D2: The Mighty Ducks

D2: The Mighty Ducks also known as The Mighty Ducks 2 is the second film in The Mighty Ducks trilogy and the first theatrical sequel to The Mighty Ducks, produced by Avnet-Kerner Productions and Buena Vista Distribution, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, and originally released to movie theaters on March 25, 1994.
The film saw the debut of the uniforms similar to the ones worn by the real-life Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, then owned by The Walt Disney Company and that had joined the NHL in the previous year.
==Plot==
The film begins with former peewee hockey coach Gordon Bombay playing a game in minor league professional hockey. The announcer remarks how Bombay is not only a star for this team, he was an award winning Pee Wee coach who seems on the cusp of being signed by the NHL. However, after a knee injury derails his athletic career, he returns to Minneapolis. Bombay is then offered a chance to coach a team representing the United States in the Junior Goodwill Games. Team USA consists of many of the old Ducks, in addition to five new players with special talents.
The lure of celebrity becomes a distraction to Bombay, who begins to neglect the team in exchange for a luxurious lifestyle. Fortunately, easy victories come over Trinidad and Tobago and Italy in the double-elimination tournament. During this time, Fulton Reed and Dean Portman gain recognition for their enforcer skills, becoming known as the "Bash Brothers". Backup goaltender Julie asks Bombay for a chance to play, but he tells her to wait, as current goalie Greg Goldberg is on a hot streak.
Reality sets in when the team suffers an embarrassing 12-1 defeat at the hands of Team Iceland, coached by ex-NHL player Wolf "The Dentist" Stansson, who is known for his tough reputation. Team USA plays badly, with Portman ejected from the game. Star center Adam Banks manages to score a goal but gets slashed in the wrist moments later. Goldberg is drained from defending all those shots and asks to be taken out. However, Julie blows her chance when she sasses two opposing players, getting her ejected alongside Portman. Frustrated, Bombay drives his players even harder, but they begin to suffer, completely exhausted. Eventually, the team's tutor, Michelle McKay, cancels their practice and confronts Bombay, while the players come across a street hockey team who teaches them how to play like "the real Team USA".
However, Bombay continues to suffer until Jan, the brother of his mentor, Hans, personally visits him, and reminds him of how he used to love the game. During a match against Team Germany, Bombay fails to arrive on time, forcing Charlie to tell the referee that Michelle is actually "Coach McKay". They play poorly, entering the third period tied, until Bombay shows up acting like the coach they remembered him as from his time with the Ducks and apologizes for his behavior. Inspired by their coach's "return", the players come back to win the game and advance to the next round. The renewed Bombay finally realizes Adam's wrist injury and benches him, overriding Adam saying he must "take one for team". To fill the open roster spot, Charlie recruits street hockey player, Russ Tyler, whose unique "knucklepuck" (which rotates end over end toward its target as opposed to spinning about its centerline) secures USA's victory over Russia (who defeated Iceland earlier), advancing USA to the championship game for a rematch against Iceland. Before the game, Adam's injury is healed and returns to Team USA's locker room, only to find they already have a full roster. Charlie gives up his spot on the roster so Adam can play, cementing his position as the true team captain.
At first, Iceland appears to be out to dominate Team USA again, but they manage to score one goal. Unfortunately, the Ducks take penalties: Ken picks a fight with an Iceland player ("stick, gloves, shirt") after scoring the team's first goal, the Bash brothers celebrate this by fighting with the entire Iceland bench and Dwayne lassoes an opposing player, about to check Connie. Bombay is annoyed because "this isn't a hockey game, it's a circus."
After a motivational locker room speech from Bombay and new Duck jerseys from Jan, the team emerges rejuvenated. The Ducks manage to tie the game when Russ outsmarts Team Iceland by disguising himself as Goldberg, so as to prevent himself from being covered and pulling off a successful "knucklepuck". The game is forced to go to a five-shot shootout. With a 4-3 score in favor of the Ducks, Gunner Stahl (the tournament's leading scorer) is Team Iceland's final shooter. Bombay knows Gunner favors shooting the glove side after a triple deke, and replaces Goldberg with Julie, who has a faster glove. Gunner advances on Julie and fires a hard slapshot. Although Julie falls to the ice, she slowly turns to look at her glove while the entire stadium (and presumably the home audience of millions) waits in breathless anticipation. She then opens her glove and drops the puck, signifying the game-winning save. With this, the Ducks triumph over Iceland to win the tournament.
The movie finishes with the team returning to Minnesota on a plane and sitting around a campfire singing Queen's "We are the Champions" as the credits roll.
==Cast==
===In credits order===
*Emilio Estevez as Gordon Bombay
*Kathryn Erbe as Michelle McKay
*Michael Tucker as Mr. Tibbles
*Jan Rubes as Jan
*Carsten Norgaard as Wolf "The Dentist" Stansson
*Maria Ellingsen as Maria
*Joshua Jackson as Charlie Conway, #96
*Elden Henson as Fulton Reed, #44
*Shaun Weiss as Greg Goldberg, #33
*Matt Doherty as Lester Averman, #4
*Brandon Adams as Jesse Hall, #9
*Garette Ratliff Henson as Guy Germaine, #00
*Marguerite Moreau as Connie Moreau, #18
*Vincent Larusso as Adam Banks, #99
*Colombe Jacobsen as Julie Gaffney, #6
*Aaron Lohr as Dean Portman, #21
*Ty O'Neal as Dwayne Robertson, #7
*Kenan Thompson as Russ Tyler, #56
*Mike Vitar as Luis Mendoza, #22
*Justin Wong as Ken Wu, #16
*Scott Whyte as Gunnar Stahl, #9
*Marcus Reynolds as Tommy "Slush Puppy" Smith, #45
===Cameo appearances===
There are several cameo appearances in D2: The Mighty Ducks from famous athletes:
*Kristi Yamaguchi - Champion Olympic figure skater
*Greg Louganis - Champion Olympic diver
*Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Basketball player
*Wayne Gretzky, Chris Chelios, Luc Robitaille, Cam Neely - Professional (NHL) Ice Hockey players
===Departures===
Mighty Duck players that were in the first film but not this one:
*Tammy Duncan (Jane Plank, her figure skating skills were replaced with those of Ken Wu)
*Tommy Duncan (Danny Tamberelli)
*Terry Hall (Jussie Smollett, despite the continuation of the character's brother, Jesse)
*Dave Karp (Aaron Schwartz)
*Peter Mark (J.D. Daniels)
==Gallery==
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Mighty Ducks team D2.png
Category:Disney films
Category:1994 films
Category:Live-action films
Category:Sequel films
Category:The Mighty Ducks
Category:Films featuring Sports
Category:PG-rated films