How Outsiders Became Winners Once in a distant childhood, I was very lucky, I think, because I will be able to watch a film in the genre of sports with elements of comedy, shot just for a children's audience, called "Mighty Ducklings." At that time, I still did not realize that growing up I would become an ardent fan of one hockey team, which, unfortunately, can be said that no longer exists, then I would watch and review the best games from the super series of the USSR – Canada and admire the brilliant school of Soviet hockey, and then also lose nerve cells, watching the Russian national hockey team at international tournaments, but still applaud it, even if the players could not bring great joy to victory. So with the “Power Ducklings” I have pleasant childhood memories, which then turned into “illness” in adulthood. But, to be honest, for “Mighty Dax of Anaheim” (now “Anaheim Dax”) is not “pain”.
The director of this popular film for children was Stephen Herek. Released in 1992, The Mighty Ducklings became his fourth feature film. And hitherto Stephen Hereck made his debut in 1986, when the first part of another famous franchise – “Zubastic”, and later, in 1991, made Christina Applegate a star, shooting the film “Don’t Tell Mom That the Nanny Is Dead”. So Herek was already quite an experienced director to understand that you do not need to invent a bicycle and you need to calmly give the viewer what he wants: firstly, a children's hockey team, which is recorded in the eternal outsiders, secondly, a coach who suddenly finds his recognition and makes boobs of real champions, and thirdly, in the finale of the picture, you need to arrange affection when the upstart team in a dramatic style wins over the favorites. This was naturally understood by Stephen Brill, the screenwriter of the film, who will then work closely with Adam Sandler in the films “Nicky, the Devil is Junior” and “The Millionaire involuntarily”, and for 2016, their new film “Everything is new” was announced.
Of course, stereotypes are never good for a film, that's usually the case, but the exception to the rule only confirms it. Such an exception can be considered as “Powerful Ducklings”. It seems that everything is known in advance, you know what the ending will be, but you still look and still wake up inside the feeling that you support the children’s hockey team, as well as his coach Gordon Bombay. This initially unpleasant subject was played by Emilio Estevez, the son of Martin Sheen and brother of Charlie Sheen. It is now Emilio almost disappeared from the screens, and in the time of “the Mighty ducklings” was recognized as a star of Hollywood. And this reputation he confirmed with his play in this sports picture. His hero quickly copes with his unpleasant habits, being inside the sport that once predicted a great future for him, but a mistake at the end of the final match, when Gordon was still a child, dashed these hopes. But now he's a coach, and he's created the Mighty Ducklings and leads them to victory, solving his own painful childhood memories. This small melodramatism is well played in the film and it was largely thanks to Emilio Estevez.
In addition to the fact that “Mighty Ducklings” turned out to be a very acceptable film, which even carried many stereotypes and templates of the sports genre, but it inspired and entertained, and this is the main merit of two Stephens – Herek and Brill, so here you can see some of the now famous actors who at the time of “Mighty Ducklings” were not sixteen years old. In their own way, the creators of the picture singled out Charlie Conway (his on-screen mom had a romantic relationship with Gordon Bombay), played by Joshua Jackson. Of course, Jackson can not be called a world star, but he is still quite famous. Mostly, however, according to horror films and thrillers (" Urban Legends, Gossip and Phantoms). As a boy, he coped perfectly with the role of a good member of the children's hockey team, for whom you also "more." And then there's Elden Henson, then credited as Elden Ratliff. He played a real powerful “duckling” with an amazing throw, and he is also a kind of verzila-tafgai (who are “tafgai”, if you do not know, then ask sports experts). Later, this young actor will play superbly in the drama Giant, and will also be an important but secondary actor of the ensemble from The Butterfly Effect.
But not only Joshua Jackson and Elden Ratliffe (aka Henson) will brave in the children’s sports film “The Mighty Ducklings”, in honor of which they will then create a real professional hockey team from the city of Anaheim. In the film, all the guys are good and thanks to their close-knit ensemble “Mighty Ducklings” and look so vivid and even daring, so it is impossible not to “sick” for them. Well, the real mentor for them, who revised their values in life, was coach Gordon Bombay, successfully embodied by Emilio Estevez.
8 out of 10