Angels in the Outfield

Despite its heavy use of romantic sentiments, Angels in the Outfield is a heartwarming fairy tale that left me with a happy feeling. [22 July 1994, p.29]

The plot in Angels in the Outfield plods some, enough to make younger kids fidget. Once the premise is established, the movie relies on a noisome reporter threatening to expose the celestial help to add suspense. The humor is aimed squarely at kiddies and is of the nerdy-guy-sits-on-a-tray-of-nachos variety. [15 July 1994, p.G4]

For this Disney remake of a saccharine 1951 baseball comedy, the targeted age group has been lowered to around nine. That means plenty of mustard-squirting slapstick and not very much of the beauty and drama of the actual game [15 July 1994]

Angels in the Outfield may not be a great baseball movie, but it is a cheerful line drive as a story about having faith when the world seems stacked against you.

A big dripping scoop of marshmallow sentiment topped with whipped-cream spirituality. [15 July 1994, p.C10]

It's funny for young kids, extremely non-critical moviegoers and possibly people with a catatonic medical condition. But it's painfully idiotic for anyone else.

Any time Disney tries their hand at live action, though, the results are usually pretty poor. Just not this bad.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

I love loved this as a kid. It's just a feel good movie. It has a little bit of depth but lots of fun.