The scene is really about wish fulfillment, which I guess is a key part of the appeal of the whole premise. (Well, no, what he should have done was stay on the ground and let Truck have the home run he deserved.) “You should have let him win, Tony,” Tia remonstrates with him later. Tony uses his powers pretty freely from the start, levitating a dozen feet in the air to catch a fly ball and then defending himself against a pint-sized bully named Truck (much less menacing than his shiv-wielding literary counterpart) with a floating bat and glove in full view of the other orphans. Also omitted is a kind but sickly nun who gives the children an important clue regarding their origins. Regrettably, Father O’Day, the novel’s savvy, stand-up priest, has been replaced by Jason O’Day (Eddie Albert), a crusty-but-lovable widower driving a Winnebago motor home. In the meandering film version, Tony and Tia (Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann) are model citizens, the orphanage is a cheerful place, and even the villains woo the siblings with palatial luxuries stuffed with playthings and animals.
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