Okay, so maybe The Mighty Ducks is a formulaic, somewhat bland kiddie sports movie. We've all seen it before: poor and/or loser sports team gets paired with asshole coach who learns about teamwork and then they rise above their loser background to victory. I don't really care. The good thing about formula is that its familiar. The Mighty Ducks isn't going to wow anybody with its life lessons or its meticulous plotting, but what it does provide is good solid entertainment. If there's one thing I hate in movies, it's bad kid actors. Luckily, The Mighty Ducks manages to avoid most of the cringe-worthy pratfalls that befall films that rely on their younger talent. And surprisingly, the Ducks consist of kids of all sizes without drawing attention to it--nothing like today's Disney ilk. Emilio Estevez's performance as the hotshot with a lot to learn is characteristically blank, but you know what? I like him anyway. The film is not groundbreaking or fresh or any of these things. It's doggedly formulaic. But it's got a solid cast, clean action, a quirky team, a sneering villain, and some good funny moments. Simple, charming, and fun.
7/10
Soap box: While the critics slammed The Mighty Ducks into the boards back in 1992, it's a terrible shame that Disney is no longer producing anything like this. It's so focused on its franchises and its snarky rich brat brand of television that these days I would welcome even the cliched values of something like The Mighty Ducks over the rest of the crap Disney's slinging around.
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