Les petits champions

I remember my cousins and I used to always watch these movies when I was a kid. I loved how these bad-playing, poor attitude-having kids could always be inspired to become champions, no matter how tough the odds and no matter how many times movies like this were remade with soccer, football, baseball, and dogs. Even though I've seen it a million times, I still get chills when the team works as a team and goes out to try their hardest. It's enough to make me, one of the least sporty people alive, want to join a sporting team. Another highlight, for me at least, were the guys. I always had at least one guy in the movie who I had a crush on and kept my undivided attention on. Who would've known back then that young Charlie (Joshua Jackson) would grow up to use big words and pretentious speeches on Dawson's Creek? Out of all those inspirational sports-are-good-for-kids movies, this was and always will be my favorite because it is the first one I can remember and the first I've ever seen. 1...2...3...Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!

Though perhaps unknown to the warm-weather climates of the nation, youth hockey (and even hockey in general) is a big, big real. "Mighty Ducks" taps into that fan base with a fun little movie set in Minnesota that captures the fun, drama, and emotion of the experience.

For a basic plot summary, this movie tells the story of Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez), a corrupt lawyer who his forced into community in the form of coaching Minneapolis, MN youth hockey (an area in which he had some childhood experience). While at first, Bombay is hesitant to give even a modicum of effort towards the cause, he gains inspiration (whether positive or negative) from old-time mentor Hans (Joss Ackland), former coach Jack Reilly (Lane Smith), and bright-eyed youngster Charlie Conway (Joshua Jackson).

This is a pretty straightforward kids flick. It has the requisite goofy humor, sometimes cringe- worthy dialogue, and a heavy amount of rah-rah drama. Even if your kids aren't necessarily into hockey, they will like this type of movie.

The reason why this movie transcends kiddie fare, though, is because it captures the essence of hockey. It treats the sport with a great deal of respect and reverence, which taps into the nostalgia of adults watching. Just like how "Little Big League" just "gets" baseball humor, "Mighty Ducks" does the exact same thing as hockey.

Basically, you can't go wrong with this on family movie night. It has enough of everything to not bore any member of the family tears. In fact, it may (depending on your interest in sports/hockey) become a sort of cult classic in your own family.

The Mighty Ducks (aka as the Champions), is one of the great Disney movies I have seen. Not your typical fairytale, but a rugged kids adventure, which also goes into that winning is not everything, but that being in a team and playing as a team is the most important part of any sport and is good measure for a person's life.

Aggressive trial lawyer Gordon Bombay has never lost a case. But when he's sentenced to a community service assignment, he must coach a ragtag team of peewee hockey players who can't skate, can't score and can't win. First he teaches the hapless team everything about winning and they teach him that winning is not everything. Watch the pucks fly as they battle their way to the most important game of their lives!

This film is a great story for young up and coming sports ‘people' to watch and learn that winning is not the be all and end all of sport. Sure there are some people such as Coach Reilly, because they are not true sports lovers. Instead they treat sport as a serious event, not something that as Gordon Bombay says should be ‘fun'. In Australia, and my part of this country, we have Aussie Rules football, which again is a very team orientated sport. Although it can have some extraordinary individuals that play, the theme is still the same, that a team has to stick together and try as hard as it can.

This movie has a very young and funny cast, with some old heads thrown in for good team balance. The obvious star is Emilio Estevez, who stars as Gordon Bombay. While he is a very aggressive character in the beginning, Gordon brings his knowledge and experience to a group of young kids that would make any sports coach proud. Estevez has had a good movie career, with some of his more well known movies being The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire, and an unaccredited role in Mission Impossible . The other main star is a very young Joshua Jackson who portrayed Charlie Conway, a good ice-hockey player, who reminds his coach a lot of himself as a young peewee hockey player. Jackson has made a name for himself in Hollywood starring in films such as Cruel Intentions, the disappointing Skulls and the popular TV drama, `Dawson's Creek'.

Other cast members also include the rival coach of the Hawks Ice-Hockey team, Coach Reilly played by veteran actor Lane Smith. He also starred in another great film I saw recently, which happened to be on another popular sport, that of golf, the film being `The Legend of Bagger Vance'. All the characters that are on the Mighty ducks team are likeable people. The team consists of a fat kid, a silent kid, a nice kid, a wiseacre kid, a figure-skating princess, and a tough kid. The whole formula works for me anyway.

I thought that this film had some impressive Ice-Hockey scenes that looked real, though I will never know if they are real or not. Ice-Hockey is a demanding sport and this movie shows that this is the case, with heavy bumps and unrelenting pressure on players. It was good to see that this sport has both males and females playing together, again the movie shows how well the two can gel.

So, if you think that sport is not your thing, but want to give it a go, perhaps this film is what you need to watch. Although this isn't the most talented group of athletes to take the ice, and in the beginning the Ducks do really ‘suck', they prove that with some good coaching guidance and team camaraderie, anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

QUACK QUACK QUACK – Go the Ducks!

Rating: 8/10 or 4 Stars

This movie, while not being Oscar material, is not by any means a bad film. However, this film, is extremely well done. The script was shaky at times, but the cast seemed to fit very well, and the music (mostly Queen songs) were very well used.

The plot is a simple one...bad hockey team, overworking lawyer/ex-hockey player. The lawyer/hockey player gets a DUI, must coach hockey team. I'll try not to spoil the film's plot, though it is a basic one, with your predictable, yet heart-warming feeling.

Be on the lookout for future Dawson's Creek star Joshua Jackson in his second, and most notable role (excluding playing Pacy) playing the leader, Charlie Conway.

*** out of ****

One of the great kid movie-sports-films of all time, this movie always has a special place in my heart when it comes to losers turning into winners. Sure, some of the action proved to be a little sappy, but it was all in good fun. Emilio Estevez provided a rather believable performance as a snooty lawyer turned-peewee hockey coach. Virtually all of the characters were great in this film, even the annoying Goldberg. A good film to say the least, one that shouldn't have spawned sequels.