Mighty Ducks

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For other uses, see The Mighty Ducks (disambiguation).

Mighty Ducks is a half-hour Disney animated series aired on ABC and The Disney Afternoon in the fall of 1996. Twenty-six episodes total were produced. This show is inspired by and very loosely based on the films and hockey team of the same name. It was last seen on Toon Disney, but due to bad scheduling and the addition of JETIX, it has vanished completely off the network. Along with a number of other shows, it was removed from schedules in November 2004 and has not been seen since. It is unknown if it will ever return, and Disney currently has no plans to release the series on a DVD set.

Contents 1 Story 2 Characters 2.1 The Ducks 2.2 Human Allies 2.3 The Saurians 2.4 Other Villains 3 Weapons, Items & Vehicles 4 Episode List 5 Related 6 External links 7 See also

[edit] Story

On the planet of Puckworld, the inhabitants are anthropomorphic ducks. Hockey is not only the most important sport on Puckworld, it's a way of life. On this planet, legends are told of a Duck named Drake DuCaine, who rid the universe of an evil anthropomorphic reptilian race called Saurians. Some Ducks do not believe the legends, but according to them, DuCaine did so with a seemingly normal goalie mask that transforms into a high-tech mask. With it, DuCaine sent the Saurians to a mysterious dimension, known only as "Dimensional Limbo".

As it turns out, the legends are true. Many centuries later, some of the Saurians escape Dimensional Limbo and return to Puckworld with an armada of robotic attack ships. The group of four is led by the last of the Saurian Overlords, Lord Dragaunus. They attack and invade the planet, enslaving the people of Puckworld so that they can produce more weapons to conquer the universe. However, a resistance is formed by Canard, a brave duck who acquires The Mask of Drake DuCaine out of a tomb in the mountains. With it, the Ducks can see through the Saurians' invisibility cloak. Canard forms a band of Ducks to fight Dragaunus, called The Resistance. The Resistance destroys Dragaunus's fortress (called the Master Tower.) However, Dragaunus and his forces escape in their ship, the Raptor. The Saurians open up a dimensional gateway and attempt to escape through it, just as they had done to escape Dimensional Limbo. However, Canard and the others follow him into the portal with their aircraft, the Aerowing.

Dragaunus attempts to get rid of the Ducks inside the portal by attacking them with an electromagnetic worm that will grow until it can swallow the Aerowing. In a desperate attempt to get rid of the worm, Canard sacrifices his own life by throwing himself to the worm. The plan succeeds, but at the price of Canard being devoured by the worm and never being seen again. Luckily, Canard leaves behind The Mask, giving it and the leadership of the team to Wildwing Flashblade, his best friend. Both the Raptor and the Aerowing leave the portal and enter a different dimension, landing on Earth. The Ducks meet Phil Pomfeather, a human who becomes their manager and makes them a legitimate NHL team. Their arena, only known as The Pond in the show, has a hockey rink that doubles as a landing pad for the Aerowing above and has a formal HQ below. On Earth, the Ducks and Dragaunus continue their fight, although there are other villains that also challenge the six Ducks.

[edit] Characters

[edit] The Ducks

• Wildwing Flashblade - Saved by Canard back on Puckworld, he is the leader of the ducks on and off the ice. At first reluctant to take charge after Canard fell, eventually he comes to accept the role of leadership. As a hockey player he's the goalie. Brave like Canard before him, Wildwing is also intelligent, and just. He usually plays the straight man to the other ducks. Along with the mask of Drake DuCaine, Wildwing uses body armor and a Puck Launcher on his left gauntlet. In real life, Wildwing is the mascot for the Anaheim Ducks, known as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim until the 2006-07 NHL season. He was voiced by Ian Ziering.

• Nosedive Flashblade - Wildwing's younger brother who initially is not intended to be part of Canard's resistance. However, Wildwing makes Canard take Nosedive with them: "If you want me," says Wildwing, "Then my brother's part of the deal." Once they reach Earth, Nosedive is a member of the Ducks, both the hockey team and hero team. Nosedive is the team's most impulsive and immature member who is similar to Michelangelo of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. His character may have been influenced by Michelangelo—the two series were initially penned by the same writer. Nosedive can be very likable, making friends with teammate Grin, and humans Thrash and Mookie. He wears body armor, but not as much as Wildwing. He usually uses a Puck Blaster and rides a Duckcycle. He was voiced by Steve Mackall.

• Duke L'Orange - A notorious jewel thief on Puckworld, Duke changed his ways to battle Lord Dragaunus. Duke has used a Puck Blaster in some episodes, but he mainly uses a golden sword called a Ducksaber ( or sometimes just a 'saber'). He also carries lock picks and a grappling hook attached to his wrist. Duke has a Brooklyn accent and is pretty level-headed, albeit egotistical at times. Once every now and then he'll go off on his own idea without being prompted, a throwback to the days when he was the leader of a gang, which now many fans believe was called The Brotherhood of the Blade. It doesn't always turn out too well, of course. However, he remains the most experienced of all the ducks and possesses a good balance of skill with confidence. Unfortunately, there are some minor trust issues with Mallory due to Duke being an ex-thief, though this fact doesn't seem to faze their leader Wildwing. Duke was voiced by Jeff Bennett.

• Mallory McMallard - Mallory is a fiery red head who is well-learned in Puckworld's version of the martial arts, although most of the time she is content with just using a Puck Blaster. She has a sharp tongue and usually directs it towards Nosedive's immature acts, or anything that she feels is "out of line." Her trust is easily broken, particularly in Duke's case, and as she sees it, for some very good reasons. With her strong military background as a member of the "Puckworld Special Forces," she often thinks in black and white, and has a high regard for the chain of command. She was voiced by Jennifer Hale.

• Tanya Gertrude "Vanderflock" - The duck's resident genius who is often the one turned to for advice, even by Wildwing. She is good with mechanics and uses the Omnitool on her wrist with many of her projects. Despite her intellect, she has bad allergies, lacks confidence, has a gentler personality, and is not as good a fighter as the other ducks. The males of the group have, on occasion, given her special attention in these regards. They can be quite the gentlemen to her. She was voiced by April Winchell. In one episode she states that her middle name is Secertree.

• Grin - A super strong goliath with a Zen philosophy. Unlike the stereotype of strong people, Grin is wise and doesn’t let his anger cloud his judgment. He rarely uses weapons in battle, relying on his wisdom and strength instead. He has a strong sense of honor and can always be counted on for support. He is a good friend of Nosedive. During Grin's younger years, he had a horrible temper. He found enlightenment with the training from the grand hockey master Tai Quack Do. He was voiced by Brad Garrett.

[edit] Human Allies

• Phil Pomfeather - The duck's manager when they are a hockey team. He'd rather have the team do promotional gimmicks and autograph signings than have them save the world. He also has bad taste in fashion. He was voiced by James Belushi

• Captain Klegghorn - A police officer for the city of Anaheim who initially doesn't trust the ducks. While he still doesn’t like them, eventually they come to terms. He was voiced by Dennis Franz.

• Thrash & Mookie - Nosedive's seemingly only human friends who dress like punk rockers. They run the comics store called "Captain Comics," of which Nosedive is a frequent customer. Thrash is male, Mookie is female.

[edit] The Saurians

• Lord Dragaunus - The leader of the Saurians, Dragaunus is evil, big, strong and can breathe fire. He's not above working with humans or even aliens in his quest for world domination. He doesn't take kindly to the failures of his cronies, Siege, Chameleon and Wraith. Dragaunus has lost faith in the Saurian dark magic which Wraith uses, and only when somewhat desperate will he allow Wraith to employ them in a major part of his latest plan. Otherwise, the main tools he equips himself and his henchmen with are teleporters, rays, blasters, rockets, and cloaking devices. He was voiced by Tim Curry.

• Siege - Siege is a soldier who is aggressive and has a strong hatred for the Ducks. His cruel nature is mechanically and technologically minded, and he believes that brute force is the only means of victory. He often builds weapons and vehicles and directly uses them against the Ducks. He scoffs the dark magic of the ancient Saurians, and Dragaunus seems a little more tolerant and open to his ideas as a result. However, when he fails, he gets little better treatment than the others. He was voiced by Clancy Brown.

• Chameleon - A shapeshifter that is able to increase or decrease his strength, size and dexterity depending on his transformations. Much of the time an imperfect transformation can give him away. Also, he ends up wasting his powers a lot by doing lame impressions of human celebrities. Dragaunus has little patience for his antics and stupidity. The most effective uses of his powers has been in his impersonations of the Ducks. He was voiced by Frank Welker.

• Wraith - A Saurian warlock with a dry sense of humor. He is smarter than Siege or Chameleon, but disdained by Dragaunus because of his firm belief that the dark magic of their ancestors is the only means for victory. He shuns weapons in battle, preferring to use his ability to throw fireballs. He is very glum and is often predicting the inevitable failure of their mission. Of course, he is usually proven right. He was voiced by Tony Jay.

[edit] Other Villains

• Dr. Droid - Formerly a human, Dr. Droid is now mostly android and wants to turn the world into robots. The Ducks tangle with him twice. He was voiced by Charles Adler.
• Asteroth - An evil wizard from another dimension, which is actually a supernatural version of Anaheim, California. His title is "Lord of the Red Dragon", somewhat obvious since he can morph into a large red dragon when enough power is in his possession. They fight him twice, first in the alternate Anaheim, and then in the "real" Anaheim.

[edit] Weapons, Items & Vehicles

• Drake One - The Duck's super computer built by Tanya under the Pond.

• The Migrator - The duck's battle van.

• The Aerowing - The duck's airship.

• Duckcycles - The duck's motorcycles.

• Puck Blasters - A gun that shoots hockey pucks.

• Puck Launcher - A rocket launcher style weapon that shoots hockey pucks.

• Omnitool - Tanya's multipurpose tool, that contains all she need to fix, disassemble, defuse and reprogram mechanical items.

• The Raptor - Dragaunus' ship that is stranded on Earth. Considered the base for the Saurians.

[edit] Episode List

All 26 episodes of The Mighty Ducks and their original air dates.

1. The First Face-Off: Part 1 (9/7/1996)
2. The First Face-Off: Part 2 (9/8/1996)
3. A Traitor Among Us (9/13/1996)
4. Zap Attack (9/14/1996)
5. Phil in the Blank (9/22/1996)
6. Power Play (9/28/1996)
7. Dungeons and Ducks (10/4/1996)
8. Take Me to your Leader (10/11/1996)
9. The Human Factor (10/12/1996)
10. Beak to the Future (10/18/1996)
11. Microducks (10/19/1996)
12. Beaks vs B.R.A.W.N. (10/26/1996)
13. Jurassic Puck (11/2/1996)
14. The Return of Dr. Droid (11/8/1996)
15. Mondo-Man (11/9/1996)
16. Puck Fiction (11/15/1996)
17. Monster Rally (11/16/1996)
18. Buzz Blitzman- Mighty Duck (11/22/1996)
19. Bring Down Baby (11/23/1996)
20. Mad Quacks Beyond Hockeydome (12/6/1996)
21. The Final Face-Off (12/7/1996)
22. The Ice Duck Cometh (12/13/1996)
23. The Most Dangerous Huck Hunt (12/20/1996)
24. The Return of Astroth (12/27/1997)
25. Duck Hard (1/3/1997)
26. To Catch a Duck (1/10/1997)

[edit] Related

• A direct-to-video feature film, Mighty Ducks the Movie: The First Face-Off, was released in 1997. It was in fact three episodes of the animated series edited into one movie.

• DisneyQuest, an "Indoor Interactive Theme Park" located in the Downtown Disney area of the Walt Disney World Resort, has an attraction loosely based on this program named Mighty Ducks Pinball Slam.

• Wildwing is the only character from the show featured, first as a life-size cutout at the front of the queue line and then again as the goalie in the game.

• Mallory MacMallard's character design is similar to that of Gosalyn Waddlemeyer Mallard from the Darkwing Duck animated series. There have been many fan speculations on it.

[edit] External links

• The Retrokids -Dragon's Den- Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series
• Cool as Ice (Fansite)
• DisneyQuest official web site
• Mighty Ducks at the Internet Movie Database

[edit] See also

• Anthropomorphic Superheroes