#47: D2: The Mighty Ducks

Release Date: March 25th, 1994

Format: Streaming (Disney+)

Written by: Steven Brill

Directed by: Sam Weisman

2 Stars

I remember seeing this movie in theaters with my dad when I was 10-years-old, and more specifically, I remember a reaction my dad had towards the end of the movie: It’s the 2nd period of the World Junior Olympics Championship, and the USA team is down a couple goals to the bigger, stronger Icelandic team. Coach Bombay, played by Emilio Estevez, looks down his bench and sees the “Bash Brothers,” his two biggest and most aggressive players, and puts them in to even out the size disadvantage and exact some revenge on the evil Icelanders. 

My reaction at the time? Hell yeah! Let’s go! USA! USA!

My dad’s reaction? Literally, “Why didn’t he have them in this whole time?”

This essentially captures D2: The Mighty Ducks. If you’re 10-years-old, grab some candy and a soda and get hyped. This movie is funny and moves at a frenetic pace. You’ll love it.

If you’re an age above, let’s say, 12-years-old, this is slick, formulaic, nonsensical commercialism.

There is a thick layer of irony with this movie, too, where a now world-famous Coach Bombay (yes, this movie wants you to earnestly believe that a youth hockey coach is globally famous) loses a sense of what it means to be a Duck as he is caught up in a whirlwind of big-money sponsorship deals and corporate greed as his team plays on the worldwide stage. But by the end of the movie he is reminded that there is a purity to selfless team hockey that money can’t buy. Only Disney would have the balls to present this message in a movie that was singularly produced to promote their newly formed NHL team, the Anaheim Ducks, and their new hockey arena, that is gratuitously featured in the championship game. 

Does any of this matter when you’re a kid? Nope! You couldn’t care less. But do you really want to try a knucklepuck the next time your PE teacher busts out the hockey sticks during gym? Yup!