Space Jam (1996)

Michael Jordan agrees to help the Looney Toons play a basketball game vs. alien slavers to determine their freedom.

Director:

Joe Pytka

Writers:

Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick,

Stars:

Michael Jordan, Wayne Knight, Theresa Randle

5 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Jordan	...	Himself
Wayne Knight	...	Stan Podolak
Theresa Randle	...	Juanita Jordan
Manner Washington	...	Jeffery Jordan (as Manner 'Mooky' Washington)
Eric Gordon	...	Marcus Jordan
Penny Bae Bridges	...	Jasmine Jordan
Brandon Hammond	...	Michael Jordan - 10 Years Old
Larry Bird	...	Himself
Bill Murray	...	Bill Murray
Thom Barry	...	James Jordan
Charles Barkley	...	Himself
Patrick Ewing	...	Himself
Tyrone Bogues	...	Himself (as Muggsy Bogues)
Larry Johnson	...	Himself
Shawn Bradley	...	Himself

Storyline

Swackhammer, owner of the amusement park planet Moron Mountain is desperate get new attractions and he decides that the Looney Tune characters would be perfect. He sends his diminutive underlings to get them to him, whether Bugs Bunny & Co. want to go or not. Well armed for their size, Bugs Bunny is forced to trick them into agreeing to a competition to determine their freedom. Taking advantage of their puny and stubby legged foes, the gang selects basketball for the surest chance of winning. However, the Nerdlucks turn the tables and steal the talents of leading professional basketball stars to become massive basketball bruisers known as the Monstars. In desperation, Bugs Bunny calls on the aid of Micheal Jordan, the Babe Ruth of Basketball, to help them have a chance at winning their freedom.

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Plot Keywords:

basketball | basketball game | alien | theme park | baseball | 

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Taglines:

Get ready to jam

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild cartoon language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Space Jam Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Basket Spatial

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,348,009 (UK) (21 March 1997)

Gross:

£11,262,322 (UK) (11 April 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros. Family Entertainment, Northern Lights Entertainment, Courtside Seats Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS DTS-Stereo (digital 35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The concept for this movie originated from a series of highly popular Nike ads where Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan faced off against Marvin the Martian and his alien henchmen in basketball.

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Goofs

When the green monster says, 'you're all washed up, baldy', he is to the left of Michael Jordan. When Michael Jordan reacts and says 'baldy?', he looks up to the right.

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Quotes

[first lines]
James Jordan: Michael? What are you doin', son? It's after midnight.
Michael Jordan at 10: I can't sleep, Paps.
James Jordan: Well, neither can we with all that noise you're making. C'mon, let's go inside.
Michael Jordan at 10: Just one more shot?
James Jordan: All right, just one.

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Crazy Credits

After the credits, various characters quarrel over who gets to say "That's All Folks", then 'Michael Jordan' says "Can I go home now?" Then the Looney Toons "That's all folks!" written text slides over.

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Connections

Spoofed in Futurama: Time Keeps on Slipping (2001)

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Soundtracks

"Wild"
Written by Ivor Davies and Robert Kretschmer
Performed by Icehouse
Courtesy of DIVA Records/Massive Records

User Reviews

Silly but hard to dislike

Movie about Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes characters (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Roadrunner etc etc). An evil animated monster runs Moron Mountain--a planet with an amusement park. They need a new ride so he sends five helpers to Earth to kidnap the Looney Tunes characters. Then they can be used as a new act at the amusement park. Bugs and the others agree--IF they play them in a basketball game and win. Bugs and the others convince Michael Jordan to help them--but the aliens have evil plans up their sleeve.

Michael Jordan meets the Looney Tunes. Sounds like a sure recipe for disaster. I was positive this film was going to be a bomb when it was released (with HEAVY publicity) in 1996. Yes--it's silly but if you love Looney Tunes (like I do) you'll probably love this. The characters are treated (more or less) respectfully and during the climatic basketball game the stands are full of every Warner Bros. cartoon character ever made. One small mouse character who talks nonstop I remembered from childhood and I literally broke up laughing when he appeared! The animation is just great, the merging of live action with cartoon figures works and the script is fun. There are groaners and stupid lines but, all in all, it was pretty amusing.

The debits: Michael Jordan just can't act. I'm sure he was a wonderful basketball player but his acting was as wooden as a basketball court. Also various other sports figures pop up and prove they're worse actors than Jordan! Bill Murray (who can be good) is just lousy in a supporting role. And Wayne Knight is just SO annoying. Also I could have lived without seeing the Warner Bros. logo popping up everywhere. At one point it's on Daffy Duck's butt...and he kisses it! And there's a brief take-off on "Pulp Fiction" which isn't as funny now as it was in 1996. So, these things lessen the movie but don't destroy it. Worth catching if you're a Warner Bros. animation fan. Kids will love it. I give it a 7.