The Mighty Ducks films

"The Mighty Ducks" is a series of three live-action films released in the 1990s by Walt Disney Pictures.

The movies revolve around a Twin Cities ice hockey team, composed of young players that stick together throughout various challenges. Despite its negative reviews by movie critics, the trilogy's commercial success paved the way for the creation of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, (now the Anaheim Ducks) NHL team, as well as an unrelated animated series, called "Mighty Ducks".

The films still remain popular today, and were even spoofed on a 2007 episode of South Park.

Basil McRae, Mike Modano, Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, Chris Chelios, Junikev Deplinkov, Cam Neely and Paul Kariya have made cameo appearances in all three movies.

Plot Synopses

"The Mighty Ducks"

After being charged with drunk driving, a lawyer named Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) is sentenced to community service, coaching hockey, a sport he claimed to hate. There, he meets the District 5 peewee hockey team, a team of perennial losers who finish at the bottom of the league standings year after year. They are shut out every game and lose by at least five goals. The players learn that Bombay was once a player for the Hawks, an elite team in the same league, but left hockey because of the embarrassment that followed after a failed attempt at a penalty shot at the end of regulation, causing the Hawks to eventually lose in overtime, costing them a peewee championship. With the help of Coach Bombay, and a desperately needed infusion of cash and equipment, the players learn the fundamentals of the game. Soon enough, the District 5 team (now christened the Ducks, after Bombay's employer, Mr. Ducksworth) start winning games and manage to make the playoffs, eventually reaching the finals and adding a new player, Adam Banks, an ex-Hawk who is a talented player and an asset for the Ducks. Bombay faces the Hawks, the team he grew up playing for, still led by Jack Reilly (Lane Smith), the same coach Bombay played for. Fittingly, the Ducks win the title game on a penalty shot by Bombay's own protége, Charlie Conway (Joshua Jackson). The movie was released in Australia as Champions.

"D2: The Mighty Ducks"

Inspired by his own players, Bombay decides to try out in the minor leagues. After a career-ending knee injury, he is offered a chance to coach a team representing the United States in the Junior Goodwill Games. For this, he reunites his Ducks and introduces them to five new players from across the country to form Team USA. However, the lure of celebrity becomes a distraction to both Bombay and the players, and reality kicks in when they lose against Team Iceland in an embarrassing defeat. Frustrated, Bombay drives his players even harder, yet Team USA continues to suffer, until they come across a street hockey team who teaches them how to play like "the real Team USA." (Here, a new player emerges, Russ Tyler (Kenan Thompson), who earlier mocked Team USA during its matches). Bombay realizes that the most important thing is to have fun. After a change in attitude, the Ducks redeem themselves by working up the playoffs ladder to once again meet Team Iceland in the finals. This time Team USA proves to be a match for Iceland, but the game ends in a tie, resulting in a shootout, which the Ducks win.

"D3: The Mighty Ducks"

The movie shifts focus from Bombay to his protége, Charlie Conway (Joshua Jackson). Charlie and his teammates are awarded scholarships to Eden Hall Academy (a fictitious name from crossing Southwestern suburb Eden Prairie, Cretin-Derham Hall, and the numerous "Academies" in the area), a prestigious Minnesota prep school that Bombay attended. Their arrival is met with hostility from the varsity team (mainly consisting of white players who are members of rich families, whose younger siblings were not accepted to the academy to make room for the Ducks), as well as Bombay's hand-picked successor, coach Ted Orion (Jeffrey Nordling), whose emphasis on defensive two-way hockey irks Charlie. Not wanting to be on a team led by Orion, who he believes to be a washed-up former professional player, Charlie leaves the team, but rejoins as he learns the truth about Orion from Bombay: Orion was once a player for the Minnesota North Stars, but stayed in Minnesota when the North Stars moved to Dallas in order to take care of his paraplegic daughter. Charlie and Orion quickly bonded in time for the JV-Varsity Showdown, and thanks in large part to the work of Charlie, the Ducks win on a shorthanded goal in the dying seconds of the game from unlikely goal scorer Greg Goldberg (who had converted from goalie to defenseman).

Common threads

All three films cast an opposing hockey team that represents the various obstacles to the team. This team mainly consists of large players of a single ethnic or social background, which the Ducks, a team with smaller players of different races and genders, must overcome. In the end to each movie, the Ducks prevail over their opponents by a single goal.

All three films also had the Ducks start off with a different name, and then changing to the Ducks. In D1, they were District 5, then are changed to the Ducks because of Bombay's former boss, Ducksworth. In D2, the Ducks are known as Team USA. Starting the third period of the final game, the team changes their jerseys and become the Team USA Ducks. D3 has the team start off as the JV Warriors. The team then has a scrimmaged game at dawn, where the team shows up as the Ducks. Orion comes in and breaks up a fight between the two teams, and makes the Ducks take off their jerseys claiming, "The Ducks are dead!" Prior to the JV-Varsity showdown, Orion comes into practice with a box. "You guys are not skating like Warriors! You look like something else. You look like...Ducks." With this, he pulls out new Ducks jerseys and the team changed from the JV Warriors, to the JV Ducks. When the team wins against the Varsity team, Bombay reveals a banner saying, "Eden Hall Mighty Ducks."

Many of the goals that the Ducks score are artistic or gimmicky in nature. This is also known as Duck "trickery." One of their gimmicks is the "Flying V", which involves all five skaters skating down the ice in much the same manner as a flock of ducks, and the puck being passed around between the five skaters; interestingly, the team manages to score 2 goals from this gimmick, 1 in the first movie and 1 in the second movie against Team Germany but after that two opposing teams defend successfully against the move. Also, a common theme emanates from the fact that all three of the "big bad teams", The Hawks, Team Iceland, and The Varsity Warriors, wear black uniforms.

In the first movie, Bombay's rival's last name is Reilly; in the third, Charlie's rival's last name is Riley.

On two of the Ducks' rival teams (the Hawks from the first movie and the Varsity Warriors from the third movie) the number 3 player is named Brown. As the first and third films are set in the Twin Cities area, it is a possibility they are the same person.

Another common thread in each movie is a cameo appearance by NHL players. In the first movie, it is Mike Modano and Basil McRae, in the second movie, it is Chris Chelios, Cam Neely, Luc Robitaille, and Wayne Gretzky. In the third movie, it is Paul Kariya.

Duck Trickery Moves / Talents

*Charlie Conway - Triple Deke
*Adam Banks - All around best player
*Fulton Reed - Shotgun Slap Shot
*Russ Tyler - Knuckle puck
*Luis Mendoza - Speed
*Dwayne Robertson - Stickhandling
*Dean Portman & Fulton Reed - Enforcers ("The Bash Brothers")
*Julie Gaffney - Goaltending ("The Cat")
*Jesse Hall, Guy Germaine, Terry Hall - "The Oreo Line", led the "Flying V"*
*Tammy Duncan & Ken Wu - Figure Skating in D1 & D2, respectively
*Greg Goldberg & Les Averman- Comic Relief
* The "Flying V" was officially led by Jesse Hall in the first two films (as part of the "Oreo Line" in the first film specifically). However, due to Jesse's absence in the third film, Charlie Conway would lead the formation in his place.

Roster

The following is a roster of all the players for the Ducks, along with their jersey numbers, playing positions, and appearances in the three films. Seven of the players appear in all three films (Germaine, Averman, Moreau, Goldberg, Reed, Conway, and Banks). Their coaches are Gordon Bombay (Estevez, "D1" and "D2") and Ted Orion (Nordling, "D3").