As far as sports movies go, you’d be pushed to find a ”Best of” list without finding The Mighty Ducks on it. And this is actually the first movie on TQR I’m ashamed to have never seen before. 1992 was the year I was born though, so you have to forgive me for not seeing this movie immediately as a newborn baby because… that’s just impossible.
Then Disney+ steps in and I have the opportunity to change that fact.
Although never quite stepping up to the heights of Remember the Titans for me, The Mighty Ducks is similar in theme. It begins with a group of kids (albeit those in Titans being slightly older) who just don’t work well together as a team. As with most sports-led films, the plot is kind of obvious, and everything culminates in (SPOILERS) the team working through their short-comings and developing into a successful group of athletes.
Now if you know me, you’ll know I love sports. No matter what it is – MLB, NFL, FIFA, NHL, NBA – I’ll watch it. There’s something about not knowing what’s going to happen, seeing humans work together, and the collective thrill of a roaring crowd that just gets me. There’s nothing else like it. So you’ll probably understand then why sports movies are near and dear to my heart.
My first thought as The Mighty Ducks ended was ”why can’t Disney go back to making live action movies like this?” Honestly, we don’t need a bloody live action remake of Bambi. We know exactly – right down to the grisly death – what’s going to happen in that movie. What we need more of is original story, feel-good family films like Ducks. Sure, this is slightly dated now and it wreaks of nineties nostalgia, but it still holds up well. Would it kill the folks at Disney to kickstart something new outside the realms of animation?
I’ll reiterate this: the plot is extremely predictable. But who cares? For some people – kids especially – it might not be as predictable as I’m portraying it. If you’ve never seen a sports movie before, you might not see everything coming either. What makes a truly great sports movie, however, is when you don’t have to love or even care about sports to love the movie. This is a film with universal appeal – there are characters of all races, genders, and ages – that is simply the stuff you need in an age of quarantine and isolation.
Unfortunately, there is an unnecessary plot line in which we see Emilio Estevez‘s Coach Bombay (who is perfect in this role, by the way) begin to date one of his student’s Moms. It’s well done enough, sure, but it is pointless in more ways than one. I’d probably put the inclusion of this story line down to the fact that up until recently, it seems that Disney felt you needed a romantic relationship in your movie to make people care about it. I can tell you without a doubt that when you watch it, the only thing you’ll care about are the Ducks themselves.
On the whole, this is a glorious movie. It’s heartwarming and feel good, without being overtly cheesy. If you need a Wednesday morning mood lifter, why not give this a go with your morning coffee? I loved it. You will too.
The Mighty Ducks is available to stream on Disney+, NowTV and Sky Cinema in the UK.
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