael Monks as Mr. Moore

            F. William Parker as Mayor Kelly

            Courtney Peldon as Debbie O'Shea

            Joey Simmrin as Murphy

            Gene Whittington as Mr. Hanon

            Harry Shearer as Announcer

            Frank Welker as Animation Vocal Sound Effects

            Richard E. Butler as Ref #2

            Michael P. Byrne as Mr. Simpson

            Janna Michaels as Young Patty

            Joe Bays as Butz

            Harry Fleer as Orville

            Bruce Smith as Himself

            Justin Jon Ross as Young Danny
See full cast