Danielle Solzman
The quack attack is back after 25 years when The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers makes its long-awaited streaming debut on Disney+.
These are not the same Mighty Ducks that we grew up with. After ten consecutive championships, they’re basically the Hawks. There’s no other way to say it. I grew up watching the Ducks as the underdog. The brand that they’re playing now is super competitive and you have to be better than just being good enough. In a way, it’s no different than youth sports today. Parents and coaches want the kids to win at all costs. On one hand, it’s a genius idea to satirize that part of today’s culture as the driving force of the series. But on the other hand, it’s like they’ve taken all the fun out of playing the game! Remember when Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) would just let the kids have fun instead of holding a strict practice? It doesn’t fly with the new Ducks.
Alex Morrow’s (Lauren Graham) coaching practices may be unorthodox but they help us get to know Evan Morrow (Brady Noon) and his teammates. Are they even good at hockey? What makes them tick? You get the idea.
Having Emilio Estevez reprise his role as Gordon Bombay gives the series its nostalgic factor. He’s no longer coaching. In fact, the Ice Palace has a “No Hockey sign” on the wall. How he came to manage this place, well, you’ll have to wait and see. What I wanted to know going into The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers is what has Coach Bombay been doing for the past 25 years. That’s right, the third film of the trilogy came out in 1996. We know he was a lawyer turned hockey coach and then Hendrix named him their Director of Player Personnel. But what happened to him since then to where he becomes such a cynical ice rink manager?
Press were giving access to the first three episodes ahead of the season. This is good because I feel like The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers is just hitting its stride by the end of the third episode. I feel like the nostalgia factor really comes into play by the third episode. It’s where I found myself the most comfortable after the first two episodes. The first episode is definitely the longest but it also has so much to do in introducing the characters. Obviously, we know Coach Bombay but the same cannot be said for everyone else.
SHOWRUNNERS: Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Steve Brill, Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, Michael Spiller, James Griffiths, Emilio Estevez
CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Lauren Graham
NON-WRITING EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: George Heller, Brad Petrigala, Jon Avnet, Jordan Kerner
CAST: Lauren Graham, Brady Noon, Maxwell Simkins, Swayam Bhatia, Luke Islam, Kiefer O’Reilly, Taegen Burns, Bella Higginbotham, DJ Watts, and Emilio Estevez
