D2: The Mighty Ducks

D2: The Mighty Ducks
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sam Weisman
Produced by	Jon Avnet Jordan Kerner
Written by	Steven Brill
Starring	Emilio Estevez Joshua Jackson
Music by	J.A.C. Redford
Cinematography	Mark Irwin
Editing by	John F. Link Eric Sears
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s)	March 25, 1994
Running time	106 minutes
Language	English Icelandic
Box office	$45,610,410

D2: The Mighty Ducks (also known as The Mighty Ducks 2) is the second film in The Mighty Ducks trilogy and the first theatrical sequel to The Mighty Ducks. It was produced by Avnet–Kerner Productions and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, and it was originally released on March 25, 1994. In the UK and Australia, the film was titled The Mighty Ducks.

Plot

Former peewee hockey coach Gordon Bombay is a star in the minor leagues and is expected to make it to the NHL soon. However, after a career-ending knee injury, he returns to Minneapolis. Bombay is then offered a chance to coach a team representing the United States in the Junior Goodwill Games. Team USA consists of many of the old Ducks, in addition to five new players with special talents.

The lure of celebrity becomes a distraction to Bombay, who begins to neglect the team in exchange for a luxurious lifestyle. Fortunately, easy victories come over Trinidad and Tobago and Italy in the double-elimination tournament. During this time, Fulton Reed and Dean Portman gain recognition for their enforcer skills, becoming known as the "Bash Brothers". Backup goaltender Julie asks Bombay for a chance to play, but he tells her to wait, as current goalie Greg Goldberg is on a hot streak.

Reality sets in when the team suffers an embarrassing 12-1 defeat at the hands of Team Iceland, coached by ex-NHL player Wolf "The Dentist" Stansson, who is known for his tough reputation. Team USA plays badly, with Julie and Portman ejected from the game. Star center Adam Banks manages to score a goal but gets slashed in the wrist moments later. Frustrated, Bombay drives his players even harder, but they begin to suffer, completely exhausted. Eventually, the team's tutor, Michelle McKay, cancels their practice and confronts Bombay, while the players come across a street hockey team who teaches them how to play like "the real Team USA".

However, Bombay continues to suffer until one of his mentors, Jan (Hans' brother), personally visits him, and reminds him of how he used to love the game. During a match against Team Germany, Bombay fails to arrive on time, forcing Charlie to tell the referee that Michelle is actually "Coach McKay". They play poorly, entering the third period tied, until Bombay shows up and apologizes for his behavior. Inspired by their coach's "return", the players come back to win the game and advance to the next round. The renewed Bombay finally realizes Adam's wrist injury, benching him despite his complaints. To fill the open roster spot, Charlie recruits street hockey player, Russ Tyler, whose unique "knucklepuck" (which rotates end over end toward its target as opposed to spinning about its centerline) secures USA's victory over Russia (who defeated Iceland earlier), advancing USA to the championship game for a rematch against Iceland. Before the game, Adam's injury is healed and returns to Team USA's locker room, only to find they already have a full roster. Charlie gives up his spot on the roster so Adam can play, cementing his position as the true team captain.

At first, Iceland appears to be out to dominate Team USA again, but they manage to score one goal. Unfortunately, the Ducks take penalties: Ken picks a fight with an Iceland player ("stick, gloves, shirt") after scoring the team's first goal, the Bash brothers celebrate this by fighting with the entire Iceland bench and Dwayne lassoes an opposing player, about to check Connie. Bombay is annoyed because "this isn't a hockey game, it's a circus."

After a motivational locker room speech from Bombay and new Duck jerseys from Jan, the team emerges rejuvenated. The Ducks manage to tie the game when Russ outsmarts Team Iceland by disguising himself as Goldberg, so as to prevent himself from being covered and pulling off a successful "knucklepuck". The game is forced to go to a five-shot shootout. With a 4-3 score in favor of the Ducks, Gunner Stahl (the tournament's leading scorer) is Team Iceland's final shooter. Bombay knows Gunner favors shooting the glove side after a triple deke, and replaces Goldberg with Julie, who has a faster glove. Gunner advances on Julie and fires a hard slapshot. Although Julie falls to the ice, she slowly turns to look at her glove while the entire stadium (and presumably the home audience of millions) waits in breathless anticipation. She then opens her glove and drops the puck, signifying the game-winning save. With this, the Ducks triumph over Iceland to win the tournament.

The film concludes with the team returning to Minnesota on a plane and sitting around a campfire singing Queen's "We Are the Champions" as the credits roll.

Cast

In credits order:^[1]

• Emilio Estevez as Gordon Bombay
• Kathryn Erbe as Michelle McKay
• Michael Tucker as Mr. Tibbles
• Jan Rubes as Jan
• Carsten Norgaard as Wolf "The Dentist" Stansson
• Maria Ellingsen as Maria
• Joshua Jackson as Charlie Conway, #96
• Elden Henson as Fulton Reed, #44
• Shaun Weiss as Greg Goldberg, #33
• Matt Doherty as Les Averman, #4
• Brandon Adams as Jesse Hall, #9
• Garette Ratliff Henson as Guy Germaine, #00
• Marguerite Moreau as Connie Moreau, #18
• Vincent Larusso as Adam Banks, #99
• Colombe Jacobsen as Julie Gaffney, #6
• Aaron Lohr as Dean Portman, #21
• Ty O'Neal as Dwayne Robertson, #7
• Kenan Thompson as Russ Tyler, #56
• Mike Vitar as Luis Mendoza, #22
• Justin Wong as Ken Wu, #16
• Scott Whyte as Gunnar Stahl, #9
• Marcus Reynolds as Tommy "Slush Puppy" Smith, #45

Cameo appearances

There are several cameo appearances in D2: The Mighty Ducks from famous athletes.

• Kristi Yamaguchi - Champion Olympic figure skater
• Greg Louganis - Champion Olympic diver
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Basketball player
• Wayne Gretzky, Chris Chelios, Luc Robitaille, Cam Neely - Professional (NHL) Ice Hockey players

Departures

Mighty Duck players that were in the first film but not this one:

• Tammy Duncan (Jane Plank, her figure skating skills were replaced with those of Ken Wu)
• Tommy Duncan (Danny Tamberelli)
• Terry Hall (Jussie Smollett, despite the continuation of the character's brother, Jesse)
• Dave Karp (Aaron Schwartz)
• Peter Mark (J.D. Daniels)

Reaction

Critical reception

The film was poorly received by most critics. It has received a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[2]

Desson Howe of The Washington Post wrote: "D2: The Mighty Ducks reaches an extraordinary low – even for a Disney sequel. This unctuous barrage of flag-waving, message-mongering, counterfeit morality, which contains the stalest kiddie-team heroics in recent memory, makes the original, innocuous 'Ducks' look like one of the Great Works."^[3]

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $10,356,748 domestically.^[4][5] It was a financial success, with a final domestic box office total of $45,610,410.

Soundtrack

1. Queen - "We Will Rock You"
2. Poorboys - "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" (Bachman-Turner Overdrive Cover)
3. Gary Glitter - "Rock and Roll"
4. Martha Wash - "Mr. Big Stuff"
5. David Newman - "Mighty Ducks Suite"
6. Tag Team - "Whoomp! (There It Is)"
7. The Troggs - "Wild Thing"
8. Gear Daddies - "Zamboni"
9. Queen - "We Are the Champions"
10. John Bisaha - "Rock the Pond"

References

1. ^ "D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994) - Full cast and crew". imdb.com. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
2. ^ "D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994)". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
3. ^ Howe, Desson (1994-03-25). "‘D2: The Mighty Ducks’". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/d2themightyduckspghowe_a0b044.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-05. 
4. ^ "Weekend Box Office : A Good Turnout for 'Four Weddings'". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1994-04-12/entertainment/ca-45151_1_weekend-box-office. Retrieved 2011-01-01. 
5. ^ "Oscar Winners Pick Up at the Box Office". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1994-03-28/entertainment/ca-39477_1_box-office. Retrieved 2010-12-25. 

External links

• D2: The Mighty Ducks at the Internet Movie Database
• D2: The Mighty Ducks at AllRovi
• D2: The Mighty Ducks at Box Office Mojo
• D2: The Mighty Ducks at Rotten Tomatoes