From the late 1980’s to the early 1990’s the world of popular culture was taken over by the phenomenon that was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The comic book turned television series/action figure line took the world by storm, and everybody wanted to get in on the action.

After the initial success on the Ninja Turtles multiple copycats from various sources came to fruition. There was Battletoads, Street Sharks, Toxic Crusaders, Biker Mice From Mars, Stone Protectors, Wild West C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa, Road Rovers and many more. However, one company that tried to get in on the action was Disney, and in 1996 we saw the birth of The Mighty Ducks.

Now The Mighty Ducks didn’t start out as a television series. It was originally a 1992 family sports film starring Emilio Estevez. The film’s success lead to two sequels in 1994 and 1996 and even establishing the NHL Team The Anaheim Mighty Ducks (Now known as the Anaheim Ducks) which was owned by Disney from 1993 – 2004.



But in late 1996, the decision was made to create an animated series surrounding the popular Professional Hockey team, but with anthropomorphic players. The series draws heavy inspiration from other shows of its kind and even had a self-aware sense of humor due to its numerous fourth-wall jokes.

The series focuses on the Mighty Ducks honkey team, a group of anthropomorphic ducks from an alien world known as Puckworld. On this world, one of the key pastimes for its inhabitants is hockey. For generations, their world experienced peace after a hero known as Drake DuCaine saved the planet from the invading race of Saurians. Now, the Saurians have returned and are led by Lord Dragaunus, who enslaves the populace. 



A group of rebels is able to find the mask of Drake DuCaine and escape from Puckworld with the Saurians following them. Now stranded on Earth, they are surprisingly accepted into society when they agree to be the new Anaheim hockey team. During the day they are a popular pro hockey team, while at night, they battle the forces of Lord Dragaunus and pledge to one day free their home.

The team is comprised of six members:



– Wildwing Flashblade is the leader of the group and keeper of the mask of Drake DuCaine. He feels that it is his responsibility to one day free his people. He also acted as the mascot for the real-life NHL Team. His jersey number is 93.



– Nosedive Flashblade is Wildwing’s younger brother who is always up for some action and always cracking jokes. He tries to win the approval of his brother. His jersey number is 33.



– Duke L’Orange is a former thief on Puckworld but switches sides to help overthrow the Saurians and is always handy with gadgets and is skilled in combat. His jersey number is 13.



– Mallory McMallard is a hot-tempered martial artist and combat expert who makes anybody who crosses her path sorry. She is also skilled with multiple different weapons. Her jersey number is 15.



– Tanya Vanderflock is the brains of the outfit and is always trying to develop more weapons for the team. She is also the one most go to for advice. Her jersey number is 23.



– Check “Grin” Hardwing is a massive bruiser who is also a student of Zen in an effort to balance his strength with his wisdom. His jersey number is 1.

The show featured a rather decorated voice cast featuring talents like Ian Ziering, Jeff Bennett, Jennifer Hale, Brad Garrett, Jim Belushi, April Winchell, Tim Curry, Tony Jay, Frank Welker, Clancy Brown, and more.

Despite the somewhat positive reception from fans of the films and hockey team, the series only ran for a single season with 26 episodes from 1996 – 1997. When the series first premiered, the Disney Afternoon programming block was coming to an end and would soon be replaced by Disney’s One Saturday Morning. It also showed a trend of Disney making duck-themed shows like Duck Tales, Darkwing Duck, and Quack Pack.



In a time when many shows tried to emulate Ninja Turtles, the series that ended up replacing their popularity was Power Rangers (ironically, Disney would later acquire Power Rangers). The show does have a fanbase of people who watched it during its original run, but it isn’t as remembered as other Disney action shows like Gargoyles. 

The legacy of the show included an action figure line from Mattel, a series of McDonald’s Happy Meal toys, and even featured as a virtual pinball game as part of Disney Quest in Orlando, Florida. There was even a new Live-Action Mighty Ducks television series on Disney+ The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers from 2021 – 2022. As of 2023, there is no complete series DVD/BluRay release, but all 26 episodes are available to stream on Disney+.

Do you remember this series? Who was your favorite character? Do you have a favorite episode? Let us know.