Little Giants is a comedy sports movie that came out in the 1990’s starring Rick Moranis and Ed O’Neill, as Danny and Kevin O’Shea respectively. It is the story of two brothers in the midst of reliving their sibling rivalry in adulthood. There is an underlying message for girls in Little Giants. To some extent it is a coming of age movie for them.

At the point when young girls are reaching their teenage years many come face to face with the same dilemmas that Becky “Icebox” O’Shea does. Played by Shawna Waldron, Becky O’Shea is a motherless 10 year old. Raised by her abandoned father, she loves sports and is living in the moment, but her world is about to change.

After trying out for her Uncle’s Peewee football team she is not selected. Uncle Kevin explains to his brother she is a girl and suggests to his brother Danny that she should be doing other things. A disappointed Becky, and a handful of other players not selected for the team represent the classic rejected group of kids.

Beaten but not down, Becky and her friends work together to find a solution, making her father the coach of a second team without his knowledge. Danny faces his demons of being left in his all-star football playing brother’s shadow all the time. He rises to the occasion of being hoodwinked by Becky and gang to stand up to his brother’s confrontation and they wager a playoff as to which team will represent Urbania, Ohio in the Peewee football league.

What starts off as an obsession with Becky quickly turns into self-doubt. While finding additional players for the team, Becky meets a boy she likes. In the middle of all her struggles she is influenced by her Uncle Kevin who suggests the boy would like her better as a cheerleader than as a teammate.

This speaks to the influence that men have on our daughters. Fathers and other respected family members, influence young girls in many aspects of their decision making. Little Giants highlights this as Becky does a 360 and leaves the team to cheer.

We all know what will happen, the Little Giants need Becky and it is a given that she will help the Little Giants in a time of need. However in real life we have to watch for these clues of self-doubt in our daughters. Will they stay true to themselves or will they lose themselves in their desire to please others?

Little Giants is a great family comedy and for young ladies this is a story we hope they will take to heart.