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      The World's Greatest Athlete

      G Released Feb 4, 1973 1 hr. 33 min. Kids & Family Comedy List
      Reviews 34% 1,000+ Ratings Audience Score Head coach Sam Archer (John Amos) and his right-hand man, Milo Jackson (Tim Conway), have been leading Merrivale College's track team to a succession of last-place finishes. A chance visit to Africa brings Sam and Milo the athlete of their dreams: an orphan wild-child named Nanu (Jan-Michael Vincent). The hapless coaches convince Nanu to leave his carefree life in the jungle for the cutthroat world of college athletics where, naturally, not all goes according to plan. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Apr 30 Buy Now

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      Audience Reviews

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      StephenPaul C LOL, the funniest 01 hour: and 33 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Terrible movie ! Very racist idea of going to Africa to get a young white man ! The plot was very weak and there was no need for witch doctor spells and Tim Conway antics. Terrible was of 159 minutes. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review r 9 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. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review joel h The World's Greatest Athlete is definitely not as good as I remembered it to be, but I still enjoy it, for the most part. The plot is absolutely ridiculous, but the cast at least seems to be on board with it all. I think that this movie largely came from someone at Disney saying, "Hey! We found a trained tiger! Can we use him in a film?" Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review s r Pretty bad, but it still has some silly slapstick comedy. They went all out with the shrinking man skit complete with a huge rotary phone and cocktail drink he falls into. The story was interesting with a black coach and a White American athlete. Then at the NCAA track and field championships they had byu as a key school. Disney was really focusing on minorities in this one. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member One of Disney's better live action films (after Old Yeller, Poppins, Herbie & Dr. Syn), complete with examples of using voodoo as part of an athletic training regimen. With the usual batch of great supporting cast. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

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      Steve Crum Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers Pedestrian Disney has its family film humor moments. Rated: 2/5 Jul 21, 2006 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Aug 14, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Head coach Sam Archer (John Amos) and his right-hand man, Milo Jackson (Tim Conway), have been leading Merrivale College's track team to a succession of last-place finishes. A chance visit to Africa brings Sam and Milo the athlete of their dreams: an orphan wild-child named Nanu (Jan-Michael Vincent). The hapless coaches convince Nanu to leave his carefree life in the jungle for the cutthroat world of college athletics where, naturally, not all goes according to plan.
      Director
      Robert Scheerer
      Screenwriter
      Gerald Gardner, Dee Caruso
      Production Co
      Walt Disney Productions
      Rating
      G
      Genre
      Kids & Family, Comedy
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Feb 4, 1973, Limited
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Jan 1, 2014
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