I do believe my first question to this would be: why? Why in the name of all that’s holy or unholy does Disney keep bringing back these old ideas that were great the way they were? As Timothy Beck Werth of ScreenRant has stated however this series won’t be following the story that so many of us are familiar with, as it will instead follow a 13-year old boy and his mother as she goes about creating a new hockey team for him to play on. Apparently the kid has been cut from the Mighty Ducks team as the story goes, which almost seems like a cautious but present middle finger to the fan base that helped to make the original movie and its sequels anything close to memorable. Some people might think that’s ridiculous and point out that Disney is simply trying to appeal to the younger generation, those that don’t know about the original Mighty Ducks, but that’s a pretty thin explanation to be certain. There’s nothing really stopping parents from showing their kids how the Mighty Ducks started out and how it became a positive if somewhat campy experience that was spearheaded by a cast that came together and was almost a family in many ways as they came to fully understand and respect each other.
As the sequels rolled on it saw the exclusion of a few players such as Peter, Karp, Terry, Tammy, and Tommy just in the transition from the first to the second movie. From the second to the third a few more were lost as Jesse went on his way, and it was even believed that Portman had been lost from the second movie. Gordon Bombay was there throughout all three movies thankfully since Emilio Estevez made the character something special and was one of the only guys that could have pulled this off since in his heyday he was nothing short of great. As for the rest of the cast they’ve all moved on and done their own thing, some of them have become famous throughout the years and some have slipped quietly into obscurity with the memory of the Mighty Ducks as the one time in their life that they did something great. But for the fans, rebooting this idea is something that might be taken the wrong way by some and embraced by others. But cutting the main character from the iconic and titular team first and foremost almost seems like a giant snub to the main idea since it indicates that the Mighty Ducks have become exclusive to only the best talent around. Does anyone remember how they started out, as District 5? Not a single one of them had any hint of talent, and even when they started getting better, their star was a former opponent that had been forced to unwillingly switch to their side. The point is, the idea of making peewee hockey a place where only the most skilled need apply seems like an idea that was born in the 80s and was revived for this one purpose.
But yes, it could be that I’m overreacting and the coming series could be something special and bound to take the idea in a new direction that kids might like. It still seems a bit like a snub to the original idea, which wouldn’t be too hard to believe since Disney is constantly moving forward, even at the expense of what it’s done in the past that’s actually worked. If you look at it the Mighty Ducks movies might be a bit dated, but they’re every bit as fun and even as wholesome as anything that’s been coming out today. In fact it’s easy to say that they might be even more wholesome since they didn’t do much in the way of anything controversial that could be seen back then. Seriously, the worst thing that might have been shown was a dirty magazine that was quickly knocked out of the shot and therefore relegated to the depths of memory in favor of the overall story. The coming show could possibly go way beyond this in a single episode unless it’s going to be presented as one of the many shows that can’t cross certain lines and will therefore be as unrealistic as possible in presenting children and adults in a manner that’s as milquetoast and boring as can possibly be until it’s time to see some hockey taking place. You can call it cynicism all you’d like, but the fact is that Disney is taking a lot of its properties and dulling down their edges again and again in an attempt to keep their image as an overall family-friendly corporation.
In summation, Mighty Ducks was fine as is, but hopefully this show will be something that fans of the movies and those just learning about them can get behind. Jose Martinez of Complex has more to say on this subject.
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