D2: The Mighty Ducks

D2: The Mighty Ducks (also known as The Mighty Ducks 2) is a 1994 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Sam Weisman. It is the second installment in The Mighty Ducks trilogy, and a sequel to the 1992 film The Mighty Ducks produced by Walt Disney Pictures, The Kerner Entertainment Company and Avnet–Kerner Productions. In some countries the film was titled The Mighty Ducks (the first having been titled Champions and as The Mighty Ducks Are the Champions on home release). It was succeeded by the final film the series, D3: The Mighty Ducks, in 1996.

D2: The Mighty Ducks
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySam Weisman
Produced byJon Avnet
Jordan Kerner
Written bySteven Brill
Based onCharacters
by Steven Brill
Starring
Music byJ. A. C. Redford
CinematographyMark Irwin
Edited byJohn F. Link
Eric Sears
Production
company
Walt Disney Pictures
Avnet–Kerner Productions
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures
Release date
  • March 25, 1994 (1994-03-25)
Running time
106 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$45.6 million

Plot

Former Pee-Wee hockey standout and coach, Gordon Bombay, is a star in the minor leagues, expected to reach the National Hockey League. However, a career-ending knee injury brings him back to Minneapolis. Don Tibbles, a hockey apparel executive, visits Bombay and offers him a chance to coach a team representing the United States in the Junior Goodwill Games in Los Angeles. Bombay accepts, and he manages to reunite most of his former Ducks players including loyal team captain Charlie Conway, enforcer Fulton Reed, comical goalie Greg Goldberg, street-wise Jesse Hall, jokester Les Averman, all-star player Adam Banks and lovers Connie Moreau and Guy Germaine. To replace non-returning players and to truly be a continental Team USA, the Ducks also add five new players, each from around the US and with special talents: skilled goalie Julie 'The Cat' Gaffney from Bangor, rebellious enforcer Dean Portman from Chicago, puck-handling cowboy Dwayne Robertson from Austin, speedster (who has trouble stopping) Luis Mendoza from Miami and young Olympic figure-skater turned hockey player Ken Wu from San Francisco.

In Los Angeles, the original Ducks initially have trouble adjusting to the newcomers, but they soon learn to work as a team. Guided by Tibbles, Bombay becomes distracted by the lure of celebrity, and begins to neglect the team for a luxurious lifestyle. The team wins easy victories over Trinidad & Tobago and Italy in the double-elimination tournament. Fulton Reed and Dean Portman gain recognition for their enforcer skills, and are dubbed the "Bash Brothers". Backup goaltender Julie Gaffney asks Bombay for a chance to play, but is told to wait as goalie Greg Goldberg is on a hot streak.

The team suffers an embarrassing 12–1 defeat against Iceland, coached by ex-NHL player Wolf "The Dentist" Stansson. USA plays badly, and star center Adam Banks is slashed in the wrist. Frustrated, Bombay drives his players even harder where he even forces them to practice well into the night, but they begin to suffer from complete exhaustion. Realizing the children are too tired to complete their school work or even stay awake in class, the team's tutor Michelle McKay intervenes, cancelling practice and confronting Bombay over his thoughtlessness and for putting his ego ahead of the well being of his team. Once better rested, the players encounter a street hockey team who teaches them to play like "the real Team USA".

Bombay continues to suffer from the pressure until Jan, brother of Bombay's mentor Hans, visits and reminds him of his love for the game. In their match against Germany, Bombay fails to arrive on time, forcing Charlie to tell the referee Michelle is the team's assistant coach. The team struggles, entering the third period tied, until Bombay arrives and apologizes to the team for his selfish behavior. Inspired by the true return of their coach, the players win the game with their signature "Flying V", and advance to the next round.

The renewed Bombay finally realizes Adam's wrist injury and benches him despite his complaints. To fill the open roster spot, Charlie recruits street hockey player Russ Tyler, whose unique "knucklepuck" – which rotates end over end rather than spinning around its centerline – secures USA's victory over Russia, advancing them to the championship game for a rematch against Iceland. Adam's injury is later healed, only to find Team USA with a full roster. Knowing the team needs Russ's knucklepuck and Adam's skill against Iceland, Charlie gives up his own spot, cementing his leadership as true team captain and helps Bombay coach instead.

In the final game, the physically imposing Iceland initially dominates as the Ducks incur penalties: Ken picks a fight with an opposing player, the Bash Brothers fight the entire Iceland bench and Dwayne lassos an opposing player before he can check Connie. An annoyed Bombay observes, "this isn't a hockey game, it's a circus."

After a rousing locker room speech from Bombay and new Duck jerseys from Jan, the team emerges rejuvenated. The Ducks tie the game with goals from Connie, Banks, Luis, and finally Russ, who was targeted by Iceland but disguised himself as Goldberg to pull off a successful "knucklepuck". The game is forced to go to a five-shot shootout. With a 4–3 score in favor of the Ducks, Gunnar Stahl, the tournament's leading scorer, is Team Iceland's final shooter. Bombay replaces Goldberg with Julie, who has a faster glove. Gunnar fires a hard slapshot, and Julie falls to the ice. The entire stadium waits in breathless anticipation as she opens her glove and drops the puck, revealing the game-winning save and the Ducks' triumph over Iceland to win the tournament. Despite Wolf's disappointment, he congratulates Bombay; Gunnar does the same to Charlie, stating "Good work, Captain Duck". Adam is handed the American flag by officials, but gives it to Charlie instead, who runs around the rink as his teammates skate behind him in triumph over their win.

The team returns to Minnesota; to celebrate their victory, they roast marshmallows and sing Queen's "We Are the Champions" around a campfire.

Cast

Cameo appearances

There are several cameo appearances in D2: The Mighty Ducks from famous athletes.

Departures

Mighty Duck players that were in the first film but not this one:

  • Tammy Duncan (Jane Plank; her figure skating skills were replaced with those of Ken Wu)
  • Tommy Duncan (Danny Tamberelli)
  • Terry Hall (Jussie Smollett, despite the continuation of the character's brother, Jesse)
  • Dave Karp (Aaron Schwartz)
  • Peter Mark (J.D. Daniels; his street punk goon image was replaced with those of Dean Portman)
  • Hans (Joss Ackland; Bombay's mentor was replaced by his brother, Jan, though Ackland reprises his role in the third film)

Production

The Mighty Ducks spawned a sequel and Iceland was chosen instead of Russia as enemies.[1][2][3][4]

The filming of the final game was the very first event to take place at the then brand new Arrowhead Pond, which attracted approximately 15,000 people. As the filming would span over several days, the production team was aware that the crowd would not be as consistent. To accommodate the dwindling crowd, cardboard stand-ups were brought in and moved around to fill-in shots.[5]

Reaction

Critical reception

Like its predecessor, the film received negative reviews.[6][7][8] It has a 21% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 3.9/10.[9] Desson Howe of The Washington Post wrote: "D2: The Mighty Ducks reaches an extraordinary low – even for a Disney sequel. This unctuous barrage of flag-waving, message-mongering, counterfeit morality, which contains the stalest kiddie-team heroics in recent memory, makes the original, innocuous 'Ducks' look like one of the Great Works."[10]

Audiences polled by CinemaScore an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[11]

Year-end worst-of lists

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $10,356,748 domestically.[13][14] It was a financial success, with a final domestic box office total of $45,610,410.

Home video release

The film was released on DVD on September 3, 2002 and was also released on Blu-ray Disc on May 23, 2017.

Soundtrack
  1. Queen – "We Will Rock You"
  2. Poorboys – "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" (Bachman-Turner Overdrive Cover)
  3. Gary Glitter – "Rock and Roll"
  4. Martha Wash – "Mr. Big Stuff"
  5. David Newman – "Mighty Ducks Suite"
  6. Tag Team – "Whoomp! (There It Is)"
  7. The Troggs – "Wild Thing"
  8. Gear Daddies – "Zamboni"
  9. Queen – "We Are the Champions"
  10. John Bisaha – "Rock the Pond"

References
  1. "How Iceland Became The Mighty Ducks' No. 1 Villain". Wbur.org. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  2. "Quack, Quack, Quack: An Oral History of the Mighty Ducks Trilogy". Time.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  3. "How Iceland Became The Mighty Ducks' No. 1 Villain - Only A Game". Wnyc.org. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  4. Lee, Amber. "25 Things You Never Knew About the Mighty Ducks Trilogy". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  5. "The 'Mighty Ducks' Trilogy: An Oral History". Time.com. 2014-06-09. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  6. "D2: The Mighty Ducks". Ew.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  7. Critic, Malcolm Johnson; Courant Film. "THIS QUACKED-'DUCKS' SEQUEL IS ALL WET". Courant.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  8. "MOVIE REVIEW : 'D2 the Mighty Ducks' Takes On a Mighty Big Challenge : Underdog peewee hockey players take another slap at glory--but slip up in pursuit of the original's success". Latimes.com. 25 March 1994. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  9. "D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994)". Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
  10. Howe, Desson (1994-03-25). "D2: The Mighty Ducks". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  11. "Home - Cinemascore". CinemaScore. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  12. Lovell, Glenn (December 25, 1994). "The Past Picture Show the Good, the Bad and the Ugly -- a Year Worth's of Movie Memories". San Jose Mercury News (Morning Final ed.). p. 3.
  13. "Weekend Box Office : A Good Turnout for 'Four Weddings'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  14. "Oscar Winners Pick Up at the Box Office". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
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