Summary
- Champions is a feel-good sports movie that follows a team of intellectually disabled players overcoming obstacles, based on the 2018 Spanish film Campeones.
- The American remake, Champions, makes some changes to the story but retains the overall spirit of the original film, which was a big hit and the highest-grossing Spanish film of its year.
- Both films draw inspiration from the true story of the Aderes basketball team, a Valencia-based team of players with intellectual disabilities who achieved success and multiple championships in Spain.
The Woody Harrelson-starring vehicle, Champions, may not be an original premise, but it certainly makes the story its own. There have been plenty of films like Champions, feel-good sports movies that follow a team of memorable characters who must overcome a variety of obstacles before the end of the film. The 2023 film takes its cues from another, and the inspiration behind it drives the narrative about a former NBA coach who suddenly finds himself working with a basketball team of intellectually disabled players.
Champions doesn’t take the traditional route when telling its story; it’s indirectly based on a true story, though there are notable changes made to the film from its source material. The film released in theaters in March and received a mostly negative critical reception, but its central premise sheds light on a basketball team that aims to inspire. Champions follows in the footsteps of films like Death at a Funeral, Michael Bay’s Ambulance, and The Guilty — it’s an American remake of a foreign film, but Champions’ source material distinguishes it among its peers. Namely, the feel-good dramedy is based on a movie that is inspired by real life events.
Champions Is A Remake Of The 2018 Spanish Movie Campeones
Champions may not be directly inspired by a true story, but it's a remake of Campeones (Champions), the 2018 Spanish film. Champions makes a few tweaks to the story since it’s set in the U.S. instead of Spain, but the overall spirit of the film remains the same. Campeones was a big hit when it was released, and it went on to become the highest-grossing Spanish film the year of its release. Campeones was even submitted as an entry to the Best International Feature Film category at the 2019 Academy Awards. Although it wasn’t nominated, its popularity and success was enough to green light an American version of the story.
Champions Is Inspired By The True Story Of The Aderes Basketball Team
Campeones is, in fact, inspired by the true story of Aderes, the Valencia basketball team that, like the characters in the film, consists of players with intellectual disabilities. Called Los Amigos (The Friends), the real-life basketball team went on to win multiple championship games in Spain throughout the 2000s and up until 2014. Champions doesn’t directly draw from any particular North American basketball team, but since it pulls from the 2018 film and its subjects, Harrelson’s film, directed by Bobby Farrelly from a screenplay by Mark Rizzo, also takes inspiration from the Aderes basketball team that made a name for themselves in their home country.
Champions, like Campeones, follows a hot-headed coach who is assigned to coach a team with intellectual disabilities. They change each other’s lives. The biggest difference between the films ultimately lies in the language, setting, and the fact that Harrelson’s character isn’t married like Javier Gutiérrez’s character is. The latter’s relationship begets conflict throughout Campeones, but it’s nothing that isn’t resolved by the end. While Champions is similar to A Man Called Otto and other films that are American remakes of foreign films, although the former is actually influenced by a real-life team that beat the odds and worked together to accomplish something genuinely moving. It’s a story worth telling twice.
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August 31, 2023 at 04:00AM
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Is Champions Based On A True Story? Real Inspirations Explained - Screen Rant
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