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Beliefnet's 10 best underdog films. These are movies that root for the underdog. For the full article go to: http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Movies/2009/05/Top-10-Movie-Underdogs.aspx

Beliefnet's Top 10 Underdogs Movies

Top 10 Films and Movies List Page: The Best in Top Tens About Films


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October Sky

October Sky is a 1999 American biographical film directed by Joe Johnston, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper and Laura Dern. It is based on the true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957 to take up rocketry against his father's wishes, and who eventually became a NASA engineer. Most of the film was shot in rural East Tennessee, including Oliver Springs, Harriman and Kingston in Morgan and Roane counties. The movie mostly received a positive critical reception and is still celebrated in the regions of its setting and filming.

Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic romantic-comedy-drama film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, and Sally Field. The story depicts several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, a slow-witted and naïve, but good-hearted and athletically prodigious, man from Alabama who witnesses, and in some cases influences, some of the defining events of the latter half of the 20th century in the United States; more specifically, the period between Forrest's birth in 1944 and 1982. The film differs substantially from Winston Groom's novel on which it was based, including Gump's personality and several events that were depicted.
Principal photography took place in late 1993, mainly in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Extensive visual effects were used to incorporate the protagonist into archived footage and to develop other scenes. A comprehensive soundtrack was featured in the film, using music intended to pinpoint specific time periods portrayed on screen.

Billy Elliot

Billy Elliot is a 2000 British dance drama film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Set in north-eastern England during the 1984-85 coal miners' strike, it stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, an aspiring dancer dealing with the negative stereotype of the male ballet dancer, Gary Lewis as his coal miner father, Jamie Draven as Billy's older brother, and Julie Walters as his ballet teacher.
In 2001, author Melvin Burgess was commissioned to write the novelisation of the film based on Lee Hall's screenplay. The story was adapted for the West End stage as Billy Elliot the Musical in 2005; it opened in Australia in 2007 and on Broadway in 2008.

The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid is a 1984 American martial arts romantic drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, starring Ralph Macchio, who was 22 years old during principal photography, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita and Elisabeth Shue. It is an underdog story in the mold of a previous success, Avildsen's 1976 film Rocky. It was a commercial success upon release, and garnered favorable critical acclaim, earning Morita an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Seabiscuit

Seabiscuit is a 2003 American biographical sports psychological-drama thriller film based on the best-selling non-fiction book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. The film is loosely based on the life and racing career of Seabiscuit, an undersized and overlooked thoroughbred race horse, whose unexpected successes made him a hugely popular media sensation in the United States during the Great Depression.

Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall. A down-on-her-luck Hollywood working girl (Julia Roberts) is hired by a wealthy businessman (Richard Gere) to be his escort for several business and social functions, but over the course of their week together, they start developing a relationship.

Rudy

Rudy is a 1993 American sports film directed by David Anspaugh. It is an account of the life of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who harbored dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame despite significant obstacles. It was the first movie that the Notre Dame administration allowed to be shot on campus since Knute Rockne, All American in 1940.
In 2005, Rudy was named one of the best 25 sports movies of the previous 25 years in two polls by ESPN. It was ranked the 54th-most inspiring film of all time in the "AFI 100 Years" series.
The film was released on October 13, 1993, by TriStar Pictures. It stars Sean Astin as the title character, along with Ned Beatty, Jason Miller and Charles S. Dutton. The script was written by Angelo Pizzo, who created Hoosiers, which was also directed by Anspaugh. The film was shot in Illinois and Indiana.

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Babe

Babe is a 1995 comedy-drama film, co-written and directed by Chris Noonan. It is an adaptation of Dick King-Smith's 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, also known as Babe: The Gallant Pig in the USA, which tells the story of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog. The main animal characters are played by a combination of real and animatronic pigs and Border Collies.
After seven years of development, Babe was filmed in Robertson, New South Wales, Australia. The talking-animal visual effects were done by Rhythm & Hues Studios and Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
The film was a box office success and grossed $36,776,544 at the box office in Australia. It has received considerable acclaim from critics: it was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, winning Best Visual Effects. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film.
In 1998, Babe producer and co-writer George Miller directed a sequel, Babe: Pig in the City.

The Rookie

The Rookie is a 2002 sports drama film directed by John Lee Hancock and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the true story of Jim Morris, who had a brief, but famous Major League Baseball career in 1999-2000. The film stars Dennis Quaid, Rachel Griffiths, Jay Hernandez, and Brian Cox.

Rocky

Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen. A small-time boxer (Sylvester Stallone) gets a supremely rare chance to fight a heavy-weight champion (Carl Weathers) in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.

Beliefnet's 10 best underdog films. These are movies that root for the underdog. For the full article go to: ...

Good Stuff

<p>Perhaps because we humans lost our tails long ago, many people find the tails of other animals to be fascinating. How much joy do you get when your dog&#39;s big, animated tail gets to wagging when they see you? That fascination extends to some animals around the world whose tails are unusually long, strong, prehensile, or just plain weird. Throughout the animal kingdom, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/story-of-winter-the-dolphin-and-her-prosthetic-tail/anna-lindwasser" target="_blank">most animals have a tail</a> of one sort or another, but the animals with the longest tails are some of the most magnificent.</p>

<p>Even if their tail no longer serves a purpose, some animals have evolved to display the biggest extravagant tails the likes of which humans can only look upon with envy. Long tails can be found from the smallest mammal to the largest reptiles, but not all are as long as you might think. For this list, an animal&#39;s tail needs to either break records or have a ratio longer than their body-length to the point it is obvious and strange.</p>
