Though it was something of a sleeper hit upon its release, the original Mighty Ducks trilogy has become cult classics and are beloved amongst thousands of millennials. And now, Disney is doing what it does best, which is making the best use out of as many of their properties as they can by giving them Disney+ series, which is exactly what they’ve done with the Mighty Ducks.
And though there are a whole bunch of lovable new characters, it’s the brief return of the original cast that made The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers most exciting, along with a ton of other fun callbacks to the first three movies.
Fulton Smashes The Truck Window
Game Changers is full of cameos from the original characters, but this one might just be the best. In The Mighty Ducks, one of the fan-favorite characters was the brawny but stiff Fulton (Elden Hens0n), who had an incredible swing but couldn’t skate for his life. He was introduced in the original movie when he accidentally hit a hockey puck through the window of Coach Bombay’s (Emilio Esteves) limo.
After being one of the few original Ducks who has had a pretty illustrious acting career, Henson returns as Fulton decades later, and he reunites with Bombay in the exact same way. Now working in construction, Fulton accidentally hits Bombay’s truck window with a piece of cement, and it’s the catalyst for the big Ducks reunion later in the episode.
The Original Team Having Dinner Together
The sixth episode of the show, “The Spirit of the Ducks,” is by far the best of the series, and it’s all thanks to the reunion between the original cast. There are so many callbacks to the original movies during the actual dinner, most notably the fact that Guy (Garette Henson) and Connie (Marguerite Moreau) are still hopelessly in love and obsessed with each other.
However, there were still a few noticeable absences, as Charlie (Joshua Jackson,) who was essentially the main character of the original trilogy didn’t show up, but he was mentioned in passing. And Russ (Kenan Thompson) was nowhere to be seen either. However, given that Thompson is the most successful actor of the lot, as he is a Saturday Night Live regular, he may have simply been too busy. But hopefully, they’ll show up in season 2.
The Averman Song
Most of the characters were ticked off the checklist of who fans want to see return, and along with Fulton, Averman (Matt Doherty) is up there as one of the most memorable original Ducks, as he was the biggest prankster of them all.
The funniest thing he ever did throughout the trilogy was give colorful commentaries on the hockey games whenever he was sitting on the bench, and at a couple of points, he even breaks into chants that make no sense whatsoever. And in what is possibly the greatest bit of fan service Game Changers could have ever provided, Averman’s chant returns, as he tries to annoy Coach Bombay one final time.
“Quack! Quack! Quack!”
Though it isn’t the most famous sports movie of all time, there are still a ton of iconic lines, not just in the first movie, but the whole series. The most memorable quote of the series is undoubtedly when the Ducks chant “quack!” over and over again to psych themselves up.
It was almost looking like it wasn’t going to happen in the show, as the Ducks are now the antagonistic opponents to the Don’t Bothers. But in the final episode, when the Don’t Bothers win the right to the legendary hockey team name back, they chant it right at the end.
The Flying V
Throughout the series, Bombay and Alex implement a bunch of strange training tactics with the amateur team, whether it’s making the team play blindfolded or having them pass their iPhones to each other along the ice.
But the most famous play in The Mighty Ducks is the Flying V, in which they all stand in the formation of a V as they skate to the goal, passing the puck between them. The play was never practiced in the training sessions, but they must have been working on it behind the scenes, as they pull it off in the final game against the Mighty Ducks, and it’s what helps them win back their name.
The Hockey Jerseys
The final game is chock full of callbacks to the original movies, as not only do they chant “quack,” and not only do they perform the Flying V, but the original hockey jerseys return too.
Though the Mighty Ducks are seen playing throughout the 10 episodes, they are mostly in black jerseys, but the Don’t Bothers put on the classic green and yellow tops for the final period of the match. The original jerseys actually show up twice, as the original team wears them when they show up in episode six too.
Driving A Limo On The Ice
In the first movie, Bombay convinces his limo driver to drive out onto the ice where the young hockey team is playing. Now, 27 years later, after Bombay was surprised to hear that Averman takes a limo to work every day, thinking that he had an incredible job, it turns out that Averman is actually a limo driver.
Bombay finds out when Averman drives the limo out onto the ice, just like he did more than 20 years earlier. And just as he always was, Averman is still the same prankster he was in the three '90s movies.
Soft Hands
Bombay was tasked with the difficult job of coaching a group of pranksters and school dropouts into becoming one of the best hockey teams there is in The Mighty Ducks, and he did so with some strange tactics. He taught the team to have “soft hands” by making them pass eggs back and forth between each other on the ice.
Because of this, the team became much more resilient and skilled when handling the puck. And in Game Changers, that unique training method has been given a 21st century update. Instead of eggs, this time it’s their mobile phones, and the team was unquestionably more careful with those than they were with the eggs.
The Music
Though the original movies weren’t actually that successful at the box office, as the first film made just $50 million and the third film barely made more than $20 million, there’s no denying just how well known the Mighty Ducks score is.
David Newman’s score is so memorable, and it has been brought back for the show. However, it has been made arguably even better and livelier by composer John Debney thanks to the rattling drums, which makes it feel more like being at an actual hockey event.
Coach Bombay’s Return
Coach Bombay’s story arc throughout the series has so many parallels with the movies. At first, he is completely unmotivated due to an event that has haunted him, only to be convinced to return to the sport by the children. And not only that, but he’s a hopeless romantic, as he is yet again seemingly falling in love with one of his players’ mothers.
Between Fulton smashing vehicle windows, Averman cracking dumb jokes, and Bombay’s relationship with Alex, it seems like some things never change.