Some members of our staff salivate at the mere mention of hockey, arguing that it is the working-man's version of ballet. Personally, I don't get it. Hockey has always struck me as being a bunch of guys on skates beating the crap out of each other with big sticks. As for ballet — I wouldn't mind seeing Swan Lake performed this way.
Hopefully, this will explain why I feel a little underwhelmed by D2: The Mighty Ducks, the sequel to one of the few recent Disney films that actually made a clear profit. The movie is primarily aimed at 12-year-old boys who believe in the Rocky text. Let us now turn to the Gospel according to St. Stallone, sequels II through IV.
Having suffered an injury on an NHL farm team, Emilio Estevez goes back to coaching the Mighty Ducks for the Junior Goodwill Games (Carl Weathers, Rocky IV). Joined by a collection of new players, the Mighty Ducks become Team USA and enter the decadent world of big-time, Pee Wee hockey (Rocky III). A team of foreign upstarts from Iceland mops the rink with them (Rocky IV) and they have to go back to the streets to regain a competitive edge (Rocky II). By the movie's climax, the world is watching as Team USA and Iceland prepare for a rematch that will determine the fate of Mighty Ducks III.
Aside from the fact that it's a little hard to get very worked up about Iceland as a villain, D2 is not too bad of a flick for younger viewers. Its core lesson is that kids should have fun with sports. Unfortunately, D2 also spends a lot of time making product endorsements in a cynical pitch to its young audience.
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