Angels in the Outfield – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Angels in the Outfield

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie1994

55%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

A foster kid prays for angels to help his terrible baseball team—and Disney delivers exactly the syrupy '90s magic you'd expect.

31%

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Angels in the Outfield

movie

PG, 1994

55%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

A foster kid prays for angels to help his terrible baseball team—and Disney delivers exactly the syrupy '90s magic you'd expect.

31%

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Screenwise Verdict

Look, this is pure 1994 Disney formula: well-meaning, safe, and utterly predictable. The 31% critic score tells you what you need to know—it's saccharine even by family film standards.

That said, if you have a 6-8 year old who loves baseball and can handle some tender moments about foster care and absent parents, there's genuine heart here. Danny Glover is great, and the central message about faith and hope is solid.

The problem? It's just really hard to watch in 2025. The pacing is slow, the earnestness feels heavy-handed, and kids raised on modern storytelling will likely zone out. Even the 50% audience score on RT suggests half of families thought 'meh.'

It's not bad, it's just... dated. If you're nostalgic for it, great. But don't expect your kids to share that nostalgia unless they're particularly patient or really into baseball.

Age Fit

Best for ages 6-10 who can handle some emotional themes about family and abandonment. The '90s Disney earnestness and slower pacing make it tough for tweens and teens to sit through, and honestly, even younger kids raised on Pixar might find it dated and dull.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

Classic Disney family film centered on faith, hope, and family themes. Foster child protagonist dealing with abandonment is handled sensitively. Models kindness, teamwork, and believing in something bigger than yourself. Some emotional heaviness around foster care and absent parents, but ultimately uplifting.

Imaginative

Premise of literal angels helping a baseball team is creative and whimsical. However, execution is fairly straightforward Disney formula from the '90s without much depth or surprising storytelling. Doesn't really invite active imagination or creative thinking beyond the central fantasy concept.

Safe

Common Sense Media rates it for age 6+. Standard family-friendly Disney fare with no violence, gore, sexual content, or language concerns. Some emotional content around foster care, abandonment, and a child's longing for family could be tender for sensitive kids but nothing shocking or inappropriate. No surprise scares or traumatic scenes.

Enriching

Touches on meaningful themes of faith, hope, perseverance, and found family. However, the execution is quite surface-level and sentimental without much depth. The baseball backdrop offers some sports appreciation but limited real learning. More feel-good entertainment than genuinely enriching content.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Genuinely sweet themes about faith, hope, and found family that land well for younger elementary kids
Danny Glover and a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt bring heart to what could be pure cheese
Clean, safe family viewing with zero content concerns—you can put this on without worry
Baseball backdrop might hook sports-loving kids into a story with emotional depth

⚠

What to Watch For

Foster care storyline involves abandonment and a child's deep longing for family—could hit hard for kids with similar experiences
Peak '90s earnestness and sentimentality that modern kids often find cringey or boring
Critics panned it (31% on RT) for good reason—it's formulaic and overly saccharine even by Disney standards
Runtime drags for kids used to faster-paced modern storytelling

Conversation Starters

"Roger's dad makes a promise he can't keep—have you ever had someone break a promise to you? How did that feel?"
"What would you pray for if you could ask for help with something impossible?"
"The movie shows foster families—what do you think makes a family a family?"
"Do you think believing in something, even if you can't see it, can change what happens?"

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