When Abigail AKA The Manic Pixie Weirdo was in elementary school she came across an actor in a movie that would go on to be one of the most successful franchises ever. We talked about that crush this week, and it got me thinking…what franchise was I absolutely obsessed with at that age? Well, ‘The Mighty Ducks,’ of course. It is the best trilogy – ever. At least to me, and with so many cuties in it, I was like, well…I could go a multitude of ways. There’s Banks, which physically was my crush from the second that kid who was forced to be on the Ducks because of county lines walked in, but I wanted to talk about the heart of ‘The Mighty Ducks’ films and that’s O Captain! My Captain! None other than Charlie Conway played by the wonderful Joshua Jackson.
Looking back at that time, there was really no one else I would’ve wanted as Charlie. At least to the many of us who watched and assumed that’s exactly what a kid from Minnesota looked and acted like. I still assume that because it’s been three decades and I’ve yet to make it to Minneapolis. Nevertheless, Jackson was placed in the role of the core Duck, the Duck in which the action revolved around in the first as Coach Bombay definitely wanted to get it on with Charlie’s mom. I mean, we all realized that…even at five, that was quite apparent to me. Adult relations aside, Charlie always felt like the moral compass of the team, the one who led them to victory whether it was on or off the ice and that’s why he’s been able to resonate with me and so many since ‘The Mighty Ducks’ first came to be.
That first one, man oh man, what a movie. It looked like it was filmed for $100 and a prayer but it’s that low-budget quality that makes you want to root for them as the little underdogs that could. Of course, the success of the first then led to Disney pumping more money into the sequels that followed, with the second being the shining star of the trio for me. They went to Los Angeles for the Junior Goodwill Games in ‘D2’ and my gawd, if you don’t think this movie is comedy gold, do you even have a funny bone? It’s perfect from start to finish, and again – Charlie is that member that keeps them grounded. Then we have the third which was fine and sort of weird because you could tell they were not going to be going further than that as the kids were basically grown.
I also love the fact that Joshua Jackson does not put down this role. Charlie Conway is very much alive in his heart and like Kenan Thompson, he’s not embarrassed by his past as a child actor or what he did then. For that, for always championing Charlie Conway, how can I not crush? Plus, his wife also crushed on him back in those days and I mean, that’s a woman I’d love to have come through to talk about because um, that’s a crush success if I’ve ever heard one! So Jodie Turner-Smith, if you happen to stumble upon this…the invitation is forever open for you to come through and talk about your childhood crush that became a reality. Until then, make sure to stay tuned to listen to The Manic Pixie Weirdo’s elementary school crush because it’s surely well, magical!
Crushgasm 
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