FAQ - Basic Show FAQ

Basic Show FAQ

This is a great newbie's guide to the fandom. If you're unfamiliar with the show's basic premise or plotline, read on for some easy-to-understand information.

Q: What is the basic plot?

A: MD:TAS (Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series) has absolutely nothing to do with Disney's three live action Mighty Ducks movies. The show is about a team of six anthropomorphic Ducks from another dimension, who are battling against an evil reptilian villain who once sought to take over their home planet. They managed to follow his forces as they escaped to Earth. Now, both good and evil sides are trapped on the alien planet, and continue their war against of each other. To keep their skills sharp, the Ducks play hockey, which was the national pastime of their home, Puckworld.

Q: What is the show's setting?

A: MD:TAS takes place in the present day, in a southern California city called Anaheim. In real life, Anaheim is the home to the real Mighty Ducks NHL team, as well as Disneyland. Just four miles or so south of LA, the city consists of a mix of hilly suburbs and downtown business and industrial districts.

Q: What is the basic story?

A: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... was a planet of Puckworld. This planet was inhabited by a race of anthropomorphic ducks, who were peaceful creatures that played hockey as their favorite sport on the icy planet. One fateful day, a race of conquering lizards called Saurians invaded the planet, razing its cities and enslaving its people. One band of rebels assembled to defeat the Saurian Overlords, and their leader was a brave duck named Drake DuCaine. He fashioned a golden Mask that could defeat the Saurians by nulling their trump card: the Mask could see through the Saurians' cloaking devices. DuCaine led the movement that crushed the Saurian empire, and the lizards were punished by being sent into a prison of inter-dimensional limbo. Now, at least several centuries later, in the present day, Drake DuCaine and his Mask have faded into legend that most Puckworlders dismiss as a fairy tale. But the nightmare revives itself when the last living Saurian Overlord devises a way to escape his prision, via a dimensional gateway generator. The Saurian Overlord Dragaunus revives what is left of his empire's armies, and once again washes Puckworld with destruction. Our main characters become part of a new resistance force, led by a duck named Canard, who had found DuCaine's Mask in a mountain cave. Using the Mask's power, the Saurians were again defeated by a team of seven ducks. However, Dragaunus used his gateway generator to open a portal and escape to Earth. In following and his remaining minions, the Ducks lost their leader Canard. Now down to six, the team pulls through the other side of the gateway to find themselves in our dimension, in sunny Anaheim, California. The team has found a home in the city's hockey rink, and continues their battle against Dragaunus, to make sure that the Earth is not his next target!

Q: Does MD:TAS have any connection to the real Mighty Ducks hockey team?

A: Yes, on several levels. First of all, the NHL needed to sign off on the production of the series, as well as all merchandise produced from it, because the use of the Mighty Ducks name and logo requires NHL permission. Disney owns the real Mighty Ducks team, which gives them the leverage to use the title for the cartoon. In the show itself, one player from the real Mighty Ducks team did pop up in a cameo role: goaltender Guy Hebert.

Q: When was/is the show on TV?

A: MD:TAS premiered in the fall of 1996 on two different networks: ABC and the WB. At the time, Disney had a deal with the WB to broadcast a programming block known as The Disney Afternoon over their networks. MD:TAS would air on the WB stations on Fridays afternoons, and ABC stations on Saturday mornings. After the show went into syndication, it was shown on WB stations during weekday afternoons. Since The Disney Afternoon became a thing of the past, MD:TAS has been shown in changing timeslots on the Toon Disney channel, as well as The Family Channel in Canada.

Q: Was MD:TAS shown outside of a North American market?

A: Yes! MD:TAS has been dubbed in German and Chinese, and shown in the following countries: The UK, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Germany.

Q: Is there any merchandise from the show?

A: Tons, although very little is still around in stores today. For more information, check out the Merchandise page.

Q: How many episodes are there?

A: 26, shown over the time span of a single season. Normally in cartoons, a season consists of around 13 episodes. Because Disney could air the show on two different networks, they chose to air 13 unique episodes on one channel, and 13 on the other. Only after the set of 13 had a full run, did Disney switch the sets between the networks. The episode sets were mixed only after the show went into syndication.

Q: Do the episodes have to be viewed in consecutive order?

A: No, for the most part. The majority of the episodes are not sequential, and are made to be stand-alone adventures. There is one two-part origin episode, a series finale, and a few episodes where villains get a sort of sequel story. Only in those cases do the episodes need to be viewed in some sort of order, to really make sense.

Look for more FAQ to come, as I think of more questions. If you have one that you think might be answered well here, please e-mail me!