There have not been a lot of successful sports motion pictures with hockey as the central theme. The most talked about down through the years is the “cult” classic Slap Shot, starring Paul Newman.
In October of 1992, a hockey movie premiered in which I was asked to be a part of as the announcer. It was a Disney movie titled “Mighty Ducks,” written by Steven Brill, about a pee-wee hockey team starring Emilio Estevez as coach. The movie received savage reviews by the critics, but it became very popular with audiences. Filmed with a budget of $10 million, it grossed over $50 million, and inspired two sequels and the name of a future NHL team.
My job was to do the “voice over” as the play-by-play announcer. I recorded the sound in a studio on the Disney lot. I remember as I entered the studio, I saw a plaque on the building which read, “Original studio for the sound track of Wizard of Oz.” The hockey scenes had already been filmed, and the script included some non-traditional descriptions such as the “Triple Deke” and the “Flying Vee” formations.
Two years later in 1994, I was asked to be in the cast of the sequel, “D2: The Mighty Ducks,” but this time with an “on camera” part. The hockey action scenes were filmed at what was then known as the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim. I was told be at the arena at 11 a.m., and I had just a short on camera scene of about 30 seconds.
I had never done an on camera scene in a motion picture before, and I’ve decided I don’t think I would have much patience for that type of work. When I arrived, I was told I would have my own trailer to relax in until they shot my scene. I sat in there alone for a while, and then was told it was time for lunch. I hadn’t even done anything yet, but it was time to eat.
After lunch, I decided to take a look inside the arena to watch the filming. I was amazed by the size of the crowd on hand, until I noticed most of them weren’t moving. Upon closer inspection, I discovered most of them were cardboard depictions of people in the seats. I waited and waited to be called for my scene, and it was finally filmed at around 8 p.m. that night. So I had waited about nine hours to do a 30-second bit.
That film, the second of the Mighty Ducks trilogy, was not as financially successful as the first movie, but it still grossed over $45 million. It featured some NHL stars such as Wayne Gretzky and Luc Robitaille of the Kings, Chris Chelios, who played with Montreal, Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta, and Cam Neely of Vancouver and Boston.
Some of the strange hockey maneuvers I had to describe included a fluttering shot called the “Knucklepuck,” a scene where a Ducks player from Austin, Texas, lassoes an opposing player, and a spinning shot by an Asian player named Kenny Wu. After he scored, I had to shout, “Woo, Woo, Woo.” To this day, I still have some hockey fans ask me to say that again because they know every line from the movie.
Former NHL star, Joel Otto, who played with Calgary and Philadelphia, said to me once, ‘You are on TV in my house everyday as my kids constantly watch the Mighty Ducks movies, and I’m sick of it.’
The Mighty Duck movies are continually played still today on TV in the U.S. as well as in the United Kingdom and Australia. A third Mighty Ducks movie was set in a prep school, but I did not have a role in that film.
In 1993 – a year after the first movie came out – the NHL granted a franchise to Anaheim. The team was owned by Disney and was named the Mighty Ducks. Although it wasn’t the Ducks of the NHL, I like to say that I am the answer to the following trivia question: Who was the first announcer for the Mighty Ducks?
So a film trilogy that many critics bashed and a lot of people thought would not amount to much, is still being enjoyed today and it has grossed millions of dollars for Walt Disney Pictures
Woo, woo, woo, Kenny Wu!
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Happy New Year Bob and thanks so very much
for the great read as always
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Slap Shot will always be #1. Never saw the 2 “Ducks” movies, but if Bob was in both of them, then they couldn’t be all bad despite their team name. At least the producers had the common sense to pick the very best Stanley Cup announcer in hockey.
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Lake Forest Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 11:45 am
@DesertKing, i was 11 or 12 when the first ducks movie was out. and bare with me, but it was acceptable to watch BEFORE disney had an actual NHL team.
I used to play a ton of street hockey at that age too….
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DesertKing Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 11:51 am
@Lake Forest,
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 12:00 pm
@DesertKing, Stanley Cup announcer……I love it!
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Used to live and die hockey. Now I’m just dying. Surviving a little bit as the USA gets ready to win gold in the juniors.
Bob, happy new year, you will always be the greatest!!
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luc20rules Reply:
January 5th, 2013 at 12:41 am
@Old Codger, The only thing I remember about one of the sequels was young cousins were watching it on a christmas long ago. I was in and out of the room as I had no interest in the movie, but the series gained the great distain/classless distinction of having the U-18 USA team come out in the 3rd Period in Mighty Duck Jerseys as these individuals some how couldn’t conjure any pride wearing the Team USA Jersey. I threw up a little in my mouth when I saw that.
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Miracle (another Disney flick) will always be my favorite. It still gives me chills when Mike Eruzione scores the winning goal.
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principle deal in place?
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Michael J. Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 9:19 am
@Lake Forest,
Lets hope so. I love Bob, Nick, Jim & Daryl-but this is plain painful. An entire post dedicated to the Mighty Quacks movie??? Are you freaking kidding me???m Screw everything to do with the Anacrime Dux.
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Goring 19 Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 11:40 am
@Michael J., don’t mince words, tell us how you really feel about the quacks…
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Bob’s original jokes are way better than scripted ones for sure.
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stagger Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 10:43 am
@goldielocks,
Maybe his best ever here:
http://video.kings.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=139267
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goldielocks Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 12:13 pm
@stagger,
Yeah, that was funny as hell. They went radio silence for like 5 mins after that. But I like his comment about too many men on the ice in Joe Louis arena, too.
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Holy cow! Kobe’s gained 100,000 folowers within an our after opened his very first twitter account.
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goldielocks Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 10:33 am
@goldielocks,
And no one took this obvious account name for the fake account before? That’s just weird ….
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I just got done listening to the pod cast from ESPN. They seem to think that Mr.Donald Duck will try to take this to the last minute to get the best deal for the players. Mr Donald Duck is in it for the money. Who knows how much he is making in this lockout. Lord knows he had a great Christmas. I pissed at that dude to be honest. I really think that if the players had someone else as their leader a deal would of been done by now. Donald does what is good for Donald. He did it to baseball players and he has done it to hockey. You can’t tell me that every player trusts this guy. He the reason for the delay. I’m sure after the NFL playoffs of this weekend these people will get a deal done. But what they have on the table as of now will be the same next week. This is all about POWER!!! This who got over on who stuff is for the high schools of America. When big business act like teenagers and our own goverment waits till the last minute so shall the NHL and their players. Just play the game already!
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HockeyNerd Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 1:29 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake,
Wow.
You seem to have left out a few things:
1. The players were always willing to continue to play under the current agreement.
2. This whole process has always been and will be about HOW MUCH OF WHAT THE PLAYERS NOW HAVE THEY ARE WILLING TO GIVE UP.
3. Every time Fehr responds to a proposal, THE OWNERS AND GARY BETTMAN throw a temper tantrum, take the proposal off the table, then spin the press that “they” are “willing to negotiate”.
4. The last word in CBA stands for AGREEMENT. If the players wanted to cave in and just play (like finally happened in 2005) they would not have selected Fehr to represent them. Nor anyone.
5. Fehr is being paid regardless of if, when, and how a new CBA is ratified. His JOB is to represent the players, i.e. do exactly what he is doing. See item #4.
6. Bettman, not Fehr locked out the players. See item
#1.
7. In 2005 the NHL shoved a deal down the throats of the players they didn’t want under the guise of “this will fix everything”. Now the owners want more rules to protect themselves from themselves. If they don’t sign players to 10 year contracts then no players will be signed to 10 year contracts. See also item #2.
Fehr is the reason for this? I think not.
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Lake Forest Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 3:07 pm
@HockeyNerd, Shoved down the throats….if indeed it was shoved, and NOW they would prefer to play under that agreement, wouldnt you blame the 2005 lockout on the players??? Or would you use the same reasons for the lockout?
I am not on either side, but I think it’s a spin to say that the players were a victim in the last CBA negotiations. “Throwing a temper tantrum”, is another spin based on your opinion, unless I am wrong and you were there to see that.
Fehr and Bettman are both pawns to the 2 parties…..I’d still want to punch them both, but only out of my emotional attachment to the game.
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CB14 Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 3:33 pm
@Lake Forest, Twice during these negotiations when Gary Bettman has presented an offer and the PA hasn’t completely agreed to that entire offer, he has taken those offers off the table and quit negotiations. Mabye that’s not “Throwing a temper tantrum”, but it’s certainly childish behavior. That’s like a kid playing hockey who gets mad because a penalty isn’t called, so he picks up the puck and goes home to cry to his mommy.
HockeyNerd Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 3:45 pm
@Lake Forest, Every single time the NHL made a proposal and the players union did not accept 100% of it, Bettman broke off negotiations and said the offer was off the table. So yes, I will use the words “throwing a temper tantrum” even though it is only 75%, 50%, 25% literal, whatever.
I’m just not getting your other point either. Maybe in 2005 the players should have realized the NHL’s deal was “take it or leave it”. Maybe they were to blame in 2005. What does this have to do with today, NOW? Why is the Bettman spinning to the press, yes “spinning” (turning a lie into the truth) that it is the players union who will not negotiate when (sorry for another analogy) the league gives the players a platter of 10 cookies and in essence says “I know I promised you 5 of these but because of costs you can only have 1, and the players say My God, we slaved in that oven all day AND came up with the recipe — can we please at least have TWO? Why should the players union be blamed for ALWAYS being expected to make ALL the concessions????
Lake Forest Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 3:47 pm
@CB14, I would see it more as a negotiation tactic. neither side has quit negotiations and from what i read no true proposal has been taken off the table. I see it as a negotiation threat. Is it childish for Fehr to say, we are close in negotiations only to NOT be close? I don’t think so I think it’s all negotiations. is it childish to wait as long as the PA did to being negotiations? Was it childish for the NHL to request a cut to 43% of HRR, no again I believe it to be a negotiation tactic.
Just my opinion, as I know nothing.
Lake Forest Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 4:02 pm
@Hockey Nerd, sorry I guess my point was in hindsight the last CBA negotiations weren’t all that bad for the players, even though at the time we all thought it was the worst thing and the deal got shoved down their throats……
What if these new requests – contract length, variance and others actually lead to a MORE competitive league/sport.
maybe instead of paying players $100MM for a Kovalchuk, Sutter and/or Parise for 15 years, the league is limiting themselves so that no one team can’t make these absurd contracts….
CB14 Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 4:14 pm
@Lake Forest, From ESPN, “The league followed through with that promise Friday, canceling games but also informing the NHLPA that its last offer is now off the table.
The offer — which included a 50-50 revenue split and provision to “make whole” existing player contracts by using deferred payments — was contingent on playing an 82-game season, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun on Thursday. With no chance of salvaging a full season, the offer has been rescinded.”
Here’s the link:
http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/8554366/nhl-cancels-november-games-talks-impasse
The second one I was referring to was not a full preposal being pulled off the table, but rather the “Make whole” provision as well as changes to entry level contracts, arbitration, and unrestricted free agency.
Here’s the link : http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/20609/gary-bettman-responds-to-nhlpa-proposal
CB14 Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 4:24 pm
@Lake Forest, I just posted a comment that included a link that’s ‘awaiting moderation’, and since no one looks at those comments it will likely be in moderation forever. So here’s what I wrote without the link.
From ESPN, “The league followed through with that promise Friday, canceling games but also informing the NHLPA that its last offer is now off the table. The offer — which included a 50-50 revenue split and provision to “make whole” existing player contracts by using deferred payments — was contingent on playing an 82-game season, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun on Thursday. With no chance of salvaging a full season, the offer has been rescinded.”
To find that article go to ESPN and search “Nhl cancels November games, talks at impasse”.
The second one I was referring to was not a full preposal being pulled off the table, but rather the “Make whole” provision as well as changes to entry level contracts, arbitration, and unrestricted free agency.
To find that article go to ESPN and search : “Gary Bettman responds to NHLPA proposal”
HockeyNerd Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 5:16 pm
@Lake Forest, Sorry, not buying it. Want to make the sport more competitive? Than make it more competitive. Everything you mention AND everything Bettman has done to this point would or has already done anything but. See, my definition of competitive does NOT mean every team needs to have an identical 41-0-0 record. It means the organizations who work the hardest and smartest should have the best records! Why is this so hard for the Owners and Commissioner to understand? Why can’t a small market team build from the draft and hire a coach that uses a system to make due with what they have if they don’t want to shell out $10M for a Parise or Suter? Where is it written that Minnesota will win a cup or even make the playoffs because they did that? Why SHOULDN’T the Islanders have to pay the consequences of THEIR OWN STUPIDITY for Yashin and Dipietro? Why are we giving a point to the LOSER of a game that isn’t TAKEN from the winner? (Why stop there? Why not give the loser an extra point if its tied after TWO periods? How about regardless of the outcome? They showed up and tried, right?) You appear to be mixing the word “competitive” with “identical”. I for one want it to mean the best are exactly that because they are the best at what they do, not because these idiot owners think we need to level the playing field. We don’t.
CB14 Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 3:19 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake, Do you mind if I ask why you place all the blame on Fehr and none on Bettman? I just don’t understand that mindset. Any you someone who just feels that professional athletes make enough money as it is and should be happy with what the owners offer them, or do you have some legitimate reasons why the CBA negotiations are the players fault?
The reason I ask is because even if the owners give into the players on the current differences bettwen the 2 sides, every single aspect of the new CBA will be worse for the players than the last one.
Previous CBA ————————————- New CBA (if it ever happens)
Players share of HRR of 57% ———————- Players share of HRR of 50%
Unlimited contract lengths ———————– 7 year contract lengths
Unlimited salary variance ———————— 30% salary variance
7 year CBA ————————————— 10 year CBA
If your answer to that is the previous CBA was too beneficial to the players, keep in mind what @HockeyNerd wrote, the Owners got everything they wanted in the previous CBA. So whose fault is that?
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And all this was possible because Gordon Bombay got a DUI.
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All I know is that the KINGS are undefeated in 2013 and the last. 4 months. What a fin
What a friigging team ..eh Mr quick
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Loved Miracle, mystery Alaska and slapshot. Goon now too.
Was not a huge mighty ducks fan but do watch it from time to time to hear bob.
Wish there were more hockey movies!
Undoubtably we would get some Kings org in it!!!
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Darrell Reply:
January 5th, 2013 at 3:53 am
@Mars, You forgot Youngblood
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How can anyone forget Tooth Fairy with The Rock?
I mean Hell the Kings were specifically in the movie
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goldielocks Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 7:46 pm
@Lake Forest,
Because that movie is so forgettable. Honestly, I regret I watched it.
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Lake Forest Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 9:38 pm
@goldielocks, haha I have 3 little ones under 5
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Stacie K Reply:
January 10th, 2013 at 9:01 pm
@Lake Forest, I liked Tooth Fairy, too. But I also have kids. It is just nice to be able to watch a goofy movie with the whole family. It doesn’t hurt that the Rock is so hot, either.
Used to like that movie. For me it stopped being cute when the actual team won the cup. Smug Ducks fans spent a few years rubbing Kings fans noses in it. I actually was happy for that team. They were big and mean but their fans made me crazy and I spent many hours trolling their blogs and hunting for sparing partners.
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DesertKing Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 4:41 pm
@Dominick,
Thus your well honed and practiced blogging abilities are owed to Sucks fans everywhere
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Michael J. Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 5:09 pm
@Dominick,
Unfortunately with the departure of Anthony, then poorman, you might once again be forced to hunt for combatants.
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luc20rules Reply:
January 5th, 2013 at 12:58 am
@Dominick, I still think it was a great failure to have won only 1 cup. After 2 of the best 3 Defensemen of their generation just fell into their lap in Neidimeyer(UFA to play with barely NHL level Brother) & Pronger(Forced trade where Ducks were the only team on both his & wife’s list with Salary Cap Space).
Hoping this CBA thing gets resolved in time for Kings to win back to back Cups. Really with the way the Rules are and the shinking Salary Cap we really only have a good shot for 5 to 8 years, and that is if we are able to sign Brown(I think he wants to sign with the Kings but Salary Cap maybe an issue) and Mitchell in 2 years. I know Mitchell is old and may opt to retire, but really the level he is playing at is very hard if not impossible to replace by prospect, UFA, or trade. I really think Scuds will resign with the Kings at the end of this year.
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8PM(EST) it is.
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Michael J. Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 4:57 pm
@goldielocks,
What is?
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goldielocks Reply:
January 4th, 2013 at 6:24 pm
@Michael J.,
CBA talk between two parties of course. Seems like it’s pushed back a little. But I hear there is a huge ammount of food has been brought in to the NHL office so we can guess that it’s gonna be a long night ahead again. The mediator is now in the NHL office btw.
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He couldn’t get it done today but Scot Beckenbaugh is the man.
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luc20rules Reply:
January 5th, 2013 at 8:29 am
@goldielocks, But Fehr & Bettman aren’t. I think it is likely the Press didn’t write the all the details back then, but doesn’t it seem like they are further from a deal then a month ago?
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Kopitar left his game in Sweden with a knee injury. Reportedly out for 2-3 weeks..
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KFII Reply:
January 6th, 2013 at 4:41 pm
@Who Knows?, Yikes! I hope he heals quickly!
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A deal on a new collective bargaining agreement seems to be in place. Now, bring back Rich Hammond!
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Pili Reply:
January 6th, 2013 at 5:49 am
@Tinberg, LOL that was my first thought as well. I don’t think the lockout was the reason Rich left, although frustration from it probably didn’t help. That was a great offer he took advantage of.
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Big question for the King’s is who fills in for Kopitar? Do you break up the Richards line? Doubt it. Stoll? Oh, God no. Lewis? Nah. Richardson? Nah. Vey? An interesting choice, but I’m thinking Loktionov myself, but Vey would be an interesting choice as well.
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who’s going to fill in for lakingsinsider!!! these articles stink.
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