Toon Talk
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(c) Disney
Washington is ably supported by Will Patton (in a subtle performance that is a far cry from his most famous role to date, the ambiguous presidential aide in No Way Out) and an impressive cast of young men filling the uniforms of the Titans. This roster of talent is filled with faces to watch for: Kip Pardue (hippie Sunshine), Donald Adeosun Faison (wise ass Petey), Ryan Hurst (loyal team captain Gerry Bertier) and Wood Harris (noble Julius).
Young Hayden Pannettiere plays Patton's football loving tomboy daughter Sheryl. Spouting stats like a pro sportscaster, she meets her polar opposite in Washington's girlie girl daughter Nicky (Krysten Leigh Jones), who would rather accessorize her dolls then toss the pigskin.
The performances help to overcome the predictability inherent in sports films. In other words, if you don't know who's going to win the "big game", then you've obviously never seen The Bad News Bears, Hoosiers, et al.
Originally, Gregory Allen Howard's script was more "adult", laced with profanity as any film that takes place in a high school athletic department realistically would be. Credit the filmmakers for realizing the inspirational potential of the film, a message ideally suited for a PG-rated audience.
Toon Talk Grade: B+
Running Time: 114 minutes
Available on VHS, standard DVD and widescreen DVD
Both DVDs includes Audio commentary by real-life coaches "Herman Boone" and
"Bill Yoast"; Audio commentary by director Boaz Yakin, producer Jerry
Bruckheimer and writer Gregory Allen Howard; Featurette: Denzel Becomes Boone; Featurette:
Beating the Odds; Six additional scenes not seen in theaters; Special:
Remember the Titans: An Inspirational Journey Behind the Scenes
• • •
Toon Talk Trivia
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is better known for his loud action flicks then for a
character-driven period piece. For the Disney company, Bruckheimer has produced such hits
as The Rock, Con Air, Armageddon and Crimson Tide, the latter
which also starred Denzel Washington. His next project is the big summer movie event Pearl
Harbor, due this Memorial Day weekend.
Hayden Pannettiere, who plays Sheryl Yoast in Remember the Titans, is well know to Disney fans for supplying the voice of such spunky characters as Princess Dot in A Bug's Life and Suri in Dinosaur.
Related Links
- Purchase from Amazon.com: VHS • DVD • Widescreen DVD • Soundtrack
- Official site from Disney.com
- Remember
the Titans on IMDB
Includes full cast and other film details
-- Kirby C. Holt
Took Talk: Disney Film & Video Reviews by Kirby C. Holt is posted whenever there's something new to review.
The opinions expressed by our Kirby C. Holt, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future plans of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted March 21, 2001