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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

They Can't Skate. They Can't Win. They Can't Be Serious.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Sport

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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:

The Mighty Ducks

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".

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Goofs

Motor turning the flying puck visible

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Quotes

Lewis: [shaking Peter upside down] Give me my candy! That's it! All of it!

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Crazy Credits

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

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Alternate Versions

Two versions of the movie's soundtrack exist (along with two representations of the music list in the credits, usually paired correctly but not always). In one version, when Charlie wins the game with his penalty shot, Queen's "We Are the Champions plays for about 70 seconds, then as the bus drives away and the end credits begin, Queen's "We Will Rock You" starts, followed by "We Are the Champions". In another version, the musical score continues uninterrupted throughout the victory scene, and the end credits have "Winning It All" by The Outfield and then "We Will Rock You". (One version of the song list has Rock and Champions, and the other has Rock and Winning.) The US DVD has the Champions versions on its English, French, and Spanish dubs, although the French credits list Winning. The US Blu-ray has the Winning It All version in both its English soundtrack and credits list. One possibility is that Champions was always intended, but the rights couldn't be set up in time for the theatrical release and were arranged by the home video releases (then in an earnest effort to be faithful to the original release the Blu-ray lost it again).

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Connections

Referenced in Mike & Mike: Episode dated 24 July 2015 (2015)

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Soundtracks

GOOD VIBRATIONS
Written by Dan Hartman, Donnie Wahlberg, Mark Wahlberg, and Amir Shakir (as M.C. Spice)
Performed by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch
Courtesy of Interscope Records / EastWest Records

User Reviews

A Good Disney Film

This movie, while not being Oscar material, is not by any means a bad film. However, this film, is extremely well done. The script was shaky at times, but the cast seemed to fit very well, and the music (mostly Queen songs) were very well used.

The plot is a simple one...bad hockey team, overworking lawyer/ex-hockey player. The lawyer/hockey player gets a DUI, must coach hockey team. I'll try not to spoil the film's plot, though it is a basic one, with your predictable, yet heart-warming feeling.

Be on the lookout for future Dawson's Creek star Joshua Jackson in his second, and most notable role (excluding playing Pacy) playing the leader, Charlie Conway.

*** out of ****