I don't think The Mighty Ducks is a masterpiece in any shape or form, but it is an enjoyable film. I do agree that it is predictable, the plot is nothing particularly special and the ending especially doesn't really hold any surprises. But it is nicely filmed, with evergreen cinematography and pretty scenery and the music is pleasant. The script is good on the most part, there are some humorous parts but it is also somewhat touching, and the director Stephen Herek pitches the humour and melodrama at the right level. And the acting is spirited, with Emilio Estevez charming, dignified and fun as the disgraced lawyer who has to coach the worst ice hockey team and Joss Ackland solid as Hans. Also the ice-hockey scenes are done with just the right amount of flair. Overall, a sweet and fun movie, even with the predictable plot it is worth seeing. 8/10 Bethany Cox
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Agent1024 June 2002One of the great kid movie-sports-films of all time, this movie always has a special place in my heart when it comes to losers turning into winners. Sure, some of the action proved to be a little sappy, but it was all in good fun. Emilio Estevez provided a rather believable performance as a snooty lawyer turned-peewee hockey coach. Virtually all of the characters were great in this film, even the annoying Goldberg. A good film to say the least, one that shouldn't have spawned sequels.
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Though perhaps unknown to the warm-weather climates of the nation, youth hockey (and even hockey in general) is a big, big real. "Mighty Ducks" taps into that fan base with a fun little movie set in Minnesota that captures the fun, drama, and emotion of the experience.
For a basic plot summary, this movie tells the story of Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez), a corrupt lawyer who his forced into community in the form of coaching Minneapolis, MN youth hockey (an area in which he had some childhood experience). While at first, Bombay is hesitant to give even a modicum of effort towards the cause, he gains inspiration (whether positive or negative) from old-time mentor Hans (Joss Ackland), former coach Jack Reilly (Lane Smith), and bright-eyed youngster Charlie Conway (Joshua Jackson).
This is a pretty straightforward kids flick. It has the requisite goofy humor, sometimes cringe- worthy dialogue, and a heavy amount of rah-rah drama. Even if your kids aren't necessarily into hockey, they will like this type of movie.
The reason why this movie transcends kiddie fare, though, is because it captures the essence of hockey. It treats the sport with a great deal of respect and reverence, which taps into the nostalgia of adults watching. Just like how "Little Big League" just "gets" baseball humor, "Mighty Ducks" does the exact same thing as hockey.
Basically, you can't go wrong with this on family movie night. It has enough of everything to not bore any member of the family tears. In fact, it may (depending on your interest in sports/hockey) become a sort of cult classic in your own family. -
Old Joe29 April 2002The Mighty Ducks (aka as the Champions), is one of the great Disney movies I have seen. Not your typical fairytale, but a rugged kids adventure, which also goes into that winning is not everything, but that being in a team and playing as a team is the most important part of any sport and is good measure for a person's life.
Aggressive trial lawyer Gordon Bombay has never lost a case. But when he's sentenced to a community service assignment, he must coach a ragtag team of peewee hockey players who can't skate, can't score and can't win. First he teaches the hapless team everything about winning and they teach him that winning is not everything. Watch the pucks fly as they battle their way to the most important game of their lives!
This film is a great story for young up and coming sports people' to watch and learn that winning is not the be all and end all of sport. Sure there are some people such as Coach Reilly, because they are not true sports lovers. Instead they treat sport as a serious event, not something that as Gordon Bombay says should be fun'. In Australia, and my part of this country, we have Aussie Rules football, which again is a very team orientated sport. Although it can have some extraordinary individuals that play, the theme is still the same, that a team has to stick together and try as hard as it can.
This movie has a very young and funny cast, with some old heads thrown in for good team balance. The obvious star is Emilio Estevez, who stars as Gordon Bombay. While he is a very aggressive character in the beginning, Gordon brings his knowledge and experience to a group of young kids that would make any sports coach proud. Estevez has had a good movie career, with some of his more well known movies being The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire, and an unaccredited role in Mission Impossible . The other main star is a very young Joshua Jackson who portrayed Charlie Conway, a good ice-hockey player, who reminds his coach a lot of himself as a young peewee hockey player. Jackson has made a name for himself in Hollywood starring in films such as Cruel Intentions, the disappointing Skulls and the popular TV drama, `Dawson's Creek'.
Other cast members also include the rival coach of the Hawks Ice-Hockey team, Coach Reilly played by veteran actor Lane Smith. He also starred in another great film I saw recently, which happened to be on another popular sport, that of golf, the film being `The Legend of Bagger Vance'. All the characters that are on the Mighty ducks team are likeable people. The team consists of a fat kid, a silent kid, a nice kid, a wiseacre kid, a figure-skating princess, and a tough kid. The whole formula works for me anyway.
I thought that this film had some impressive Ice-Hockey scenes that looked real, though I will never know if they are real or not. Ice-Hockey is a demanding sport and this movie shows that this is the case, with heavy bumps and unrelenting pressure on players. It was good to see that this sport has both males and females playing together, again the movie shows how well the two can gel.
So, if you think that sport is not your thing, but want to give it a go, perhaps this film is what you need to watch. Although this isn't the most talented group of athletes to take the ice, and in the beginning the Ducks do really suck', they prove that with some good coaching guidance and team camaraderie, anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
QUACK QUACK QUACK Go the Ducks!
Rating: 8/10 or 4 Stars -
Smells_Like_Cheese15 November 2006Just recently, I saw D2 and D3, my friend unfortunately did not have the first Mighty Ducks movie, so I had to watch those first then rent this one. The second and the third were pretty good movies, but I felt bad, because it felt like you're getting into a group of friends, and you don't know their history, you weren't there? You know that feeling, and as silly as it sounds, that's how I felt watching the sequels without seeing the first one.
Gordon is a lawyer who has had a little trouble with the lying in his career, therefore, he must do community service. When he sees a group of young pre-teen troubled youths playing a game of hockey, remembering his childhood love of hockey, he volunteers to become their coach in the Pee-Wee games. He starts off on a rocky relationship since he doesn't like kids, but he grows to love them and they do back learning that there is more to a game than just winning, but it'd be nice since they end up in the championships.
I loved The Mighty Ducks, I felt like it was a terrific family film and I'm surprised it wasn't played in my childhood since I was seven years old when it came out, but you know the saying, better late then never, right? I would highly recommend this up lifting story for any family!
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JBingeWatcher25 February 2021A charming film about a young man who has to turn a group of ice hockey children into a real team. Emilio Estevez as the main character makes up for some problems in the storytelling. The movie uses the classic Disney formula into a special cult classic.
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lisafordeay9 June 2020The Mighty Ducks is a 1992 sports drama comedy starring Emilio Estevez,as an attorney who has to do community service due to a speeding incident. So he helps a group of misfit kids to complete out at the ice hockey championships.
Having not seen this since the late 90s until last night,I thought it was a good movie. If you haven't seen it check it out. -
lhbaker-2878328 May 2021Overall this movie: The Mighty Ducks, is a predictable movie that is also sweet and fun. If you are not picky about what you watch then go watch this film. Although there are better sports movies out there.
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PopRox913923 March 2003I remember my cousins and I used to always watch these movies when I was a kid. I loved how these bad-playing, poor attitude-having kids could always be inspired to become champions, no matter how tough the odds and no matter how many times movies like this were remade with soccer, football, baseball, and dogs. Even though I've seen it a million times, I still get chills when the team works as a team and goes out to try their hardest. It's enough to make me, one of the least sporty people alive, want to join a sporting team. Another highlight, for me at least, were the guys. I always had at least one guy in the movie who I had a crush on and kept my undivided attention on. Who would've known back then that young Charlie (Joshua Jackson) would grow up to use big words and pretentious speeches on Dawson's Creek? Out of all those inspirational sports-are-good-for-kids movies, this was and always will be my favorite because it is the first one I can remember and the first I've ever seen. 1...2...3...Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!
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A self-centered lawyer (Emilio Estvez) is sentenced to community service coaching a rag tag youth hockey team.
I am not going to say this is an amazing movie, because really it is nothing all that special. No great directing, no great acting (Estevez is awesome, but not necessarily a good actor). The script is completely by the book and predictable all the way. But the intent was never to make a masterpiece or an award-winner. It is just a fun movie for kids and adults who like to feel like kids.
All I really want to write here is: I wonder if Bill Murray had gotten the role of Gordon Bombay, how would that have been different? I think it would have been a better movie, but what do I know? Maybe Murray would have been too goofy or too serious. He is not "lovable" like Estevez is. Either way, it is a movie I would love to see. -
jboothmillard30 August 2011I had heard the title a few times before, and I may have occasionally watched the television cartoon series Disney created that was loosely based on this, so I had to see what it was all about, from director Stephen Herek (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, 101 Dalmatians). Basically young hotshot lawyer Gordon Bombay (The Breakfast Club's Emilio Estevez) is arrested for drink driving, and the court orders him to serve community service by coaching a children's hockey team, not very good in their league, and of course he is not happy. As he gets to know the youngsters though, and gains their like for him as well, he teaches them good skills of how to play and ultimately win a match. They also manage to get a sponsor and don the team name of The Ducks, but while all this is going on Gordon still has flashes from his past where he played hockey himself, watched by now apposing Coach Jack Reilly (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman's Lane Smith), and he lost. It is coming close to the finals, and he is possible to lose the team due to his sentence having come to an end, and all the young members of The Ducks may be losing some hope for whatever reason. Of course everything comes back together in the end, Gordon watches his team score victory, and the last scene sees him going away to tryout in the minor league, and he promises to return for the next season (this obviously gives way for the sequels). Also starring Joss Ackland as Hans, Heidi Kling as Casey Conway, Joshua Jackson as Charlie Conway, Josef Sommer as Mr. Gerald Ducksworth, Elden Henson as Fulton Reed, Shaun Weiss as Greg Goldberg, Lost's M.C. Gainey as Lewis and Matt Doherty as Lester Averman. I will be completely honest and say that I didn't pay the fullest of attention to this, but even if I had I doubt I would have been entertained all the way through, it seemed pretty dull and rather predictable, it may have the heartwarming and sporty moments, but overall not a great family sports comedy. Adequate!
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sammoony30 March 2000I thought that this was a good movie. It was a movie that you could sit down with the entire family, and still have a good time. It is a typical story line, and you pretty much know the end, but still, it is a fun journey from the beginning to the end of the film. This is a movie that everyone should see with their kids.
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gehriquentin11 December 2022I watched as a Christmas movie, I did not expect anything from it, but it was really good and funny.
Honestly, the story is a little bit touching, of course you see what is going to happen, it's really predictable. If you have some kids and they want to watch a nice movie about hockey and laughing it's really a good choice !
There is some adult jokes too, I hope the three others movies are as good, even if they have worse ratings.
I don't know why but during all the movie, I felt that the actor playing the lawyer was looking like Micheal Scott from The Office, maybe because of the hockey theme. -
vertigo_1413 March 2006Despite the tremendously clichéd plot--that of an aging fallen athletic hero who loses faith in himself and disinterest in the sport until he has the opportunity to turn a misfit team into a victorious one with hard work and much-needed nurturing--the Mighty Ducks is probably for those youngsters of the early 1990s what films like the Karate Kid were to those youngsters of the mid-80s. One of the classics, a guilty pleasure we secretly don't switch off when channel surfing on lazy weekend afternoons. One that marked early careers or more well-known stars today (with the most obvious being a prepubescent Joshua Jackson). For hockey fans alone, it may be enjoyable, despite hockey movies never being very inventive in the tell of the tale (see Youngblood and Miracle for other examples of the same old, same old). But nonetheless, it is still a valued time capsule and a feel good movie that yes, cheesy and clichéd and dated (no one really does much roller-blading anymore--see the practice scenes, can still be enjoyed.
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jellyneckr18 June 2004Directed by Stephen Herek [BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE], THE MIGHTY DUCKS was a surprise box office hit in 1992 and was followed by two better sequels and a decent animated series. Although not the best in the trilogy, THE MIGHTY DUCKS is still one of the all-time classics of 1992. Emilio Estevez, in what is his best role to date, plays Gordon Bombay, the coach of The Ducks in this family sports comedy. Estevez, arguably one of the coolest actors of the 1980s and 1990s, is the glue that holds the movie together. Without him, it would be little more than any other cliched sports flick. Thanks to Estevez, the movie is better than expected and worth watching. **1/2
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ShortCuteBlonde17 August 2002this movie wasnt what i would call great but it was ok, it was kind of cheesy and corny but it was a cute movie for little kids, i advise all you too see it, specially if you have kids that are 8-11 its overall a cute movie, even for older kids and adults
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As advertised, a light Disney sports movie, but it's about hockey, and that might as well be a cinematic B-12 shot (even a bad sports movie is better if it's on the ice). I found myself invested in the story and it didn't take all that long either.
Emilio Estevez does a great job here. You can feel his frustration with having to face down past failures and dealing with this big ol' mess of a team; but then he starts to care and overall spirits really pick up. And the kids are funny in their own right, it amounts to a pretty solid effort all around.
"The Mighty Ducks" doesn't aspire to be "Miracle" or "Slap Shot" and there's charm in that. I really enjoyed myself here. -
view_and_review13 April 2020Reluctant coach takes over a laughably bad hockey team. Yeah, that's "Bad News Bears on Ice."
"The Mighty Ducks" could've been so much better without the contrived conflict. I know it's hard to distinguish yourself as a David v. Goliath sports movie, but no need to make it full of nauseatingly pointless drama.
Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) was a successful lawyer and one-time child hockey star. After a DUI he was sentenced to 500 hours community service which entailed coaching a no-name youth hockey team. His boss, Gerald Ducksworth (Josef Sommer), thought it would help him build character and learn "fair play."
When he took over the team, they were a mess. They weren't a hockey team; they were just a bunch of kids with ice skates. After some customary bad coaching, Coach Bombay had an epiphany and started being the coach he should've been.
Now for the unnecessary drama.
Exhibit A.
Gordon pointed out to the Pee Wee Hockey league that due to district lines there was a kid, Adam Banks (Vincent LaRusso), on the Hawks who was ineligible to play for the Hawks, so either he could play for the Ducks or not play at all. When the coach of the Hawks, Jack Reilly (Lane Smith), caught up with Gordon in the hallway they had it out. In their exchange Gordon said, "We're losers; not fit to live," in a sarcastic tone to indicate Coach Riley's sentiments. But because some 11-year-old kids were eavesdropping they COMPLETELY misunderstood him and took that info back to the team. The team quit.
Exhibit B.
When Gordon went back to work to meet up with his boss he was confronted by his boss, Coach Reilly, and Adam Banks' father. Apparently, Mr. Banks (Hal Fort Atkinson III) was a big client of Mr. Duckworth's firm and he wanted to use that as leverage to force Gordon to withdraw his petition (i.e. his complaint that got Adam removed from the Hawks). Mr. Duckworth, in classic rich old man = rich old jerk fashion, told Gordon to withdraw his position or lose his job. How wholly ridiculous and over the top. It's not even like Adam couldn't play, he just couldn't play for the Hawks. This was drama for drama sake.
Exhibit C.
The Ducks hate Adam, especially Jessie Hall (Brandon Adams). Even when Adam was scoring goals for the Ducks, Jessie couldn't get over his inexplicable disdain for Adam.
Exhibit D.
And for the coup de gras: the Ducks made the championship game versus the Hawks. Coach Reilly instructed two of his players to injure Adam Banks because that's the kind of low-life b*stard Coach Reilly was. After the kid McGill (Michael Ooms) sent Adam into the goalpost, knocking him out of the game, another kid asked McGill, "What did you do?"
McGill answered in a sinister manner, "My job."
What!?! Are you serious right now? Unbelievable. I played youth football in the early 90's and even the meanest kids wouldn't have responded like that and in such a deadpan, cold-blooded manner. Was McGill an evil overlord in training? That was what I'd expect from a low-level criminal trying to crack into the big time. Oh! it was ghastly.
Take out all the extra padding called drama and this movie would've been better. No, it was never going to be unique, it's like almost every other sports movie. Its only distinguishing characteristic is the sport itself, but it seems they weren't happy with that small difference. I say, don't do more than you have to. KISS: keep it simple stupid and avoid looking like a farce. -
drewnes30 May 2021Gone are the days where I would rollerblade in my neighborhood thinking I was just as cool as the mighty ducks. The winner of this movie for me is David Newman's score.
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chuckyt-5199519 April 2022Look. Its not the best movie.. its a FUN MOVIE. Its very predictable and such but i still enjoyed it. Also i have a soft spot for hockey stuff soo. This could go down as one of my favorite movies.
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uptownrn11 June 2006Made in a time when comedies about kids and sports were probably among the most popular kinds of movies, The Mighty Ducks is the undisputed best of any of these. (Other favorites of mine include The Sandlot and Little Giants.) The plot isn't complicated, as many have said, Gordon Bombay is an overworked lawyer who gets a DUI charge and is given community service, coaching a kids hockey team of misfits. The difficulty in this is Gordon played hockey himself as a kid, and blew a championship game. Without giving too much away, Gordon teaches the kids hockey, and they teach him to not take life too seriously.
What makes this movie special is really the portrayal of the kids. Sure they sort of fall in to stereotypes, the goofy fat kid, the short but tough kid, the misunderstood "bad" kid, the lovable and sweet underdog (Charlie Conway, played by Joshua Jackson, pre Pacy, although in the Ducks sequels you see shades of that character coming out!) but these characters feel real, and are very funny. I don't know if younger kids still watch this movie but if you ask any teenagers who Goldberg is you'll get a laugh and some fun reminiscing. Not to mention they often know the correct moments for quacking (not when getting yelled at by your principal!) All in all definitely worth watching, if only for a trip down memory lane! -
toddrandall6814 December 2005I noticed that there were only a few comments on this film. Is that because it completely sucked? This movie is not only bad, it is a bad rip off of another film (Bad News Bears). Was there ever a MLB team called the Bad News Bears? That is the only difference I could find between the two. Oh, and except that Emilio Estevez is a waste while Matthau is one of the best. I have commented on this movie before so I wont go over the similarities again. Except one, did anyone notice that forfeited game similarity? Forfeited game! That is so lame I cant believe it! If anyone saw that and wasn't furious I feel sorry for you. If I would have seen this in the theater, I would have walked out and busted up the place. However, I saw this with my buddies during a cookout, and if I wasn't more concerned with maintaining my composure, I would have smacked each and everyone of them while they were laughing at this nonsense.
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This is a movie that I know I saw part of growing up, but I'm not fully sure that I watched it start to finish. There were parts that I didn't remember at all. I also couldn't remember the basic story outside of general set up for these types of movies. Jaime and I wanted to watch something light hearted as well.
We follow a hotshot lawyer of Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez). He has an amazing record and will win whatever way necessary. This gets him in hot water when he busted while driving under the influence. The DA is looking to throw the book at him. This forces his boss, Gerald Ducksworth (Josef Sommer), to step in. He is put on leave, with pay, and needing to do community service.
What we get glimpses of was that Gordon was a good hockey player as a boy. He gave it up though when he let his coach down. This is Coach Riley (Lane Smith). Gordon is forced to take over District 5, which is a ragtag of kids. They include Charlie Conway (Joshua Jackson), Goldberg (Shaun Weiss), Jesse Hall (Brandon Quintin Adams), Dave Karp (Aaron Schwartz), Terry Hall (Jussie Smollett), Guy Germaine (Garette Ratliff Henson) and Connie (Marguerite Moreau).
Gordon will need to grow up and learn just as much of his players. He sees their potential and even recruits a bigger kid of Fulton Reed (Elden Henson), a couple of figure skaters in Peter (J. D. Daniels) and Tammy (Jane Plank). There might even be a loophole where the best player on Coach Riley's team of the Hawks could be playing on the wrong squad. This kid is Adam banks (Vincent LaRusso).
What I will say is that I'm glad I watched this. I still prefer the sequel, but this sets the groundwork. These is your typical sports movie for kids where the coach needs to change. In doing that, he helps these kids find their potential. What is shocking to me was how good Jackson could skate. The scenes on the ice look to be older kids with good camera work to make them look like the actors we know. There are unbelievable aspects here, but I still enjoyed my time actually seeing this movie through.
Before ending this review, I will say that the kids are annoying, but I expect that. Estevez is good as the coach. I like that he is a mirror to Smith until he realizes the error of his ways. Joss Ackland, Heidi Kling and M. C. Gainey are good to help Gordon find his way. I like how complicated they make Sommer's character. Jackson, Henson, Weiss, Adams, Schwartz, Moreau and Smollett are all solid kid actors that were in multiple things. No one is great. They work in the confines of what they need here. If you are into Disney movies, especially sports ones then give this a go. It isn't fully believable. It is more of a shut off your brain for sure.
My Rating: 7 out of 10. -
rebeljenn30 January 2006'The Mighty Ducks' is an uplifting story about competing, succeeding, losing, and loving the game of hockey. It is the not-so-original story about a coach and his team. The team happens to be a group of annoying children who slide around the hockey rink and who learn what it is like to be the underdog and then succeed through the help of their heroic coach. I found this to be an annoying (the children got on my nerves) film which lacked anything and everything possible to qualify as a decent film. Maybe, if you enjoy the game of hockey and these children do not annoy you, you will enjoy this. I hope you do because I didn't enjoy it.
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A classic kids sport movie, with a story we have seen many times, in The Bad News Bears and many other movies. This time the sport is ice hockey. A new coach takes a hopeless team, full of losers and misfits. Initially reluctant, the coach gets into it, and after some difficulties teaches the kids to love the sport and work hard together, turning them into a winning team.
Not original, but it's done well. It's a feel-good underdog story, made better by some drama between the rival coaches, a star player who has to change teams and a romance between the coach and the single mom of one of the kids. The storytelling is very streamlined and not much time is devoted to any element. But it works. It's fun, and it makes you feel good. Great family movie.