When I think of all the inspirational sports movies out there -- and what sports movie isn't inspirational? -- the ones that probably impart the most life lessons are the three Mighty Ducks films.
When you stop laughing, hear me out. (Note: If you haven't seen the movies and don't want them spoiled, you should probably stop reading here. I am going to go into embarrassing detail about the series, so you might even want to re-watch them prior to reading as well. Don't say I didn't warn you.)
There are a number of obvious components of the films that serve to teach life lessons. For one, the event that sets off the entire course of events of the films is a lawyer getting arrested and sentenced to community service. So at the very onset, the viewer is encouraged to avoid DUIs lest he or she get stuck hanging out with a bunch of smartass kids. Furthermore, the entire premise of the series is growing together, working as a team and overcoming the odds to triumph against teams stronger in almost every regard.
The world needs films like these, especially aimed at impressionable youths. The movies are inspirational and the endings give goose bumps to anyone with some semblance of a soul. How motivating is the scene in D2 in the locker room during the second intermission of the championship game when everyone yells their name and where they're from? And you're lying if you say you didn't get emotional at the end of the first movie, when Charlie gets the chance to win it with a penalty shot -- and the triple deke -- at the end of regulation, just like Bombay when he was a kid. (You can't make this stuff up, although since it's a movie, I guess you can).
Some of the other obvious plot tools which teach lessons in The Mighty Ducks include the "Flying V" (teamwork), Hans' passing (coping with death) and the "Oreo Line" (race relations). Past these and similarly clear instances of major moral messages, there are life lessons to be found in some of the more obscure events.
One example is the scene at school in the first installment in which all of the players get into a huge fracas during a lecture. This ends in the entire group quacking at their teacher, receiving a punishment and eventually being bailed out by Coach Bombay. The lesson here is obviously that peewee hockey is more important than school.
There is also Charlie's rather unexplained transformation from spaz in the first movie to stud in the third, to the extent of getting a tree-hugger girlfriend out of it. This basically proves the old adage that Hollywood is not always realistic.
Shifting gears to the more serious, Coach Bombay's date with the Iceland trainer is the classic case of betrayal, "ice cream with the enemy" as Dean Portman puts it. Bombay is so caught up in the Hollywood lifestyle and fame that he completely overlooks the team's upcoming game with Iceland. It's not until the team calls Bombay out that he rediscovers the loyalty and commitment lesson that the audience is also to learn from the scene.
The knucklepuck is really a metaphor for the times life throws you a curveball. (Can I use a sports analogy to explain a sports movie metaphor?) The knucklepuck was like nothing anyone had ever seen, giving it a lethal nature that couldn't be stopped. Iceland was later able to quash it, leading Team USA to disguise Russ Tyler as Goldberg to unleash it one more time (a lesson in ingenuity).
At some point, the knucklepuck will fail again and the cycle continues. But honestly, how often do things go exactly according to plan? Much like the appearance of the knucklepuck, strange things happen in life. The shot's use in the movie was a symbol for those unexpected problems and how we must deal with them.
"I don't know about this move by Bombay; putting in a cold goaltender to face the leading scorer in the tournament ... If Julie "the Cat" Gaffney stops Gunnar Stahl, the U.S.A. wins."
The preceding is one of my favorite quotes from the series, referring to the final shot of the championship shootout in D2 when Coach Bombay decides to let his backup goalie face Iceland's best player. (By the way, Gunnar Stahl is quite possibly the greatest name ever.)
This is one of the best examples of The Mighty Ducks' life lessons manifested through seemingly unconnected plot events. In the real world, the solution to a problem is not always straightforward. Sometimes you have to go against conventional wisdom and throw caution to the wind.
Bombay would have taken a beating in the media (because who wasn't interested in the 1994 Junior Goodwill Games?) if Gunnar scored that goal and Iceland went on to win. But he went with his gut and made the move. You can extend the message to not following the crowd, not giving into peer pressure and not worrying what other people think about you. Its all-encompassing nature goes a long way in exposing us to some of life's greatest lessons.
On the verge of Spring Break, keep in mind the lessons learned. And if you get bored during the week, in addition to being a good guide to life, The Mighty Ducks trilogy contains a number of solid prank ideas that could keep you busy until classes resume.
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