The film stars Rick Moranis and Ed O'Neill as Danny and Kevin O'Shea, two brothers living in an Ohio town who coach rival Pee-Wee Football teams.

In the fictional town of Urbania, Ohio, Danny O'Shea has always lived in the shadow of his older brother, Kevin, a Heisman Trophy winner and local football hero.

Alongside Becky, Hanon, Tad, Rudy, and Nubie (a boy who becomes assistant coach), Danny gathers other children that had not been given a chance, and dubs the team the "Little Giants."

Two old-timers, Orville and Wilbur, encourage the rivalry between Danny and Kevin, reporting to them that a new star player, Spike Hammersmith, has just moved to Urbania.

She chooses to quit the Giants and pursue cheerleading, believing that it would be her best chance to win over Junior in addition to feeling exploited as her father's best player.

Witnessing the attack on Junior from the sidelines, an enraged Becky drops her pompoms and suits up for the game, wearing her Giants uniform and pads over her cheerleader's outfit.

In the game's closing seconds with the score tied at 21, the Giants make a goal line stand when Becky stops Spike.

The play includes three different ball carriers, utilizing the hook and lateral from Zolteck, to Junior, and finally to Berman, who scores the Giants' 99 yard game-winning touchdown.

Stephen Holden remarked, in The New York Times, that "anyone who was ever rejected or picked last for a team can relate to the concept behind "Little Giants," a slickly contrived family movie about an inept junior football team that succeeds in spite of spectacular liabilities [...]"Little Giants," which was directed by Duwayne Dunham, devotes much of its energy to such comic antics as balls getting stuck into face masks, and wispy little kids practicing looking intimidating.

"[5] Hal Hinson of The Washington Post stated that "if "Little Giants" were in a beauty pageant it might win votes for Miss Congeniality, but it definitely wouldn't take the crown.