“Ducks fly together!” Or at least they used to in the ’90s. However, the first episode of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers released last week on Disney+ opens with an entirely new version of the Ducks, one that shockingly resembles that of The Hawks from the original movie, only with a different color scheme.
The competitive nature of hockey was always easy to find in the movies, but it is taken to an entirely new level in the series, to the point where the children involved are no longer having fun on the ice, but rather are working as hard as they can to be the absolute best so that they can go on to excel in college. Mind you, they’re twelve. While there’s nothing wrong with having goals and aspirations, we as the audience see that the joys of childhood sports have been completely removed from this league, to the point where the children’s own coach tells them “don’t bother” when they aren’t good enough to make the cut on the Ducks. This sentiment is the catalyst for Alex (Lauren Graham, Gilmore Girls) to take her son Evan (Brady Noon, Good Boys), who was recently released from the team, and form their own rag-tag group of underdogs, appropriately named the Don’t Bothers.
But don’t worry, there are still some parallels between the original movie we know and love and this new series. For starters, Evan appears to be an updated version of Charlie, fully equipped with an independent single mother and the potential to excel at hockey under the right leadership. This brings me to good ol’ Coach Bombay (Emilio Esteves, The Breakfast Club).
Oh, how the “Mighty” has fallen. Gordon Bombay went from high-powered lawyer to professional hockey player, to coach, to apparently currently owning The Ice Palace, a little ice rink with character, boasting an unimpressive hot chocolate bar and a rink that appears to have seen better days, much like Bombay himself. Despite having formerly coached the Ducks that we knew and love, Gordon Bombay appears to presently exist on leftover birthday cake and is back to hating children and hockey, forbidding any hockey playing at his rink. That is until Alex mentions she found a city surplus for children’s ice hockey that was unclaimed. This is a great detail to include because prior to this information it’s a bit questionable as to how she was planning on funding an entirely new hockey team.
The Don’t Bothers are just as much of a hot mess as the original Ducks were when they first started out, and while the characters are quite different, they will probably channel their inner Fultons, Karps, Connies, Jessies, and Charlies. Though hopefully we see a glimmer of Averman and Goldberg at some point this season as well. A fun plot twist that appears to lie ahead is the likely addition of star player Sofi (Swayam Bhatia, Succession) – the Ducks’ current version of Adam Banks. However, it’s likely up with the fact that the Don’t Bothers will be her choice rather than the product of district re-zoning.
One thing that absolutely brought back the nostalgic feels was the inclusion of some of the original soundtrack throughout the first episode. It’s hard not to smile hearing those memorable notes throughout this first episode. And if you’re a fellow Mighty Ducks fan like this writer is, you’ll be happy to know that some of our favorite OG players are expected to make an appearance in an upcoming episode this season.
If nothing else, the show is a great callback to a fantastic childhood sports movie, and I look forward to seeing the dynamics of modern youth sports play out in current times. Hopefully, we see these kids (and their parents) find their way back to just being kids and enjoying the game of hockey.
To all my fellow “cake-eaters”, make sure you catch The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers now on Disney Plus.
