Space Jam (1996)

SPACE JAM (1996)
By Ralph Santini – ***

                Delightfully entertaining since seeing this film myself at age 9 going on 10, the NBA (Michael Jordan, specifically) meets the Looney Tunes extravaganza “Space Jam” is still a fun family film with plenty of excitement. Joe Pytka, the film’s director has basically been directing mostly music videos and I think it’s stand to reason why this film still holds up as a feature length music video about basketball and Warner Bros. cartoon characters. This movie, clearly set in 1993, mixes the true story of Michael Jordan switching from Basketball to professional Baseball, a sport his father excelled at, with a fantasy story sharing an alternate reality on the lives of NBA players and the Looney Tunes cartoon characters where they find out that space aliens are about to kidnap them to a moon called “Moron Mountain” (isn’t that a funny name?). The aliens consist of a scheming villain Mr. Swackhammer (voiced by Danny DeVito) engineering his henchmen known as The Nerdlucks to get the Looney Tunes after his business is faltering with complaints of costumers on how the theme park is declining one by one.

                When The Nerdlucks confirm the beloved cartoon characters that they will be their slaves for the amusement business Bugs implores them that he and his pals must need a chance to defend themselves and what do they do? The Tunes themselves challenge the clumsy creatures to a Basketball game. Things don’t go right however when the little darlings steal the talent from 5 famous NBA players; Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Shawn Bradley, Larry Johnson and Muggsy Bogues. Worse yet, the players’ talents transforms the cute little Nerdlucks into scary gigantic “Monstars”. And that’s where The Looney Tunes’ plan to bring Michael Jordan into their animated reality begins. All they have to do is have Yosamite Sam drag Mr. Jordan from his golf game and let Bugs in charge for asking Michael for his help for his coaching into playing Basketball. Jordan and his animated pals would be eventually joined by his rather imprudent but loveable fictional publicist Stan Podolak  (Wayne Knight) and an attractive new-to-Looney -Tunes-fans character named Lola Bunny whom Bugs falls in love with.

                This film is not exactly one of the great movies but it’s nevertheless a fun joyride that I still find entertaining after all these years. I mean come on, Basketball and Looney Tunes? I think that’s really a terrific premise. It’s true Michael Jordan is no actor, but I understand he’s got a very nice reputation for being a philanthropic gentleman and I can really dig that. I also love Bill Murray’s amazing cameo as himself where he eventually gives our heroes luck into becoming their fifth player after several misfires in the game. It’s also really nice to see most our favorite characters from The Looney Tunes universe ranging from Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Tweety Bird, Sylvester, Yoseamite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, etc. make their official feature film debut, after their previous ones consisted of mostly compilations of cut cartoons for them.

                It’s also fun to see the cameos made by Larry Bird and many other Basketball personalities including the victims of having their talent stolen from the Nerdlucks. Mind you, I must admit previously not liking several scenes when they are trying to cope with themselves with no talent from when Charles Barkley is rejected by a group of girls playing basketball pegging him as a wannabe and then they are trying to recover themselves in a hospital, Barkley going church, and the players trying to see a psychiatrist. However now that I’m grown up I think I will take that all back, because well, growing up, I became more and more familiar with Sports figures even though I am not quite the sports fan many people are. The point is that Space Jam is, regardless, a fun movie to watch since I basically love seeing Michael Jordan team up with The Looney Tunes both of them being gigantic cultural phenomenons.