When the downtrodden owner of the Chicago Cubs arranges for one of his players to steal Babe Ruth’s prized bat Darlin’, it is up to ten-year-old Yankee Irving to save the day. With the aid of a talking baseball named Screwie, the pint-sized kid (who can’t hit the broadside of a barn when playing the game himself) falls into an adventure taking him from his inner-city New York home to the windy confines of Chicago. Following his every step, a cantankerous motor-mouth left-handed pitcher for the Cubbies named Lefty Maginnis doing all he can to make sure Yankee doesn’t return Darlin’ to the Babe.

So the new film “Everyone’s Hero” is a computer animated family film where the main character is a squeaky-voiced child and his two main costars are a depressed baseball and a Southern prima donna baseball bat. That’s pretty much all you need to know about this one. If you’re young enough that this sounds wondrous than, without a doubt, you’re going to love this. If, however, you’re over the age of about ten and not in the need of a nap let me please kindly suggest you find your entertainment elsewhere. This one isn’t going to be your cup of tea.

Please don’t take that to mean I did not like this movie. Much like “Curious George” from earlier this year, this one is about as perfect for young impressionable children as is probably possible. The animation is wonderful (if not groundbreaking), the vocal work by Jake T. Austin (Yankee), Rob Reiner (Screwie), Whoopi Goldberg (Darlin’), William H. Macy (Lefty) and Brian Dennehy (Babe) is solid (if unspectacular) and the morals at the center of it all are certainly laudable (if unsurprising). There’s not really a darn thing bad I can say about it, and if you’re tired of sitting at home watching PBS with the kids taking them on an outing to this probably isn’t going to kill you.

Maybe a part of me feels like I have to be nice. The original director of this inspirational childhood fable was none other than the Man of Steel himself, Christopher Reeve, his late wife Dana helping him out as both an executive producer and as the voice of Yankee’s mother Emily. It goes without saying these two were taken away from us far too soon, and considering the heart of this story concerns a person who refuses to give up, give in or stop swinging at life’s curveballs it is no wonder both of them were drawn to “Everyone’s Hero” so passionately.

Safe to say, I’m probably letting my emotional affections for the Reeves get the better of me on this one. Good family movies should play well to any audience no matter what their age. This one does not do that. It’s too simplistic, too juvenile, too familiar to succeed with anyone who has gone beyond Elementary School. Sure there are moments of interest (love the Cubs manager, especially when he’s gleefully destroying the Babe Ruth bobbleheads), there are just not enough of them to make this adventure universally entertaining for everyone.

But I can’t get mad at “Everyone’s Hero” no matter how hard I try. If I had small children this is certainly one movie I wouldn’t mind them watching a time or two. It’s got heart, it’s got soul and, even better, it doesn’t have a cynical bone (unlike me) in its entire body. It treats its pre-teen audience with affection and intelligence, talking to them and not down to them like most children’s films do.

Once upon a time, Christopher Reeve helped us all believe a man could fly. Almost 30 years later and from beyond the grave he now sets his sights on helping children understand it is okay for them to both believe in and strive for their dreams. Who am I to sit here and take issue with sentiments as wonderful as that?