History Film / LittleGiants

* ActorAllusion: More like [[InvertedTrope Actor Disillusion]]. Kevin is the polar opposite of [[JadedWashout Al Bundy]] -- an accomplished pro-football star, a hot wife with adoring kids, loved by everyone in town, and now running a successful car dealership.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Besides the [[MarriedWithChildren main]] [[Film/HoneyIShrunkTheKids stars]], John Madden makes an appearance in the movie (And the announcer is Harry Shearer from TheSimpsons).

* TheRedStapler:
** The game-winning play at the end of the movie inspired Michigan State Spartans coach Mark Dantonio to make a similar one, faking a field goal for a touchdown in their September 18, 2010 matchup against Notre Dame, bringing them a 31-34 victory rather than a 31-31 score that would have brought the game into a second overtime. After the game, Dantonio said, "By the way, the name of that play is '[[ShoutOut Little Giants]]'." It happened again on December 18th, 2011, when the Carolina Panthers called the play and fullback Richie Brockel scored on a seven-yard run. The Panthers won 28-13.
** A few years after this movie, the real-life New York Giants (whom the Little Giants were named after) introduced a solid-red alternate jersey similar to the ones their pee-wee namesakes wore.

* ThirdPersonPerson: Spike Hammersmith.

* AllGuysWantCheerleaders: Kevin [[ExploitedTrope exploits this]] to convince Becky to become one instead of a player in order to attract his attention.

Becky O'Shea (Shawna Waldron) wants to try out for the local pee-wee football team, the Cowboys, and goes through a tryout under coach Kevin O'Shea, her uncle (O'Neill). Unfortunately, she is overlooked for being a girl and proceeds to form her own football team with the other players not deemed good enough to make the Pee Wee Cowboys team. They manage to get Danny O'Shea (Moranis) as their head coach, name themselves "The Little Giants", and inevitably go up against the Cowboys in a game to decide which team gets to stay as the town's correspondent in the Pee Wee League as two teams can't play from the same town.

American sports film released in October of 1994 starting Rick Moranis and Ed O'Neil.

* OpposingSportsTeam: The Cowboys are the "soulless regimen" types, and take the sport way too seriously but only Spike is really evil.

* OneOfTheBoys - Becky "The Icebox" O'Shea is the only girl at the tryouts. She later laments this status when she thinks it

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: If not for Spike hitting Junior, Becky wouldn't have returned to the Giants. He ''taunted'' her afterwards.

'''Junior''': ''You're cool. You're the Icebox. You're the only person I've met that can beat up my dad.''

* AllGuysWantCheerleaders: Kevin [[ExploitedTrope exploits this]] to get Becky to switch sides.

* BlackAndNerdy: Somewhat subverted as the lone black player on the Little Giants simply can't catch the ball... but he's considered weak because of it.
** He later gets better by imagining the ball as a roll of toilet paper, which he practiced with to help improve his game.

* ChickMagnet: Devon Sawa's character Junior Floyd to the point that Becky becomes a cheerleader, thinking he'll notice her more.
* DavidVersusGoliath: Especially when the Giants are a team of misfits and kids off the street or front porch compared to a Cowboys team that was handpicked by Kevin O'Shea.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: After the Giants beat the Cowboys, Danny makes the offer to Kevin to have the two teams merge into one.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Inverted. While Kevin O'Shea certainly isn't evil, we do see that even though he wants to win the big game, he wants to do so fair and square, calling out Spike's father on his actions.

* FanOfUnderdog: Patty liked Danny despite being the least athletic (to the point of not even being picked to play) of the boys playing football in the opening childhood scene. Those feelings did not disappear in the present time.

* FriendlyEnemy: Invoked here, as Danny O'Shea and Kevin O'Shea are brothers but they remain friendly to each other despite making a bet on the big game.
** Despite his hard views on winning and losing Kevin [[EvenEvilHasStandards has standards]] in playing, such as his reaction to foul play mentioned below, and he genuinely does love his niece even when she's playing for the opposing team.

* HometownHero: How Kevin O'Shea is treated for his success as the head coach of the Pee Wee Cowboys team due to past college achievements as a player.

* JerkJock: Pretty much all of the players on the Cowboys team.
* LogicalFallacies: Score is tied up 21-21, Cowboys have the ball 4th-and-goal from the one-yard-line with 10 seconds left. Yet Kevin doesn't opt to just kick a field goal and goes instead for a failed running-back draw. In an additional nitpick, the fact ''he'' calls the timeout instead of Danny after the turnover on downs with 4 seconds left doesn't help the logic displayed here.

* NiceGuy: Danny O'Shea.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: If not for Spike hitting Junior, Becky wouldn't have returned to the Giants. Not to mention he taunted her afterwards passing by provoking it even more.
* OhCrap: When Becky's love interest, Junior Floyd, is injured by a underhanded hit from Spike. She drops her pom poms, dons a uniform and joins in to replace him.

* OneOfTheBoys - Becky "The Icebox" O'Shea.
* OpposingSportsTeam: The Cowboys are the "soulless regimen" types, and take the sport way too seriously. Only Spike is really evil, though.
* OrderedToCheat / UnnecessaryRoughness: Spike's dad tells his son to take Junior out. He does after the whistle, only getting a 15 yard penalty for it (and no ejection). Kevin O'Shea [[EvenEvilHasStandards severely dresses down Spike's dad]] afterwards. Kevin points out to Spike's dad as soon as Becky walks on the field that [[OhCrap she's pissed]] because of that.
* PluckyGirl: Becky O'Shea gets rejected by her uncle and even quits to try and be a cheerleader at one point but ends up helping win the big game anyway.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Well, of course.
* TheRedStapler: The game-winning play at the end of the movie inspired Michigan State Spartans coach Mark Dantonio to make a similar one, faking a field goal for a touchdown in their September 18, 2010 matchup against Notre Dame, bringing them a 31-34 victory rather than a 31-31 score that would have brought the game into a second overtime. After the game, Dantonio said, "By the way, the name of that play is '[[ShoutOut Little Giants]]'."
** And it happened again on December 18th, 2011, when the Carolina Panthers called the play and fullback Richie Brockel scored on a seven-yard run. The Panthers won 28-13.

* SecondPlaceIsForLosers: The attitude of Kevin O'Shea and he still carries that feeling when the Cowboys lose to the Giants.
* SicklyNeuroticGeek: Jake, who is not helped by his [[MyBelovedSmother overprotective mother]]. At least he plays, unlike Nubie, the more standard geek. Both geeks have a role in the final play of the game, though: Nubie draws it up (With John Madden's help) and Jake [[spoiler:scores the touchdown off of it]].
* SmoochOfVictory: Patty gives one to Danny after the game ends after Danny finally got the courage to ask her out to dinner.

* TeamSpirit: At one point, most of the team quits but gets a pep talk from pro players and decide to continue playing through teamwork.

* {{Tomboy}}: Becky "Ice Box" O'Shea is considered one.
* TurnCoat: Spike Hammersmith when he leaves the Little Giants and plays for the Cowboys after initially joining the Giants because Danny fibbed and said he was Kevin. Considering how he was tricked into joining the Little Giants in the first place, can anyone really hold it against Spike?
* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: It took awhile for Patty seeing how Danny, and herself, ended up in prior relationships to the point of each having a child. Eventually both relationships evaporated, and Patty got her chance to rekindle their childhood sparks when Danny shows up at her doorstep to recruit her son, Junior, for his football team. The [[SmoochOfVictory victory kiss]] after the game pretty much sealed the deal.
* UnderdogsNeverLose: What were the chances of the "little giants" actually losing, even after being down 21-0 at half-time?

* YouGoGirl: The entire reason ''why'' Danny decided to field his own team was because Becky didn't make his brother's team for the sole reason that she was a girl.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: If not for Spike hitting Junior, Becky wouldn't have returned to the Giants.

* UnderdogsNeverLose

* OneoftheBoys - Becky "The Icebox" O'Shea.

* GroinAttack: During the game, the team's punter runs up for the kick off, but misses and kicks the squatting spiker in the crotch.