TORONTO - In his latest film, "The Perfect Game," director William Dear creates movie magic on the dusty streets of Mexico, chronicling the real-life story of a local baseball team that made history by winning the 1957 Little League World Series.

Dear, who also directed 1994's "Angels in the Outfield," says his passion for film was first sparked over 50 years ago at Toronto's storied Uptown Theatre, where his mother was the manager.

"When I was a kid, that was a single-screen, really giant movie palace . . . before they broke it up in the '60s and made multiple screens," the director recalled Monday during a telephone interview from his home in Santa Barbara, Calif.

"I'm talking late 1940s, early '50s and we didn't have TV, so I'd go to the Uptown on Yonge Street every weekend and I'd look at the movies, over and over and over again. And that became a window on the world."

At that time, the Uptown -- which was demolished in 2003 -- also had periodic stage shows, including gigs by Nat King Cole, Carmen Miranda, the Ink Spots, and Billy Eckstine.

"I have all these autographed pictures," said Dear, 66. "I was like seven, eight, nine years old. I kind of grew up in this crazy toe-in-the-water of show business in a very primitive Toronto.

"Movies became this amazing window to the world. And I never sat there and said 'I want to be a director,' I just sat there in amazement of these movies."

Dear says he was the first kid in Canada to ever see 3D, at the Uptown, and also remembers watching Westerns, classics like "On the Waterfront" and sci-fi flicks like "It Came From Outer Space," which frightened him so much he sought refuge in his mother's office until the scary scenes were over.

When he was 11, Dear's mother remarried and the family moved to Detroit. The first person he met was a fellow "movie geek" whose father had an 8 mm camera.

"I then saw the opportunity to actually make these movies," said Dear.

A long career in show business followed, with acting jobs and directing credits including "Harry and the Hendersons," and, most recently, "The Perfect Game," which has received positive notices since opening across Canada over the weekend.

With the help of archival newsreel footage, the film tells the story of a group of players from Monterrey, Mexico, who battle poverty and racism to become the first non-American team to win the Little League World Series. Clifton Collins Jr. ("Star Trek") plays their coach, Cesar, who has had his own baseball dreams dashed by the St. Louis Cardinals, while Cheech Marin is the team priest. Jake T. Austin ("Hotel for Dogs," "Wizards of Waverly Place") plays the team ace.

Dear said he knew he wanted to do "The Perfect Game" as soon as he read W. William Winokur's screenplay.

"It's the first movie, I think, since 'Angels in the Outfield' that really got inside me," he said.

"And it touched a nerve and made me feel like if I was to do this movie, I wouldn't be out there just doing a project or a film or a job, I'd be doing something that would have a life and it would last on and continue to inspire ... and it would also be a very positive story for Mexican history."

While one reviewer called "The Perfect Game" a "charming family film," others have criticized it for soft-pedalling the racism angle and being too formulaic in its approach.

Dear says it frustrates him that critics often judge family films by the same criteria they use for edgier fare.

"They don't understand that sometimes their reviews, with the cost of going to a movie, actually denies a person or a family . . . of seeing something that really may inspire them or benefit them.

"It so hard for a filmmaker to sit there and go: 'Don't judge my movie the way you judge 'Kick Ass.' It's not the same movie, it's not for the same crowd."

"I do read the bad (reviews)," added the director. "I've toughened up over the years and I don't get as hurt by them. . . . But I was grateful that this one had so many good reviews."