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THE MIGHTY DUCKS GAME CHANGERS: Episode 202: “Out of Bounds”

"Breaking Epic Boundaries"

Content: -1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.
Entertainment Quality:
NoneLightModerateHeavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

“Out of Bounds,” the second episode of MIGHTY DUCKS: GAME CHANGERS Season Two on Disney Plus, shows the Mighty Ducks buckle under the weight of high expectations. On their second day at the summer hockey camp, the Ducks get a full taste of the “rise and grind” lifestyle. Their coach demands the camp leader loosen his stringent work program. However, a frustrated Duck player runs off campus without alerting his peers. The team searches for him before he quits for good.

“Out of Bounds” is an excellent look into the Ducks team’s internal struggles. The characters express their frustrations but choose to stick together. This episode builds on the program’s strong moral foundation. The Ducks search for their “black-pilled” teammate and welcome him back as a Prodigal Son. Also, the motherly female coach convinces the struggling player to never give up. However, the episode has some light hockey violence, a teenage romance, and one player who mentions he has two mothers. That said, “Out of Bounds” is one of the best early episodes of Season Two of THE MIGHTY DUCKS: GAME CHANGERS.

Content:

(CC, BB, Ro, Ho, V, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:
Strong Christian, moral worldview of teamwork, sticking together and persevering against a hostile sporting environment, with a Prodigal Son story in the episode and the motherly female coach tells a floundering player he has the capacity to pick himself back up, mitigated by a romantic side plot where a teenage heterosexual couple begins to drift apart when the boyfriend prioritizes climbing up the professional hockey ladder by competing for a college scholarship ladder rather than sticking with his girlfriend and a light lesbian reference when one Duck player mentions he has two mothers, but this reference doesn’t affect the plot

Foul Language:
No foul language

Violence:
Hockey violence is minimal, but one player receives minor slapstick injuries, the summer players practice hitting pucks into goal posts, lifting weights, and doing a VR hockey simulator, the weakest member of the Ducks fails at each activity in humiliating fashion, the camp’s gym instructor comments on a player’s lack of strength by saying, “You’re too late. You left your friends for dead,” the same player slams into a wall, drops on a forest ground and physically threatens a lunch cook for throwing a pizza box in the trash

Sex:
No sexual content or scenes

Nudity:
No nudity

Alcohol Use:
No alcohol use, but an underage teenage hockey player hangs out at a hotel bar and asks for a Sprite

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
No smoking or drugs; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:
A defective Duck player tries to scam a hotel clerk into giving him a free room, player tries to impersonate a hotel guest, but clerk turns down his poorly disguised ruse, same player leaves summer hockey camp after being humiliated at its many training simulations, coach of the Ducks team calls the camp director “crazy” behind his back, the director receives that comment and fires back at her “participation trophy” level of teaching, and there’s a mention of “self-esteem.”

More Detail:

“Out of Bounds,” the second episode of MIGHTY DUCKS: GAME CHANGERS Season Two on Disney+, has the Mighty Ducks buckle under the weight of high expectations in the summer hockey camp’s stringent raining program. “Out of Bounds” is an excellent look into the Ducks team’s internal struggles and builds on the program’s strong moral, redemptive foundation with a Prodigal Son plot, but there’s some light hockey violence, a teenage romance, and one player mentions he has two mothers.

“Out of Bounds,” the second episode of GAME CHANGERS Season Two, has the Mighty Ducks buckle under the weight of high expectations. On their second day at the EPIC summer training camp, the Ducks get a full taste of the “rise and grind” lifestyle. The Ducks’ coach demands the camp leader to loosen the stringent work program. However, a frustrated Duck player runs off the campus without alerting his peers. The Minnesota Team searches for their missing player before he quits for good.

The episode begins with the Mighty Ducks being briefed on their summer activities. At the Elite Performance Ice Center (EPIC), the Ducks and their rival teams compete for the chance to climb the NHL professional ladder. Every youth wears a smart wristband, which measures their performance scores on a public leaderboard at the camp. The Ducks realize if they reach the top 20 players on the board, they increase their chances of earning college scholarships. EPIC then begins its all-day schedule of intense training activities.

Nick, the most fragile member of the Ducks, fails to keep up. He earns himself push-ups at puck practice, fails to lift basic weights and injures himself at a virtual reality training lab. The last straw occurs when a lunch provider replaces a pizza box with healthy alternatives. During a mandatory jog around the campus, Nick secretly breaks away from the group and runs into the forest.

Meanwhile, Alex, the female manager of the Ducks, pleads with Coach Cole to tone down the “ultra-competitive” lifestyle for her players. Cole refuses, saying he trains his students to be the best. He challenges Alex to start her own “participation trophy” camp if she so chooses.

Later, Alex’s son Evan impresses Cole with his sharp hockey skills. Evan is promoted to “Cole’s Clinic,” an elite training class for EPIC’s most promising players. Evan enjoys his newfound status but begins neglecting his time with his girlfriend, Sofi. The two argue about balancing priorities to one’s career or to one’s friends. This argument is interrupted by the other Ducks, who discover Nick’s been missing from the campus since the morning.

Nick hides out at a hotel to contemplate his poor life choices. Using Nick’s smart wristband, Alex is able to pinpoint his exact location. Nick tells his manager he should have quit the EPIC camp when he had a chance. How can Alex convince Nick to stay?

“Out of Bounds” is an excellent look into the Ducks’ internal struggles. The characters express their frustrations with the system but choose to stick together. This episode also builds on the program’s strong moral foundation. The Ducks search for their “black-pilled” Duck player and welcome him back as a Prodigal Son-type figure. [SPOILERS FOLLOW] Ales, the motherly coach, convinces the struggling player, Nick, to never give up. She reminds him he was the first person to join and rally for the Ducks back in Minnesota. They both agree the camp is scary but decide they can help prove that the Ducks can pull their own weight. In the evening, they return to the campus. Nick apologizes for bailing on his teammates and is welcomed back with open arms.

“Out of Bounds” is one of the best early episodes of Season Two of THE MIGHTY DUCKS: GAME CHANGERS. However, it has some hockey violence, the teenage romance between Evan and Sofi, and one player who mentions he has two mothers. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution.



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