Hunger Games: Portrait of a Rip-Off

There's been a lot of talk about the Hunger Games' supposed similarities to Japan's "Battle Royale." I've read and seen both and will admit that there are many similar elements between the two works. However, I've found a piece of cinema that pre-dates Hunger Games and is a much more obvious well that Suzanne Collins and director Gary Ross undoubtedly drew from.

I'm talking, of course, about the classic 1994 film "Little Giants."

Note: 12 players on the field, 12 districts in Hunger Games.

PROOF:

• Little Giants is a story of young people vs. young people in violent sport. SOUND FAMILIAR?

• The main character of Little Giants (Becky "Icebox" O'Shea) is a tough, independent, skilled, tomboy-ish young woman with brown hair. HOW LOUD ARE THOSE BELLS RINGING?

I have legitimately forgotten which picture comes from what movie.

• Ed O'Neil, co-star of Little Giants is a famous sitcom actor. Guess what Woody Harrelson (Haymitch) is famous for: sitcom acting! FUNNY HOW THINGS WORK.

• Rick Moranis is reluctant to coach the Little Giants, just like Haymitch is reluctant to coach Katniss and Peeta.

• Little Giants is set in Urbania, Ohio. That is not a real place. NEITHER IS DISTRICT 12.

• The entire romantic plot of Little Giants is ripped off. Icebox slowly comes to terms that she might have feelings for a blonde boy with the ridiculous name of Junior Floyd. In Hunger Games, Katniss slowly comes to terms that she might have feelings for a blonde boy with the ridiculous name of Peeta Mellark. AM I THE LAST SANE MAN ON EARTH?

• And to make it more obvious, in both movies those two characters kiss. KISSING!

• BLACK PEOPLE!

• In Little Giants, Icebox's mother is gone. In Hunger Games, Katniss' father is dead.

• In Little Giants, Icebox's dad (Rick Moranis) used to love Junior Floyd's mother. In Hunger Games, Peeta Mellark's father used to love Katniss Everdeen's mother. FUCKING GOD DAMMIT. 

• I saw both movies in theaters. COINCIDENCE?

• Both in Little Giants and Hunger Games, participants are given time to train A VARIETY OF SKILLS.

• In both movies, there's a group of people who are better trained, in better shape and are more likely to win. In Hunger Games, these people are called "careers." In Little Giants, they're called "the Cowboys."

• Both feature male sociopaths who pose major threats. In Little Giants, this  boy is named Spike. In Hunger Games, they changed the name to Cato. 

• Before the big game, Spike shouts, "Kill 'em! Kill 'em!" THIS IS THE ENTIRE GOD DAMN PREMISE OF THE HUNGER GAMES.

• Both events have announcers.

• In Little Giants, when the Giants think all hope is lost and everything is falling apart a silver, metallic bus shows up containing John Madden, Emmitt Smith and other footballmans to give them pointers and a pep talk. In Hunger Games, sponsors send contestants silver, metallic canisters that contain medicine or food via parachutes. OPEN UP YOUR EYES.

INDISTINGUISHABLE!

•  SPOILER ALERTS: In Hunger Games, the underdog(s!) win. But guess who did it first: LITTLE GIANTS.

• DOUBLE SPOILER ALERTS: At the end of Little Giants, there should be one winner, but Rick Moranis decides to merge the teams. At the end of the Hunger Games there should be one person left alive, but there are two. They're both winners. Just like Al Bundy and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids in MOTHER FUCKING LITTLE GIANTS.

At this point, I'd think anyone with half a brain could see how blatantly Suzanne Collins ripped off this titan of American film making.  It's sickening that she was allowed to get away with this and it's a travesty that in its opening week the Hunger games made $133,246,926 more than Little Giants did in its entire run.

After the very least, they should've cast Shawna Waldron as some sort of admission that they just copy-pasted Little Giants, but I guess all human decency has disappeared.

Damn you, liberal Hollywood! You've fucked over The Little Giants, AGAIN!