After scoring a series of hits with the Mighty Ducks film trilogy, Disney decided to give these lovable pucksters a new home on Saturday Mornings with Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series – with just a little bit of a twist. This time around, the kids were human/duck hybrids, and they were heavily armed.

Airing in 1996 on ABC, Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series featured a team of new ducks on the block (of ice.) Having recently been beamed to Earth from the remote frozen planet of Puckworld, a group of hockey-loving humanoid ducks have taken up residence in Anaheim, CA., shacking up in an abandoned hockey rink.

Leading the team on and off the ice, is the fearless Wildwing Flashblade, the no-nonsense and formidable goalie. At his side are younger brother, Nosedive; ex-jewel thief, Duke L’Orange; Mallory, the temperamental redhead; Tanya, the intellect of the group; and the muscled wise man, Check “Grin” Hardwing, who attained spiritual enlightenment from grand hockey master, Tai Quack Do.  While on earth, the team divided their time between slapping the puck around and saving the world from impending destruction at the hands of the evil Dragaunus, fire-breathing leader of the sinister Saurian Overlords from their home planet.

Thanks to Disney’s involvement, there was voice talent aplenty for the Saturday morning series. Besides Beverly Hills 90210 star Ian Ziering, who portrayed Wildwing, a number of guest voices appeared in the show, including Tim Curry, James Belushi and Dennis Franz. Running simultaneously on network television and in syndication, the show only lasted a year, producing 22 episodes. Three of these were edited together in 1997 to form a direct-to-video feature film called Mighty Ducks the Movie: The First Face-Off.