FILM · 1992
The Mighty Ducks
32 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (32)
- #001
Before Emilio Estevez was offered and accepted the role of Gordon Bombay, the part was offered to his brother Charlie Sheen, who turned it down.
- #002
A then little-known Jake Gyllenhaal auditioned for the role of Charlie Conway, but because his parents would not let him do the film, the producers cast Joshua Jackson instead.
- #003
Leonardo DiCaprio auditioned for the role of Charlie Conway but lost out to Joshua Jackson. Similarly, Juliette Lewis tried out for the role of Connie but lost out to Marguerite Moreau.
- #004
The original premise of The Mighty Ducks was much darker, with very little comedy, and centered on an alcoholic former NHL player who wants revenge on his old coach by coaching against him. The core idea survived when Disney bought the rights to the film, but some elements were changed, including Bombay becoming a lawyer who never played in the NHL and who now has to perform community service for a DUI, a much greater emphasis on comedy, and most of the adult-oriented themes being toned down.
- #005
Emilio Estevez was surprised by the popularity of the film series.
- #006
Elden Henson, who plays Fulton, and Garette Ratliff Henson, who plays Guy, are brothers. Elden had to dye his hair and change his name to take on the role of Fulton.
- #007
The courtroom scenes (shot in St. Cloud, Minnesota) were "dressed up" to give them more of a "hockey feel." This included adding small black circles resembling hockey pucks near the ceiling architecture; the "hockey pucks" are still there today rather than having been removed.
- #008
When the Anaheim Ducks were added to the National Hockey League as an expansion team, they were initially named the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (sometimes also called the Anaheim Mighty Ducks) as a reference to the film, since the team was owned by Disney; however, shortly before the 2005-06 NHL season, after Disney sold the team before the previous season, they rebranded under their own name.
- #009
The role of Adam Banks was not originally given to Vincent LaRusso, but it was later given to him when working with the child who was playing Banks became very difficult.
- #010
Adam Banks is often called a "Cake Eater." The term is actually well known throughout Minnesota and refers to people who live in Edina, a suburb of Minneapolis. A cake eater is someone so rich they can eat their cake and have it too. It also implies that the city has won so many tournaments that it always takes the cake!
- #011
Steven Brill, the film's original writer, wanted to play Bombay but was rejected by Disney because they wanted a big name for the role.
- #012
The original script was darker and emphasized that Gordon Bombay drank. That is why his name is a combination of two famous gin brands, Gordon's and Bombay.
- #013
Bill Murray was considered to play Gordon Bombay but was thought to be too old.
- #014
As stated by the hockey league official (450 North Hennepin Ave), Banks's home address is a real address in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but it is a parking lot.
- #015
Jane Plank did not actually know how to figure skate; Katie Wahlquist was Tammy Duncan's figure skating stunt double.
- #016
On the Ducks' jersey there is a duck wearing a "D-5" jersey, similar to the jersey the kids wear at the beginning of the film.
- #017
Writer Steven Brill later sued over the film's royalties.
- #018
Among the actors considered for the role of Gordon Bombay before it went to Emilio Estevez were Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Bill Murray, Michael J. Fox and his own brother Charlie Sheen.
- #019
The Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars) play themselves.
- #020
The film ends with Gordon boarding a Greyhound bus. The second film begins with him getting off a Greyhound bus.
- #021
In the childhood flashback scenes, Gordon Bombay wears number 9. His father even calls him "Gordie." Gordie "Mr. Hockey" Howe also wore number 9 during his NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings.
- #022
After Banks scores and is taken out of the game following an injury from his Hawk "friends," Tammy Duncan scores on a trick play against the Hawks, and Fulton then takes a cheap shot at the Hawk player responsible for the dirty play (McGill). Fulton is subsequently ejected as well. When these ejections happen, the players who score the fourth goal and finish the game, aside from Tammy and Tommy Duncan, are the original players who faced the Hawks early in the film and lost 17-0.
- #023
The scene in the middle of the ice sculptures was shot during the St. Paul Winter Carnival in Rice Park, where the ice sculpture competition is held. It was originally planned for the ice palace built for the carnival in Mississippi, but that January was unusually warm, melting the palace and making filming inside it unsafe.
- #024
When the Mighty Ducks beat the Hornets, the author of the newspaper article is Lyle Mayer, the film's Apprentice Editor.
- #025
Shaun Weiss and Aaron Schwartz appeared together in Heavyweights (1995). Kenan Thompson, who played Russ Tyler in the two sequels, also appeared in it.
- #026
Mr. Ducksworth's jersey is number 34, and Josef Sommer (Ducksworth) was born in 1934.
- #027
This is the only film in the Mighty Ducks series in which the coaches (Bombay and Reilly) do not congratulate each other or shake hands after the winning goal in the final game.
- #028
Gordon Bombay's car is a 1991 Chevrolet Corvette C4.
- #029
This is the only film in the trilogy in which no one on the Ducks is referred to as team captain. In the second film, Banks is (incorrectly) referred to as captain until Charlie later becomes captain. In the third film, Charlie is correctly called team captain (before he is stripped of the role and later given it back).
- #030
This was the first film for Jussie Smollett, Marguerite Moreau and Teal Redmann.
- #031
Gordon takes the Ducks to watch an NHL game between two teams, one of which moved elsewhere a few years after the film's release. A year after the film, in 1993, the Minnesota North Stars moved to Texas and became the Dallas Stars, and the Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997. Both teams have also won the Stanley Cup since their moves: Dallas in 1999, and Carolina in 2006 and 2026. The team also watches the North Stars game at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Met Center was demolished two years after the film, in 1994. (The site now hosts an Ikea store. Ikea sits in the parking lot of the former Met Center site, but the Mall of America is not on the site of the former hockey arena. Across the street is where the old Met Stadium baseball/football stadium, which once hosted the Twins and Vikings, stood.)
- #032
Gordon Bombay's driver, Lewis, drives a 1992 Ford Club Wagon XLT [E-350] and a 1988 Lincoln Town Car limousine.
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