I had not heard of/seen The World's Greatest Athlete, before watching the film recently. I thought the movie was hilarious and was significantly better than most Disney live action movies from the era. I was disappointed to see so many bad reviews by viewers. I think the combination of John Amos and Tim Conway, was fantastic and provided a lot of humor you don't typically find in the 60s/70s Disney films. I am surprised that I had never heard of the film before this..I was missing out! I recommend the film for anyone looking for a funny sports movie.
Shout by r96skBlockedParent2020-08-08T22:32:34Z
Bang average.
'The World’s Greatest Athlete' feels like a mixture of stuff we've seen before in this era of Disney. It doesn't do enough to make an impact on me, not helped by silliness of the story and meh casting.
John Amos is the best part of this, I enjoyed what he brings to the table here. Away from him I'm struggling to remember any others already, Roscoe Lee Browne - who is in one of my favourite films, 'Treasure Planet' - is alright but I found his character boring.
I think there's actually potential there with the overall premise, but as usual with this studio's early decades they choose to make it dumb and silly rather than meaningful - it would take a load of tweaking, but I reckon this would make a better coming-of-age/underdog story with a more proper tone. That would make it a completely different film, admittedly.
Lastly, the score is surprisingly solid while the end scene is its most amusing moment. Those two things and Amos aside, this is a bland one.