User reviews

Those looking for an entertaining movie will find that in "12 Mighty Orphans", but only if you accept the liberties taken with the timeline. The movie portrays Rusty Russell arriving at the Masonic Home in 1938, putting together a football team and leading to an apperance in the state championship that season. In reality Coach Russell arrived at the Masonic Home in 1926. He built the program into a quality outfit that reached the state championship game against Corsicana in 1932. That game ended in a scoreless draw with the state title awarded to Corsicana in the tie breaking system of penetrations inside the opponents 20 yard line. My guess is producers opted to take liberties with the timeline in order to insert President Franklin Delano Roosevelt into the story. In reality Coach Russell and his Mighty Mites made their only state championship apperance before FDR took over the White House. The movie is well worth watching. Stay seated to read the closing credits that complete the story. Then go back and research the rest of the story about the Masonic Home and the extraordinary circumstances of those young men and women who called the place their home.

This is one of those movies that you can tell what you are getting by the poster and the tittle.

Some orphaned young men in the 1930's are waiting to come of age.

They have little prospects, no family and are too old to realistically be adopted.

In a time of high morals and little else the boys have a bleak future.

Until Rusty Russell and his wife turn up and see if they can give them a future through American football.

This has great performances, is well produced and has all the heart warming elements you would expect from a story of this type.

An excellent Sunday afternoon watch - hang around for the real life bio's at the credits.

12 Mighty Orphans is inspired by true events. I don't know if it was accurate or not but the movie is certainly entertaining and enjoyable to watch. You don't necessarily have to be a football (American Football that is) fan to appreciate this movie, although it helps. The cast was well chosen, they all did a good job playing their characters. It's an inspiring story that will touch a fair part of the audience. Not a bad movie on this subject.

This is a mostly true, historically based story. Ft Worth Texas, late 1930s, families still suffering from the Great Depression, some were orphaned because of that. A new teacher and coach shows up, former athlete and WW1 hero, decides that playing high school football will help the boys cope with their somewhat hopeless situations. It seems that none of them knew how to play.

Some details were changed for dramatic effect but the movie is mostly accurate. Several of the boys went on to college and even pro football careers. Luke Wilson, himself a Texan, is good as the coach.

My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library. We found it worthwhile.

"12 Mighty Orphans" is one heartfelt feel good stand up and cheer like film as it looks at the life and times of a dozen Orphans in Texas during the 1930's and the great depression era. Set near Forth Wort, Texas an academy and school for the poor and forgotten has opened up and coming in is the start of a football team. Rusty Russell(Luke Wilson) and his teacher wife have came with open arms as he's a coach with a winning resume, and he gets the praise from the school's doctor Doc Hall(the good veteran Martin Sheen). Along the way as the boys enter no matter how troubled or different they bond and learn plenty about life, love, sharing, teamwork, and commitment. Though tough and rocky at first these boys learn the basic fundamentals of blocking and tackling and after some and a few loses the speed and hard work starts to pay off and wins start to follow one by one all the way up to the Texas state championship game! Well done film of how faith and hard work and determination can change life, really a fine film to few with friends or family as when watching all will feel the values of bonding and working together.

The story in "12 Mighty Orphans" is true....or at least mostly true. But like so many other films based on true stories, huge liberties were taken here and there to make the story more cinematic. So, while it is true that the orphans' home did field a team with only 12 players and they EVENTUALLY were champion calliber, much of the timeline has been condensed and things 'adjusted' (Franklin Roosevelt never had any involvement in the story and there was no evil rival coach).

If you look past the changes as well as a couple cliches typical of sports films, the story still is inspirational and fascinating. I just wish films presented exactly what happened...warts and all. But despite this, the film still makes a nice family inspirational picture.

Good old time football movie and the basis of the story is true - however it shows Coach Russell coming to the orphanage in 1938 when in reality he had been there a decade already by that time.

A lot of liberties had been taken with the story and as one person put it, to include Roosevelt in the story (which of course didn't happen in real life).

If you stay to the end and see how many of the players went on to play football in college and the pros, you wonder how it's even possible - but in reality it's because the football program had already been going for years by the time those particular players were in the program.

Still, an entertaining movie - if you can overlook the cliched villain whose predictable outcome you can see ten minutes into the movie (why would someone whose making money off the team not want them there? Makes zero sense).

I was watching and realized all these young men were the perfect age for WWII and wondered how many were killed in action and according to the end credits, none, so that's great.

Solid movie.

Y'all can give this movie all the ho hum reviews and average ratings you want too. But when you can take two teenage boys (13 & 16) and watch them both smile and cry throughout a movie (along with there Dad), that's a 10 in my book.

Nope they weren't crazy about the trailer. But not only was today Fathers Day, they weren't about to turn down theater popcorn and icees, so they went anyway. They got a lot more than what they expected. Because this film was something we ALL really enjoyed.

It's just so nice to get a movie where men are men, boys are boys, women are women, and girls are girls that I'm willing to forgive the somewhat shmaltzy plot, humor, etc.

This movie tries hard, quite often succeeds, and sometimes misses by small margins. I did find myself at times feeling a scene was forced or over the top, but only rarely.

All in all, a nice little feel-good movie that doesn't try to preach at you, doesn't take itself to seriously. And just lets you have a good time.

Some cameo gems by a number of veteran actors give the movie a nice feel. All the acting is top-notch and the background and production are very good. A shout out to the scout for locations. Darn near perfect.

My orphan wife and I found "12" very satisfying and highly emotional, given we are both orphans. (I spent 9 years at the Tarrant County Children's Home, cross town rivals of the Masonics in '58 when we beat them for the industrial league state basketball championship. Two of the "12 Mighty Mites", Charles Sealey and Jack Whitley, became my football coaches at Poly High in '61. Whitley flew a B-25 in WWII and Sealey was a paratrooper. Whitley also became superintendent of the Tarrant County Children's Home prior to my time there. My mother--Poly class of '38--likely attended the games with Poly depicted in the film.) This film has some great acting and a good script, although it seems a bit fast paced. I didn't want it to end.

Friday Night Lights was the ultimate in the Texas high school football drama genre, so author Jim Dent and the film team had a high bar to jump over. The Fort Worth Masonic Home teams of the Depression years provided just the right material. All Dent had to do was get it down on paper. Hollywood did the rest.

"12" is about a team overcoming amazing obstacles in the quest for the championship, a story we've heard a thousand times. But not about a team of orphans. It's characters that make a story interesting, and the film (and the book) excel when the focus is on these downtrodden cast-offs. But bits and pieces were left out that would have made them more real and compelling.

You can learn a lot about people sitting across from them over a meal. Someone cooked 3 meals a day,7 days a week, for the 150 orphans and staff at the Masonic Home, yet we never see them even in the dining room. Teenage boys talk a lot about girls, yet the subject rarely came up. In an orphanage everyone has daily and weekly chores, but the subject of chores goes unaddressed. Is this an orphanage or a boarding school?

What about families? Orphanages have visitation, yet the subject of family visitation was AWOL except in one powerful scene when a mean mother shows up unannounced to claim her now popular son 10 years after dumping him. It would have been more realistic to show the mother struggling to recognize her son, whose appearance would have changed dramatically during those 10 years.

The film's two 2 dimensional villains were caricatures--the larcenous, paddle-happy administrator and the cruel Poly High football coach. This storytelling faux pas nearly destroyed the film's credibility.

The film will be a major success for two reasons: a) it's a great Depression-era story of hope and triumph over adversity and b) it cracks open a new storytelling franchise--orphan life in America. If the film makes a lot of money it will pave the way for more realistic stories about the American orphan. For this reason alone, I take off my hat to Jim Dent, who had the courage to take on the challenge and then convince Hollywood to make it into a film far better than his thoroughly entertaining book. Dent has inspired me to finish my memoirs about living in the children's home, COUNTY KID and THE ADOPTIMIST.

Jim Dent, for profit or whatever reason, has single-handedly made America finally face the fact that this country has orphanages.

Its a nice movie, true story always bring something right? But 12 Mighty Orphans doesn't really give us somethings more that good true story.

It start with some good tickle lines, good writing i guess. But that only escort the story to the main point, not until the end. Decision that i think can make this movie more special. Overall, good and warm movie.

Greetings again from the darkness. Ty Roberts is a native Texan and Austin-based director committed to bringing Texas tales to the big screen. His previous film was THE IRON ORCHARD (2018) on wildcatting, and this time he tackles the 2007 Jim Dent novel, "Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites who Ruled Texas Football". The film is inspired by the true events of a legendary Texas coach and his development of a football program at an orphanage, the Masonic Home and School in Fort Worth. Set in 1938 as the nation is still rebounding from the Great Depression and the area has earned the label, "the Dust Bowl", the film opens at halftime of the state championship game, as the Mighty Mites limp into the locker room, battered from the first half.

The film immediately flashes back to 6 months earlier as Rusty Russell (Luke Wilson) and his wife Juanita (Vinessa Shaw) arrive at the orphanage. Both are teachers and Rusty is also tasked with starting a football program from scratch. "Scratch" may be too nice of description, as the home has no field and none of the boys have ever played the sport. If that's not enough challenge, there is also Frank Wynn (Wayne Knight), the abusive director of the orphanage who undermines Rusty at every turn and uses his wooden paddle as a demented form of discipline. This was a different era, and it's heartbreaking to see how orphans were treated not just as castaways from society, but also as free labor so Wynn could personally profit.

Rusty Russell's commitment is a key to the story, and although he suffers from post-war PTSD (with flashbacks), he brings structure and humanity and teamwork to a group of boys who had none. We learn that Rusty was also an orphan, and this helps us understand why this mission was so important to him and Juanita. Martin Sheen appears to be having fun co-starring as Doc Hall, an alcoholic who not only serves as Rusty's assistant, but who also served the home for 30 years without ever taking a paycheck. It's Doc Hall who was responsible for luring Rusty to the home, and he's very supportive of building the program for the boys.

The sports movie clichés are numerous, but this is the kind of story and movie that we desperately want to like - an inspirational story with clearly defined good people and villains. Boys stigmatized by society goes beyond the underdogs against-all-odds. Although they had some success on the field, the real message here is self-respect and education for those who felt superior. Co-writer Lane Garrison plays the arrogant coach of the powerhouse Polytechnic, and though the performance is a bit of a caricature, his attitude speaks volumes about the mentality of the times. Oscar winner Robert Duvall (now 90 years old) makes a brief appearance as a Freemason, who was also an orphan.

Historical significance resonates here as "Fort Worth Star-Telegram" publisher (and early Fort Worth mover and shaker) Amon Carter (played here by Treat Williams) was so enamored with the "Mighty Mites" that he got President Franklin Roosevelt to intercede on behalf of the boys when controversy struck. The Masonic home closed in 2005, but its impact remains today. One of the featured players on the team was Hardy Brown (Jake Austin Walker) who went on to serve in the Marines, and later play professional football. Rusty Russell went on to coach at SMU, and became a legend thanks to his creation of the "spread offense".

The film was co-written by director Ty Roberts, Lane Garrison, and Kevin Meyer, and the script takes some liberties with history and the source material from author Jim Dent. Mr. Dent also wrote the 1999 book "The Junction Boys", and spent many years as a sportswriter covering the Dallas Cowboys. On a personal level, he faced serious consequences from his run-in with the law over his many DWI convictions, and remains incarcerated today. The post-credit sequence features actual photographs and a real life update of each of the players and the key people involved. Sure, some of the acting is a bit stilted, the dialogue often unnatural, and the football sequence heavily edited, but we do find the story uplifting at a time when such stories are quite welcome.

The film opens in Texas on June 11, 2021 and then on June 18 nationwide.

A typical underdog tale. Could have been much better but writing and directing let it down. A very watchable movie and not bad overall.

Solid story of hope and worth that comes out of an orphanage in Fort Worth. Coach Russell (Luke Wilson) takes a bunch of loners during the great depression and bonds them over football. Aside from a little trash talk, a decent family flick.

Though this is based on actual events it's really just another remake minus the laughs.

Luke Wilson is quite effective here as a football coach (Rusty) who, with his teacher wife (Juanita) and his daughter arrive at a run down orphanage, home to 150 children of all ages abandoned by their parents in the midst of the Great Depression. Pretty quickly, they get the general idea that those in the establishment are considered more like the inmates of a prison, and those running it are at best indifferent, at worst ruthlessly exploitative of their charges. Rusty sets out to try and galvanise the disparate young men into some sort of cohesive unit. Initially, they are sullen, demotivated and would rather fight each other than try to play a game and the task looks impossible, but luckily he has some help from school doctor "Hall" (Martin Sheen) a worldly dipsomaniac with a thorough knowledge of American football and of human nature. The younger cast are made of relative unknowns, but as with the aspirations for their their team, they bond well - especially Jacob Lofland as the skinny Snoggs; Slade Monroe as the chunky quarterback Wheatie and a there is strong, heartfelt effort from Jake Austin Walker - the sort of recalcitrant-in-chief Hardy Brown. The coach enables the boys to feel something other than despair for the first time in their lives - he gives them hope, a sense of purpose and of family. Wayne Knight - whom i always recall as the dodgy IT bloke from "Jurassic Park" (1993) is really quite good as the odious teacher Frank Wynn, who uses the youngsters as cheap labour - and is brutal with his paddle if anyone steps out of line. Director Ty Roberts has done well to illustrate the sense of abandonment felt by the youngsters, and to a certain extent by the school management too, but more so - he manages, through some sparing appearances from Treat Williams - to share with us the sensational effects these young men had on the ordinary men and women of the USA - desperate for something positive to get behind after years of poverty and gloom. For reasons that make no sense to me, the timeline has been shifted from the mid 1920s until the late 1930s. It's not that it makes a great deal of difference to the narrative it's just curious that the end credits are accompanied by interesting mini-bios of the boys that don't remotely tie up - unless they were flying bombers WWII at a very early age. Still, it is a well structured production which has just enough of the facts to keep it real, but just enough imagination to enable me to feel engaged with the men, their efforts and ultimately, I rather enjoyed it.

Rusty Russell moves his family and takes a job at a home for orphans and learns as much from them of hope, opportunity and family as he ever imagined. Solid family film with plenty of teaching moments.

This story shows the value of grit, perseverance and determination through the experiences of orphans and their inspiring football coach during the depression era. The realities of the era, the lives of the children and the passion and commitment of their coach and community tug at the heart strings. The fact that the characters are based on real people is so inspirational- make sure to stay to the credits! This is just what we all need after this past year! Go Mighty Mites!

12 Mighty Orphans does what any good sports movie should, which is to leave you feeling inspired and uplifted.

Perhaps it rests on the story a little too much and doesn't get too creative with the film making, but it is a very engaging and interesting story so this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Still, I would have liked to have seen a little more exploration of some of the characters as it all felt a little bit surface level.

Speaking of the characters, there's a good collection with sold performances behind each of them. Again I think this film was maybe lacking an outstanding performance which would have really elevated it. Luke Wilson in the sort of lead role was good, but there is nobody who is overly memorable.

I do think the dialogue feels a little corny at times and they lean in to some of the cliches a little too much, but this never gets too bad.

Besides all of this, the film does have a really strong tone and vibe to it and it tells the story really well. You feel really invested in the group of boys and their journey, which is perhaps the most important aspect of the film. A little more creativity and some stronger performances would have set this film apart, but it is a solid movie nonetheless.

This should be the first movie you take your kids to post-pandamic/now. It's inspirational and based on a true story.

Orphans in Texas in the dust bowl time period when many orphanages were transforming from work camps to more educational oriented institutions bring in a transformative teacher and football coach to field the orphanage's first football team.

Forced conflict with the coach and his past rather than the orphans story. The beauty of the real story is the orphans on and off the field. The movie fails miserably to convey the real story or at least the real heart of it. The screenplay writers are convoluted in their attempt to portray the conflict and battles on the field and in their lives. Please read the book.

I rated this movie a seven out of ten. I gave this movie a seven out of ten because it was a little more interesting than the other ones i have watched. I think it was more interesting because the topic it was surrounded by was football and I think this makes it fun to watch. With this still being a history movie it was good but the plot made it a lot better. I think if this movie was just about history and didn't have the aspect of football to tie it all together I wouldn't have liked it as much. This is why I rated this movie a little towards the middle. I would recommend this movie to people that are into sports who are having trouble finding history movies they seem to like.