Soccer Movie – The Big Green

The Big Green is a cute, wholesome Disney treatment of ragtag underdogs playing soccer. It’s rated PG and if you ever saw a Disney sports movie you already know the ending.

The movie came out in 1994 and starred Steve Guttenberg and Olivia d’Abo, as well as Chauncey Leopardi and Patrick Renna, who were both in the Sandlot the year before as Squints and Ham.

The Big Green was shot in and around Austin in the fall of 1994 and it offers up some nostalgia with the views of downtown in scenes filmed in Zilker Park.

I was reading on IMDb that most of the child actors and actresses didn’t know how to play soccer, and that is pretty clear in the movie, but to me, it doesn’t really matter, because it’s a silly soccer edition of the Bad News Bears or Mighty Ducks.

Another Austin connection for The Big Green was that actresses Libby Villari and Louanne Stephens appeared in the movie and in Friday Night Lights.

Plus, there is a gem on the soundtrack called Kickin’ Balls that was written and performed by Alexi Lalas.

You can get a DVD or stream The Big Green on Amazon.