It doesn’t seem right to criticize a good-natured, family-oriented sports film like “Everyone’s Hero,” especially because it was directed by the late, great Christopher Reeve.

Although the film doesn’t live up to it’s A-list caliber voice cast, it still succeeds in providing a few laughs and a good lesson for kids.

The story takes place in 1932 with the Great Depression dominating the mood. The 10-year-old Yankee Irving, a baseball fanatic and Babe Ruth super fan, is the lead.

One day after a particularly disappointing performance on the diamond he comes home to discover his baseball has begun talking. The movie doesn’t explain why this particular baseball (voiced by Rob Reiner) can talk or why only Yankee can hear it, but it’s a kids’ movie and that can be overlooked.

Yankee wants to tell his dad about his new talking baseball so he visits his father at Yankee Stadium where he works as a janitor. When his dad (voiced by Mandy Patinkin) leaves his son alone in the locker room, Yankee sees a Chicago Cubs pitcher named Lefty Maginnis (voiced by William H. Macy) dressed as a security guard snooping around the clubhouse. The next day Yankee’s father is fired, because Ruth’s bat —”Darlin'”— was stolen while he was on duty. The father accuses Yankee of taking the bat, so he sets out to steal back the bat (which also talks and is voiced by Whoopi Goldberg).

Along his journey, Yankee is thrust into some pretty farfetched action sequences. The 10-year-old falls from a two story building, dives into a moving car, jumps back and forth from two moving trains and swings from the upper deck bleachers all the way onto the grass at Wrigley Field while hanging onto a banner.

Yankee also gets helped out of a jam by Marti Brewster (Raven-Simone) whose father Lonnie Brewster (Forrest Whitaker) is a shortstop for the Cincinnati Tigers of the Negro Leagues. It’s Lonnie who teaches Yankee how to hit. It was nice to see a G-rated baseball movie address the Negro Leagues. Every kid knows about Babe Ruth and the Yankees. Not enough know about Josh Gibson or Teddy Ratcliffe.

Any criticism for “Everyone’s Hero” is minor, and the film’s climax had every kid in the theater clapping and cheering. It may not be as good as “Finding Nemo” or “The Incredibles,” two films a person of any age can enjoy, but children will definitely like it.

Paul Giuntoli is a film critic for the Northern Star.