The Sidekick Foundation is a new confederacy that seeks to generously aid comics creators in need of financial and medical assistance. Sidekick’s board of directors and advisors consists of established, respected comics professionals who have agreed to support the organization’s initiative which, in its first year, shall be to donate 90% of all generated proceeds directly to those in need.
“Sidekick was established by Clifford Meth, whose work on behalf of comics creators in need is well known,” said Jim Reeber, president of Aardwolf Publishing and Secretary of Sidekick. “By adding the weight of some of the industry’s most respected names to his own, I believe Cliff can help more people than ever before and do so more effectively.”
“I’ve spent the last three years working for well-known charities and non-profits,” said Meth, a former Executive V.P. of Idw Publishing and recent spokesman for Kars4Kids.
“Sidekick was established by Clifford Meth, whose work on behalf of comics creators in need is well known,” said Jim Reeber, president of Aardwolf Publishing and Secretary of Sidekick. “By adding the weight of some of the industry’s most respected names to his own, I believe Cliff can help more people than ever before and do so more effectively.”
“I’ve spent the last three years working for well-known charities and non-profits,” said Meth, a former Executive V.P. of Idw Publishing and recent spokesman for Kars4Kids.
- 10/10/2011
- by Glenn Hauman
- Comicmix.com
In baseball, a "tweener" is a good thing for the batter -- a ball that finds the gap between fielders for a hit. The children's baseball cartoon "Everyone's Hero" is a tweener but not necessarily a good one. It falls into the gap between good intentions and faulty storytelling.
One problem is that its makers cannot decide on a tone. The story takes place in Depression-era America, which is realistically drawn to include unemployed people and blacks unable to play major league baseball because of racism. Yet a talking baseball and bat and catastrophic accidents suffered by one character with little harm other than bruised feelings belong more to the cartoon world of Chuck Jones and Wile E. Coyote.
Another problem is preachiness. This story of a young boy who perseveres against all odds and obstacles says it all; you don't need to continually remind young viewers that they need to persevere to achieve goals. Kids are much brighter than the movie gives them credit.
Because family fare is scant in mid-September, "Everybody's Hero" should perform acceptably for 20th Century Fox at the boxoffice and even better on home video. The cartoon is amiable enough and has bright comic moments. The voice actors appear to be having fun with their characters. The computer animation while somewhat simple -- presumably because of time and budgetary constraints -- has an eye-pleasing color palette and a solid sense of 1930s details.
The movie, made by IDT Entertainment for Fox, credits the late Christopher Reeve as a director and exec producer, but it is unclear the extent of his involvement because the film went into production after his death. Co-directors Daniel St. Pierre, an alum of Walt Disney Co. and DreamWorks animation, and Colin Brady, an ILM and Pixar veteran, were the ones who oversaw production.
"Everybody's Hero", written by Robert Kurtz and Jeff Hand, is a tall tale with a touch of Damon Runyon. A kid in 1932 New York loves the local team so much he goes by the name of Yankee Irving (Jake T. Austin). Unfortunately, in sandlot games he strikes out and endures the taunts of neighborhood boys. Dejected, he thinks about quitting the game. Then he finds an old baseball, which begins to talk to him in a voice (Rob Reiner)'s that no one else hears.
That night, he takes dinner to his dad (Mandy Patinkin), who works in Yankee Stadium. His dad lets him visit the Yankees' locker room, but he gets chased out by a security guard. When Babe Ruth's bat goes missing, his dad gets fired and Yankee realizes the security guard was in fact a shifty pitcher for the Chicago Cubs named Lefty Maginnis (Willam H. Macy). Seems that the owner of the Cubs (Robert Wagner), who are in the World Series against the mighty Yanks, thinks this theft will somehow jinx the Babe.
So, egged on by the talking baseball, whom Yankee names Screwie, the kid lights out for Penn Station, where Lefty will board a train for Chicago. Yankee manages to steal the bat, named Darlin', and wouldn't you know, the bat also talks to him in the sassy voice of Whoopi Goldberg. The adventures of the boy, bat and ball on the road to Chi-town, where the Series will resume, include jumps on and off trains, a ball-stealing dog, local bullies, train-riding hobos and many attempts by a desperate Lefty to get back the bat.
In one fine sequence, a little black girl (Raven-Symone) rescues the trio and then gets her dad, who plays in the Negro Leagues, to take Yankee on his team's bus to Chicago. En route, Yankee receives tips and encouragement about his batting stance. The final sequence in Chicago descends so much into slapstick and fantasy that it feels out of sync with the rest of the movie.
Much of the comedy comes in bickering between Screwie and Darlin', which finds Reiner and Goldberg in fine form. Macy is his usual marvelous self as the clumsy villain. Brian Dennehy manages to sound an awfully lot like Babe Ruth, Walker is a tad hammy as the Cubs' owner, and none other than current Yankee manager Joe Torre gives voice to the Yankee manager of 1932.
EVERYONE'S HERO
20th Century Fox
IDT Entertainment
Credits:
Directors: Christopher Reeve, Daniel St. Pierre, Colin Brady
Screenwriters: Robert Kurtz, Jeff Hand
Based on a story by: Howard Jonas
Producers: Ron Tippe, Igor Khait
Executive producers: Christopher Reeve, Dana Reeve, Stephen R. Brown, Morris Berger, Janet Healy, Jerry Davis
Director of photography: Jan Carlee
Production designer: Daniel St. Pierre
Music: John Debney
Editor: John Bryant. Voices: Screwie: Rob Reiner
Darlin': Whoopi Goldberg
Yankee: Jake T. Austin
Lefty: Willam H. Macy
Yankee's Dad: Mandy Patinkin
Marti: Raven-Symone
MPAA rating G
Running time -- 89 minutes...
One problem is that its makers cannot decide on a tone. The story takes place in Depression-era America, which is realistically drawn to include unemployed people and blacks unable to play major league baseball because of racism. Yet a talking baseball and bat and catastrophic accidents suffered by one character with little harm other than bruised feelings belong more to the cartoon world of Chuck Jones and Wile E. Coyote.
Another problem is preachiness. This story of a young boy who perseveres against all odds and obstacles says it all; you don't need to continually remind young viewers that they need to persevere to achieve goals. Kids are much brighter than the movie gives them credit.
Because family fare is scant in mid-September, "Everybody's Hero" should perform acceptably for 20th Century Fox at the boxoffice and even better on home video. The cartoon is amiable enough and has bright comic moments. The voice actors appear to be having fun with their characters. The computer animation while somewhat simple -- presumably because of time and budgetary constraints -- has an eye-pleasing color palette and a solid sense of 1930s details.
The movie, made by IDT Entertainment for Fox, credits the late Christopher Reeve as a director and exec producer, but it is unclear the extent of his involvement because the film went into production after his death. Co-directors Daniel St. Pierre, an alum of Walt Disney Co. and DreamWorks animation, and Colin Brady, an ILM and Pixar veteran, were the ones who oversaw production.
"Everybody's Hero", written by Robert Kurtz and Jeff Hand, is a tall tale with a touch of Damon Runyon. A kid in 1932 New York loves the local team so much he goes by the name of Yankee Irving (Jake T. Austin). Unfortunately, in sandlot games he strikes out and endures the taunts of neighborhood boys. Dejected, he thinks about quitting the game. Then he finds an old baseball, which begins to talk to him in a voice (Rob Reiner)'s that no one else hears.
That night, he takes dinner to his dad (Mandy Patinkin), who works in Yankee Stadium. His dad lets him visit the Yankees' locker room, but he gets chased out by a security guard. When Babe Ruth's bat goes missing, his dad gets fired and Yankee realizes the security guard was in fact a shifty pitcher for the Chicago Cubs named Lefty Maginnis (Willam H. Macy). Seems that the owner of the Cubs (Robert Wagner), who are in the World Series against the mighty Yanks, thinks this theft will somehow jinx the Babe.
So, egged on by the talking baseball, whom Yankee names Screwie, the kid lights out for Penn Station, where Lefty will board a train for Chicago. Yankee manages to steal the bat, named Darlin', and wouldn't you know, the bat also talks to him in the sassy voice of Whoopi Goldberg. The adventures of the boy, bat and ball on the road to Chi-town, where the Series will resume, include jumps on and off trains, a ball-stealing dog, local bullies, train-riding hobos and many attempts by a desperate Lefty to get back the bat.
In one fine sequence, a little black girl (Raven-Symone) rescues the trio and then gets her dad, who plays in the Negro Leagues, to take Yankee on his team's bus to Chicago. En route, Yankee receives tips and encouragement about his batting stance. The final sequence in Chicago descends so much into slapstick and fantasy that it feels out of sync with the rest of the movie.
Much of the comedy comes in bickering between Screwie and Darlin', which finds Reiner and Goldberg in fine form. Macy is his usual marvelous self as the clumsy villain. Brian Dennehy manages to sound an awfully lot like Babe Ruth, Walker is a tad hammy as the Cubs' owner, and none other than current Yankee manager Joe Torre gives voice to the Yankee manager of 1932.
EVERYONE'S HERO
20th Century Fox
IDT Entertainment
Credits:
Directors: Christopher Reeve, Daniel St. Pierre, Colin Brady
Screenwriters: Robert Kurtz, Jeff Hand
Based on a story by: Howard Jonas
Producers: Ron Tippe, Igor Khait
Executive producers: Christopher Reeve, Dana Reeve, Stephen R. Brown, Morris Berger, Janet Healy, Jerry Davis
Director of photography: Jan Carlee
Production designer: Daniel St. Pierre
Music: John Debney
Editor: John Bryant. Voices: Screwie: Rob Reiner
Darlin': Whoopi Goldberg
Yankee: Jake T. Austin
Lefty: Willam H. Macy
Yankee's Dad: Mandy Patinkin
Marti: Raven-Symone
MPAA rating G
Running time -- 89 minutes...
- 9/15/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Chris McGurk, whose tenure as vice chairman and chief operating officer of MGM ended in spring 2005 after MGM was sold to a consortium of investors including Sony Pictures Entertainment, has accepted a new post as senior adviser, new ventures, at IDT Entertainment. Among other duties, he will be in charge of developing and financing a live-action film slate and building a new theatrical distribution arm. McGurk, who will report to IDT Entertainment CEO Morris Berger, is taking up his new, full-time duties immediately and will be headquartered at IDT's new West Coast offices in Burbank.
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.