2. Little Giants: The Annexation of Puerto Rico (Fumblerooski)
While Disney is a force to be reckoned with, they look pretty mediocre next to King Spielberg. When the House of Mouse goes all out on a project, it usually results in a well-made film. When Spielberg sets his sights on something, however, it's another thing entirely. Not only does he bring his great directorial eye and storyteller instincts to the fray, but he also has ILM and DreamWorks in his pocket. In other words, when he wants to get something done (produced, written, directed) he has some of the best minds in the film industry at his disposal. This goes for his big projects as producer (the
Transformers franchise,
Goonies,
Back to the Future) to the smaller projects. None smaller and more unassuming than
The Little Giants. Yes, believe it or not,
The Little Giants is an Amblin Film.
Little Giants had its origins as a Superbowl commercial for McDonald's. In the commercial, a young group of football misfits trains for a big game, getting help from their parents in funny ways. It must have really tickled Spielberg's funny bone because he ordered that the commercial be made into a
movie. The result:
The Little Giants.
Little Giants is the story of a small town and the brothers O'Shea. Kevin O'Shea is the town's football hero and current pee-wee league coach (played brilliantly by Ed O'Neill). Danny O'Shea is kind of a loser (well-played by Rick Moranis). Moranis' Danny is a middle-aged gas station attendant who never could live up to his brother's fame, as he was awful at sports. The good news: Danny has a chance to live vicariously through his kid, who is a football phenom. The bad news: Uncle Kevin doesn't allow girls on his team, which is a shame because Becky "Icebox" O'Shea (Shawana Waldron) is ten times better than most of his players. Danny can't bear to see his daughter disappointed, so he recruits her and the rest of the kids not good enough to makes Kevin's squad for his own second string football team. Like
D2, and
Angels in the Outfield;
Little Giants is one the better kiddie sport movies (nostalgia aside) to emerge from the 90's. It's actually a great deal of fun. The kids are appropriately awkward and eccentric. The story is heartwarming in just the right way as not to be too schmaltzy, and Ed O'Neill and Rick Moranis don't phone it in just because it's a kid's film. Plus, it boasts some of the greatest sport cameos of any 90's film. NFL greats like Emmitt Smith, Tim Brown, and Mr. Football himself John Madden show up to give the little Giants a pep talk in their darkest hour. The football action is fair enough. As
D2 taught us, you really don't have to try that hard for authenticity when it's a bunch of kids playing. Still, while
The Little Giants will never be remembered as the most realistic portrayal of football on screen, it will forever be known as the movie that showcased one of the best trick plays in the history of football: The Annexation of Puerto Rico (technically known as the Fumblerooski). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6gW80Qxk2s According to Wikipedia, "in the Fumblerooski, the QB deliberately places or leaves the ball on the ground upon receiving it from the center, technically fumbling it. The backs will run to the right, and the right guard will pick up the ball and run to the left." That's essentially how the play begins in
Little Giants, with Icebox running to the right and the fat right guard going left. However, the Giants had to go the length of the field to score and there was no way in heck that the fat right guard would be able to make it. This is where the Annexation of Puerto Rico, which is a modified version of the Fumblerooski, comes in handy. Since the fat right guard will be tackled, the play will be kept alive by a series of backward laterals to other Giant players running down the field. The majority of the opposing team has gone to the right, so the Giants will have a relatively clear field as they make their way to the goal. It's a great showcase of brains beating brawn as the Giants use great play calling to defeat an otherwise physically superior opponent. Well, that's great you say, but of course nothing like this could happen in real football right? Wrong. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIRgXCB_sQE