(c) Disney

Instead, the storyline consists of the predictable parade of try-outs, training and team tribulations, populated by a handsome host of young actors (including Felicity’s Eddie Cahill, Bring It On’s Nathan West and newcomers Patrick O’Brien Dempsey and Michael Mantenuto - not a tooth missing in the whole bunch) who aren’t quite clichéd, just uniformly bestowed with slight variations of the same driven “I just wanna play some hockey�? personalities.  The over-qualified Patricia Clarkson (just - finally! - Oscar nominated for Pieces of April) adds her usual zesty spark to the otherwise thankless role of the “coach’s wife�?, co-starring in the proverbial ‘neglecting his family’ sub-plot.

Economically directed by Gavin O’Connor (with a typically bombastic score, heavy on the anthems, by Mark Isham), Miracle had several audience members at the screening I attended cheering along as if they were sitting in the stands watching the actual game as it happened (culminating in thunderous applause at the inevitable conclusion, of course), so there’s no denying the film’s ability to bring-out the latent flag-waver in all of us, least of all in the times we live in now.

For some viewers, after watching this film, it would be easy to answer in the affirmative sportscaster Al Michaels’ breathlessly query from twenty-four years ago in Lake Placid: “do you believe in miracles?�? But for those wearied by the prospect of yet another by-the-numbers sports flick, its difficult to muster much belief for this Miracle.

Coming Soon in Toon Talk:

• Timon and Pumbaa tell “their side of the story�? in The Lion King 1 ½, available February 10 in a two-disc DVD Special Edition.
• Disney fave Lindsay Lohan stars in the new comedy Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, premiering February 20^th.
• Viggo Mortensen and Omar Sharif star in the new epic adventure Hidalgo, opening March 5^th.

And Coming Soon from Buena Vista Home Video:

• James Coburn (Monsters, Inc.) stars in the intriguing drama American Gun (available February 17^th) as a grieving father who tracks down his daughter’s killer by tracing the murder weapon cross-country.
• March 2^nd sees the DVD release of several more catalog titles, including The Miracle of the White Stallions, The Gnome-Mobile, Night Crossing, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and Miracle at Midnight. Also available that day will be the DVD debut of Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and the general release of Walt: The Man Behind the Myth.
• The latest DVD from the Hundred Acre Wood, Winnie the Pooh: Springtime for Roo, goes on sale March 9^th.