“The Quack Attack Is Back, Jack!” Why the Ducks Movies Still Matter 20 Years Later
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Connie Moreau: But they’re wimpy!
Guy Germaine: They don’t even have teeth!
Gordon Bombay: Neither do hockey players.
-The Mighty Ducks, 1992
Earlier this week (Sunday, to be precise), the cast of “D2: The Mighty Ducks” had a 20th anniversary reunion. For 90s kids (and kids at heart) this is one for the books. Granted, it may not be the best trilogy in film history, but it mattered to us back then and it still matters to us now. Social media blew up over the last few hours, with hashtags like #MightyDucks racking up thousands of results in Instagram and Twitter worldwide.
Marguerite Moreau (who played Connie Moreau in all three films) and her husband actor Chris Redman were at the helm of the social media documentation. Sure, some key players like Charlie Conway (Joshua Jackson), loudmouth knucklepuck dude Russ Tyler (Kenan Thompson) and Coach Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) weren’t there, but almost everyone else was, including some from the original Ducks! Brace yourselves; this will be a long, semi-nostalgic post.
It Has a Lasting Global Appeal
Let me tell you, ice or winter doesn’t even exist in my tropical country of the Philippines. Maybe that’s part of the reason the movies captivated me and my peers – we had this strange obsession with snow, winter, and everything else our contemporaries had on the other side of the planet. We had to settle for roller blades and street hockey (if we ever find gear at our local sports shops) and we could only watch the NHL on ESPN (remember ESPN?) because ice hockey was basically non-existent on our shores.
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Go around anywhere and you’ll still see the Ducks’ legacy live on. All three films are in rotation at various kids’ and movie channels. There’s a Mighty Ducks themed area in Disney’s All Star Movie Resort in Florida. There are Mighty Ducks memorabilia for sale in shops and online. A schoolmate gave me the tie-in novels for D2 and D3 back in high school, and I’ve been keeping them safely since then. I bought my Ducks jersey from a clothing shop for about US $10 (it was 500 Philippine Pesos back then) which I wore for a 90s-themed office party, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s ever done that. I mean, seriously, how many kids here dressed up as Ducks player for Halloween?
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It’s a Coming of Age Series
“They’re bigger! They’re stronger! They’re faster! They’ve got more facial hair!” said Les Averman in D2. Not too shabby these days, Averman! Pictured here with the brains behind the massive series, Steven Brill:
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. But really, the Ducks films were about a bunch of teenagers who had no boundaries and a coach undergoing what I can only describe as a premature mid-life crisis. But, if you really think about it, these three films are so relatable, whether back in the 90s, early 2000s, or even now.
Joshua Jackson may not have been present during the reunion, but the Ducks films catapulted his career. In a recent interview with Time, he revealed the importance of the hockey dynasty to him, and it made my heart giggle with delight. “I feel like a fourth film should happen, and if there was space for any of the original kids to come back and have a role, I would be surprised that anybody didn’t want to do it,” he said. “The next generation should have its own version. Not that we need to come back as adults, but I hope my kids grow up and play pickup hockey and I hope that they have their own movies like my generation had those movies. In that way, yeah, of course, I’d be a part of something like that.”
Some Lessons are Best Learned through Example
I was watching the trilogy yesterday, probably for the thousandth time in my life, and each time was a different experience for me. I learned lessons or got reminded of them. Never take people for granted (when Hans died we all had the feels), finish what you started (“You made us and now you’re stuck with us!”), and be a gentleman (“Where I come from, we treat ladies with respect!” and “Her name is Julie, not ‘babe!’”). Other lessons common in all three films include: never give up, be the bigger person, don’t be a bully ‘cos karma will get you, and family matters a lot.
And of course, puberty can sometimes be kind. I present to you, Goldberg and Karp:
Also, we must not quack at the principal.
Some Friendships Will Last a Lifetime, If Not Forever
Some of the cast have been in the same films or TV shows even for a short while, so it’s no surprise they’ve been staying in touch. Scott Whyte revealed he’s been buddies with Shaun Weiss off screen and that they often still talk long after the film series ended. “Every once in a while we reach out, say hi, see if we can come up with something funny to film and put out there, I think it’ll happen sometime.”
Who here has friendships that have spanned two decades or more? I have only a few, but these guys…
And of course, what’s a bunch of missfits without a bunch of babes? Check out Connie with Julie the Cat! Hot ladies, or what? I so wanted to be them growing up. I still do, actually.
True Love Stories Don’t Have Endings
Yeah, I know, that’s from Veronica Mars. But look, just look at Connie and Guy! <3
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. When you purchase something after clicking links in my articles, I may earn a small commission. Read my affiliate link policy for more details.