The Mighty Ducks (1992)

A self-centered Minnesota lawyer is sentenced to community service coaching a rag tag youth hockey team.

Director:

Stephen Herek

Writer:

Steven Brill

Stars:

Emilio Estevez, Joss Ackland, Lane Smith

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emilio Estevez	...	Gordon Bombay
Joss Ackland	...	Hans
Lane Smith	...	Coach Reilly
Heidi Kling	...	Casey
Josef Sommer	...	Gerald Ducksworth
Joshua Jackson	...	Charlie Conway
Elden Henson	...	Fulton Reed (as Elden Ratliff)
Shaun Weiss	...	Goldberg
M.C. Gainey	...	Lewis
Matt Doherty	...	Les Averman
Brandon Quintin Adams	...	Jesse Hall (as Brandon Adams)
J.D. Daniels	...	Peter
Aaron Schwartz	...	Dave Karp
Garette Ratliff Henson	...	Guy Germaine
Marguerite Moreau	...	Connie

Storyline

Gordon Bombay, a hotshot lawyer, is haunted by memories of his childhood, when, as the star player in his champion hockey team, he lost the winning goal in a shootout, thereby losing the game, and the approval of his coach. After being charged for drunk driving, the court orders him to coach a peewee hockey team, the worst in the league, Gordon is at first very reluctant. However, he eventually gains the respect of the kids and teaches them how to win, gaining a sponsor on the way and giving the team the name of The Ducks. In the finals, they face Gordon's old team, coached by Gordon's old coach, giving Gordon a chance to face old ghosts.

---

Plot Keywords:

hockey movie | team | hockey team | coach | lawyer | 

---

Taglines:

He's never coached. They've never won. Together they'll learn everything about winning!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Sport

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Disney's Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 October 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Champions

Filming Locations:

Cook Memorial Arena - 11091 Mississippi Boulevard, Coon Rapids, Minnesota, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,035,133, 4 October 1992

Gross USA:

$50,752,337

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avnet/Kerner Productions, Touchwood Pacific Partners 1, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Adam Banks is often referred to as a "Cake Eater." This term is actually well known throughout Minnesota and refers to people who live in the city of Edina, a suburb of Minneapolis. It refers to Marie Antoinette's infamous, "Let them eat cake".

---

Goofs

In the opening scene, Coach Rielly says to Gordon "Alright Gordon, it's up to you. I don't wanna see any goats around here after the game, you got it? Now you miss this shot, you're not just letting me down you're letting your whole team down too." But then later when we see Gordon skating and thinking about this event Coach Reilly says to him "Alright it's up to you Gordon. Now you miss this shot, you're not just letting your team down, you're letting me down too."

---

Quotes

Gordon Bombay: You think losing is funny?
Les Averman: Well, not at first, but once you get the hang of it.
Jesse: We're the ones out there gettin' our butts kicked.
Terry Hall: Yeah, it's not like you coach us or anything. At least we tried.

---

Crazy Credits

In the closing Credits, Joshua Jackson's character 'Charlie Conway' is misspelled and listed as "Charlie Conroy"

---

Connections

References The Karate Kid (1984)

---

Soundtracks

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
Written by Freddie Mercury
Performed by Queen
Courtesy of EMI Records

User Reviews

A really good movie, best of the trilogy

I really like this movie out of the three Ducks movies because to me, this is the only one that feels like a genuine movie to me. A movie that was made from the heart. The reasons for it? There are two of them that stick out to me.

Gordon Bombay goes through one hell of a transformation. He goes from a drunk lawyer to reconnecting with his old love and facing a demon that has haunted him up to now. Even the introduction scene carries an ominous feeling. The goalie facing the young Bombay looks more like a menacing monster; as well as it should be since it represents a horrible memory for the man. I remember being scared of that scene as a child, just cause the goalie looked so scary.

His character's transformation over the movie is the heart of this film. It's a protagonist who has a REAL arc - beginning, middle, and end. It's all carried out with such poignancy as well. Emilio Estevez does great acting.

The child actors do a good job. I mean, they're KIDS, and this is a kid movie...but they pull it off nicely. The kids who play Charlie, Fulton, Jesse, and Banks especially. They make you take their characters seriously, which is different from a normal kids movie.

The kiddy parts don't make me cringe, but make me smile. I guess because it's not overdone.

Sorry to say, but the other two movies to me relied too much on either hockey action or gimmicks (although I DID like D3's grittier hockey action and more serious story with Charlie). They didn't have the heartfelt story that this one did. It's all balanced out to entertain the little kids, but Gordon Bombay's arc is one for the adults.

I also miss the kids that would end up not being in the future movies. In D3, when Gordon says that the Ducks were unchanged since the beginning, I cringed. I guess I'm the type to cling to sentimental values like that.

This was the best movie out of the trilogy to me. That's because it felt like a REAL movie.