Underdogs

Underdogs (Metegol, 2013) is an Argentine-Spanish animated feature you can watch online on iFILM. Director Juan José Campanella — the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind The Secret in Their Eyes — brings the same storytelling craft to family animation, centering on Amadeo, a quiet kid who has never beaten anyone at anything except one ancient foosball table.

When soccer superstar Grosso rolls back into town to bulldoze it for a stadium, he takes Laura with him. Amadeo, desperate and out of options, gets an unlikely answer: the tiny figurines on his foosball table come to life, ready to fight. Seven miniature players against a global champion.

The film is funnier and sharper than its premise suggests — Campanella uses the little guys as a genuine metaphor for anyone who's felt outclassed and found a reason to show up anyway. Stream Underdogs (2013) online on iFILM.