As a millennial gamer who grew up in the 90s, I can’t help but feel a sense of nostalgic pride when it comes to “The Mighty Ducks” trilogy. Unlike Seth Meyers, who apparently missed out on this iconic Disney live-action excellence, I was among the legion of kids who eagerly awaited each new installment and marveled at Kenan Thompson’s skating prowess on the ice.
As we anticipate SNL‘s appearance on the 2024 TV lineup, Kenan Thompson has been making appearances left and right due to his involvement in Olympics coverage. My most enjoyable moment might have been when he playfully roasted colleague Colin Jost, but he also recently graced the stage on Late Night with Seth Meyers, discussing his recent projects. It seems that the late night host isn’t as smitten with Thompson as I am among millennials, as he initially found the actor’s skating abilities a bit unusual.
Meyers recalled recently that he and the Saturday Night Live cast would go do that iconic thing where they would ice skate at Rockefeller Center every year around the holidays. Thompson is an A+ skater, and Meyers said he never, ever saw it coming.
It appears that’s due to him not having seen Thompson in the highly acclaimed sequel to The Mighty Ducks – “Mighty Ducks 2”. It’s puzzling how someone as culturally aware as Seth Meyers could have overlooked such a significant figure in Disney live-action greatness. However, here’s Seth’s account of events:
As a long-time fan of Saturday Night Live (SNL), I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing the incredible talent and versatility of Kenan Thompson over the years. What always strikes me is how youthful he looks despite his long tenure on the show, a paradox that I’ve noticed and commented on more than once during our conversations backstage.
Kenan Thompson openly confessed that “Mighty Ducks 2” was his initial film appearance, and he had to genuinely learn the technique called “Knucklepuck Time” instead of faking it. Interestingly, the cast, which consisted of Joshua Jackson, Marguerite Moreau, Elden Henson, Vincent LaRusso, among others, all picked up skating skills during the production of this beloved trilogy. Now, he utilizes these talents to outperform his co-workers at 30 Rock. He doesn’t exactly hold Seth accountable, acknowledging that many have overlooked his modest beginnings in acting.
As a die-hard fan, let me tell you, many people might underestimate or dismiss it as just a film, but those movies truly taught us the art of skating. And guess what? That connection with the NHL we have now? It all started there. You know how incredible they were? They weren’t just movies, they were legitimately teaching us real skills. I still skate to this day, thanks to that experience.
Apart from Thompson, it wasn’t only Thompson who picked up skating skills for the film. In fact, Garrette Henson, who portrayed Guy Germaine, was discovered to be an impressive skater in reality. His brother Elden Henson, Joshua Jackson, and Matt Doherty also became proficient at hockey alongside him. Interestingly, during the production of the ’90s film “Mighty Ducks”, some cast members falsely claimed they could ice skate, while others on set had acting experience but were new to skating. To address this, a training camp, or “boot camp”, was organized for both skills.
In our team, we invited Jack White, an acclaimed hockey coach with a reputation, to help us out. Since most of our kids were novices in skating, we needed to teach them the basics. On top of that, the experienced skaters had to learn acting skills. So, we essentially organized acting workshops and skating classes, which we called boot camps. Ideally, we wanted 12-16 weeks for this training period. However, due to budget constraints, setting up such a large organization from scratch was challenging. We had to expedite the process. It was our responsibility to ensure that these kids were prepared to perform on ice, considering both their skating abilities and credibility, as well as their comedic timing, despite the time crunch.
If ducks wanted to fly synchronously, they needed to learn to skate in unison first, and that’s precisely what occurred for the original Disney movie and its following sequels. These films hold a special place in the hearts of millennials, leading to a series tailored for Disney+ subscribers early on (although regrettably, it was ultimately canceled, despite being rich with Mighty Ducks references). Even though Game Changers didn’t endure, I must admit there exists an entire generation of adults slightly younger than Seth Meyers, 50, who would have instantly recognized why Kenan Thompson is so graceful on the ice.
By the way, I thought you might appreciate knowing that this year marked The Mighty Ducks’ 30th anniversary. It’s a gentle hint, if you didn’t realize it, that we’re both growing older.
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2024-08-09 07:07