This Day in Theaters: Oct. 2, 1992

The Mighty Ducks (1992)

The Mighty Ducks, now known simply as the Ducks, are an NHL team that formed in 1993 and 14 years later reached the promise land of lifting the Stanley Cup. This film tells of their humbling beginning in 1992 as a suburban Minneapolis rag tag pond hockey team that is down on their luck. They don't have much money and no one seems to have faith in them; they don't even have a coach. Then through the assistance of a DUI and a judge Charlie Sheen's brother takes charge of the team with the goal of turning them around and keeping his job at a successful law firm. Will they get themselves together and win while learning some lessons about themselves along the way?

Desson Howe of the Washingtop Post:

"There's such a paucity of movies for preteen audiences, Walt Disney's "The Mighty Ducks" will attract the young and under-entertained by sheer default -- not to mention TV advertising. 

Those not yet wise to formulaic pablum are likely to enjoy this ice hockey kiddie ensemble comedy. But their older escorts might want to bring a novel and a flashlight, or a Walkman or portable television with earphones. They'll need something to get through this alive."

Roger Ebert gets right to the point:
"'The Mighty Ducks' is the kind of movie that might have been written by a computer program. It tells a story that has been told time and time and time again, about the misfit coach who is handed a team of kids who are losers, and turns them into winners while redeeming himself. Even the usual supporting characters are here: The opposing coach who persecuted the hero when he was a kid; the kid who has a divorced mother that the hero falls in love with; the tough rebel kid who only needs to channel his anger."

Just 15 years later these guy will be NHL Champions!

Not much more I can say that these two haven't already touched on. The movie is very paint by numbers without nearly any deviance outside the lines. Each kid on the teams seems to ripped right out of another children's sport movie; accept the Mighty Ducks have two fat kids and two black kids instead of the usual allotment of one each. The only real redeeming things I found in this movie were the hockey scenes. As someone who grew up in the South and didn't see too much hockey in person, let alone pee-wee hockey, it was pretty cool watching the kids skate around even though you knew the outcome of each game as soon as it started. My friends and I would even take out our baseball bats and a ball and run around an play hockey in the driveway after we would watch the VHS. But other than that, there really was no satisfaction watching this one. They ended up making two more sequels to this film, "D:2" and "D:3", which follow the team to an international competition and then on to prep school with some new additions along the way. I happen to find those much more enjoyable but this is where it all began. If you haven't seen this one you aren't missing much so only put it on if you have kids; then promptly leave the room until the sequels come in the mail.

IMDb Score: 6.1

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 12%