I was lucky enough to grab an early preview of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, and its first few episodes via screeners from Disney+, and whilst I will not be going into details about plots and spoilers, I will be discussing some subjects that readers may see as spoilers, so beware of “light” spoilers.
Comparison to the original ‘The Mighty Ducks’ Series
I had never seen the original trilogy until a few weeks ago, and honestly do not know where it has been hiding all this time as I thoroughly enjoyed each of the films. They’re fun and extremely easy to watch and had a great time binge-watching them all. One of the things I enjoyed most about Game Changers is how different yet similar it is compared to the trilogy of films.
What do I mean exactly? Well, ultimately, both are a tale about the underdogs and a group of young misfits who all come together and do what they love most – play hockey. In Gamechangers, however, the Ducks team that we grew to love in the original trilogy are the complete opposite and are somewhat comparable to the Icelandic team we get to see during the events of D2: The Mighty Ducks.
New Characters
The Ducks are now this ultra-competitive team, who practice from dusk till dawn led by Dylan Playfair’s Coach T. Audiences will recognise Playfair from his roles in Disney Channel’s Descendants film series as Gil, the son of Gaston. We’re introduced to our two main characters, young Evan – played by Brady Noon (most commonly known for his leading role in the 2019 comedy Good Boys), and his mother Alex, played by Lauren Graham (known for Gilmore Girls, Bad Santa).
We get the intro them in Episode 1 when Coach T kicks Evan off the Ducks team for simply not making the cut, from this moment, Alex decides what if they started their own hockey team to have fun and do what Evan loves most, whilst not adhering to the competitive conventions of the new Ducks team.
From there on, we’re introduced one-by-one to the kids who make up the team, and where we get the first introduction to the standout in the series so far for me, Nick, a podcast host and neighbour to Alex and Evan, played by Maxwell Simkins. I cannot go on enough about how funny this character is. He honestly has some of the funniest moments in the first few episodes. One personal favourite is a whole subplot during an episode where Nick believes he has a chance with one of the workers at Bombay’s Ice Palace, where the team skates. Maxwell Simkins is definitely someone to watch out for in this series – he is hilarious.
Gordon Bombay
On to Bombay, who in the first few episodes is someone quite reminiscent of Luke Skywalker in the sequel trilogy, someone who hates what he loved most and wants it to end pretty much. We’re shown this by “No Hockey” signs throughout his ice rink, and many times where he rejects Alex’s offer for him to coach the “Don’t Bothers”, a name inspired by Coach T’s “warm” words to Evan when he cut him. Bombay is the same character we know and love from the 90s and I’m excited to see how they develop his character further in the series.
Overall, I had an extremely fun time watching the first few episodes of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, and I definitely feel the first three episodes were enough to keep me interested in the rest of the series. I do recommend lovers of the original films, but also if anyone has never seen the original trilogy – now is the time to watch them! On top of that, a small group of the original cast are confirmed to be making a guest appearance in Episode 6 – which is even cooler.
‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Synopsis and Trailer
In present-day Minnesota, the Mighty Ducks have evolved from scrappy underdogs to an ultra-competitive, powerhouse youth hockey team. After 12-year-old Evan Morrow (Brady Noon) is unceremoniously cut from the Ducks, he and his mom, Alex (Lauren Graham), set out to build their own team of misfits to challenge the cutthroat, win-at-all-costs culture of youth sports today. With the help of Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez), they rediscover the joys of playing just for love of the game. The series features a talented new team of up-and-coming young actors including Brady Noon, Maxwell Simkins, Swayam Bhatia, Luke Islam, Kiefer O’Reilly, Taegen Burns, Bella Higginbotham, and DJ Watts.
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers premieres Friday, March 26, streaming only on Disney+.
