Space Jam

This article is about the motion picture. For other uses, see Space Jam (disambiguation).

Space Jam
Directed by	Joe Pytka
Written by	Leo Benvenuti Steve Rudnick Timothy Harris (screenwriter)
Produced by	Ivan Reitman
Starring	Michael Jordan Wayne Knight Theresa Randle Charles Barkley with Bill Murray and Danny DeVito as the voice of Swackhammer with the voices of: Billy West Dee Bradley Baker Kath Soucie
Cinematography	Michael Chapman
Music by	James Newton Howard
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release dates	United States/Canada November 15, 1996 Australia December 12, 1996 United Kingdom March 21, 1997 Japan April 26, 1997
Running time	88 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$80,000,000 US (est.)
Box office	$330,418,342

Space Jam is a 1996 American live-action/animated film starring Michael Jordan, Bugs Bunny (voiced by Billy West) and the rest of the Looney Tunes characters; this movie also marks the debut of Lola Bunny, who in this film is voiced by Kath Soucie. It was produced by Ivan Reitman, and directed by Joe Pytka (live-action), Tony Cervone, and Bruce W. Smith (animation).

The film was released theatrically by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment on November 15, 1996. There was also a licensed pinball game by Sega based on the film and a video game by Acclaim Entertainment. It plays out as an alternate story of Michael's return to basketball, this time with him being inspired by Bugs Bunny and others. The film was panned by critics, but was a box office success, grossing over $330 million worldwide.

Plot

As NBA superstar Michael Jordan retires from basketball to pursue a career in baseball, Mister Swackhammer, the proprietor of the extraterrestrial theme park "Moron Mountain", is seeking new attractions for his failing park. He sends his minions, the "Nerdlucks", to capture the Looney Tunes, who reside deep below the surface of the Earth.

The Looney Tunes retaliate by challenging the Nerdlucks to a basketball game (seeing as that they aren't very tall). To prepare for the game, the Nerdlucks return to Earth and steal the talent of top NBA stars Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Muggsy Bogues, Larry Johnson and Shawn Bradley. The Nerdlucks use the stolen talent to become the "Monstars", gigantic creatures that the Looney Tunes are unable to defeat by themselves. To aid them, the Looney Tunes summon a reluctant Michael and his wormy and rotund assistant Stan Podolak. Jordan is reluctant at first, but the Monstars come and humiliate him. This along with the news that the NBA stars can no longer play confirms Jordan's decision to help the Looney Tunes.

Soon after, the game between the Looney Tunes and the Monstars begins, but the Looney Tunes appear to be no match for them even with Michael's help as the Monstars completely dominate the entire first half. As halftime begins, Stan becomes suspicious on how the Monstars are able to play so well and spies on them inside their locker room. While he is ultimately caught (and heavily roughed up), he does discover that the Monstars stole the talents of the NBA players.

Meanwhile, Michael tries to raise the Looney Tunes' spirits who are already accepting defeat. Meanwhile Bugs grabs a water bottle and labels it "Michael's Secret Stuff" in order to boost everyone's confidence by "claiming" it is what helps Michael play basketball well. Everyone drinks from the bottle and with their spirits raised, the Looney Tunes make an amazing comeback against the Monstars and reduce the Monstar's giant lead to only a few points.

At that point, Mister Swackhammer yells at the Monstars for losing their lead and Michael decides to confront Swackhammer about the NBA players' stolen talent. Michael proposes to raise the stakes; if the Looney Tunes win, the Monstars are to return the talent, but if the Monstars win, they can have Michael as the new attraction for Moron Mountain. Intrigued by this offer, Mister Swackhammer demands the Monstars to play as dirty as possible. The Looney Tunes are then roughed up by the brutal playing style of the Monstars until only Michael, Bugs, Lola and Daffy are left standing leaving them short one player. Bill Murray, being friends with the producer of the film, is able to enter the Looney Tunes' world and join their team, averting forfeiture.

By the climax of the game, the Tunes are down by one and it is up to Michael to score the final point for his team. Using his infamously extendable arm, Michael manages to make the basket and win the game. Mister Swackhammer scolds the Monstars for losing the game, however with some motivation from Michael, the Monstars realize they do not have to tolerate Swackhammer's abusiveness. They stand up to him and tie him to a rocket and send him to the Moon.

Despite everything that has happened between the Looney and Nerdlucks, the Looney Tunes allow the Nerdlucks to stay on Earth instead of returning to Moron Mountain. Afterwards, the Looney Tunes return Michael to Earth, where he returns the stolen talent to their respective owners. They later prompt him to return to the NBA, mirroring his real-life comeback.

Cast

• Michael Jordan plays a fictional version of himself as the protagonist of the film. He is a professional basketball player who retires from the National Basketball Association to pursue a career in baseball because that is what his dad wanted him to be. He is pulled into the world of the Looney Tunes and is persuaded into playing basketball with them, despite his insistence that he only plays baseball.
  • Brandon Hammond portrays Michael Jordan as a ten-year-old.
• Wayne Knight as Stan Podolak, the publicist of Michael Jordan and his family. Stan is a good-hearted guy and he is ecstatic to be working for Michael Jordan. At first, Michael Jordan finds him annoying but they become friends eventually. He joins Michael Jordan and his team to play against the Monstars.
• Bill Murray plays himself as one of Michael Jordan's friends and a self-proclaimed friend of the producer of the film, which allows him to join the Looney Tunes' team when they are short one player. Bill is desperate to become a basketball player but he has no skills whatsoever. He spends most of the time trying to figure out if he can join the NBA. The villain Swackhammer mistakes him for Dan Aykroyd.
• Billy West provides the voices of:
  • Bugs Bunny, a Flatbush-accented rabbit who acts as the de facto leader of the Looney Tunes and plays on their basketball team.
  • Elmer Fudd, a big-game hunter who seeks Bugs Bunny's demise. He plays for the Looney Tunes' team
• Dee Bradley Baker provides the voices of:
  • Daffy Duck, a greedy glory-hound duck and best friend of Bugs Bunny who plays for the Looney Tunes' team.
  • The Tasmanian Devil, a ravenous and crazed marsupial who plays on the Looney Tunes' team.
  • Toro, a bull that attacks the Monstar Pound during the game.
• Theresa Randle as Juanita Jordan, Michael Jordan's supportive wife. She is based on Jordan's real life ex-wife.
• Danny DeVito provides the voice of Mister Swackhammer, the main antagonist of the film. He is the proprietor of the theme park "Moron Mountain", for which he seeks new attractions. He acts as the coach of the Monstars, who double as his minions. After the game, his own Monstars team turns on him, compacts him into a small rocket and sends him flying out of the basketball stadium and straight into the moon trapping him there forever.
• Manner Washington as Jeffrey Jordan, Michael Jordan's oldest son.
• Bob Bergen provides the voices of:
  • Hubie and Bertie, a pair of mice who act as the commentators of the game.
  • Marvin the Martian, an extraterrestrial who acts as the game's referee.
  • Porky Pig, a stuttering pig who plays for the Looney Tunes' team.
  • Tweety, a small Yellow Canary who plays for the Looney Tunes' team.
• Eric Gordon as Marcus Jordan, Michael Jordan's youngest son.
• Penny Bae Bridges as Jasmine Jordan, Michael Jordan's daughter.
• Bill Farmer provides the voices of:
  • Sylvester, a tuxedo cat who seeks to devour Tweety. He plays for the Looney Tunes' team.
  • Yosemite Sam, a short-tempered and extremely grouchy Western outlaw who plays for the Looney Tunes' team.
  • Foghorn Leghorn, a large Kentucky-accented rooster who plays for the Looney Tunes' team.
• June Foray provides the voice of Granny, an elderly woman who acts as the cheerleader for the Looney Tunes' team.
• Kath Soucie provides the voice of Lola Bunny, a female rabbit who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. She is Bugs Bunny's love interest and later becomes his girlfriend.
• Maurice LaMarche provides the voice of Pepé Le Pew, a French-accented skunk who plays for the Looney Tunes' team.
• Larry Bird plays himself as a friend of Michael Jordan who joins him for a game of golf.
• Thom Barry as James Jordan, Michael Jordan's father.

Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Muggsy Bogues, Larry Johnson, Shawn Bradley, Ahmad Rashad, Del Harris, Vlade Divac, Cedric Ceballos, Jim Rome, Paul Westphal and Danny Ainge appear as themselves in the film. Bebe Drake appears as a housekeeper for Michael Jordan. The voices of the Nerdlucks are provided by Jocelyn Blue (Pound), Charity James (Blanko), June Melby (Bang), Catherine Reitman (Bupkus) and Colleen Wainwright (Nawt); the voices of the Monstars are provided by Darnell Suttles (Pound), Steve Kehela (Blanko), Joey Camen (Bang), Dorian Harewood (Bupkus) and T.K. Carter (Nawt). Dan Castellaneta and Patricia Heaton make cameo appearances as a couple that the Nerdlucks (in disguise) sit next to at a basketball game.

Reception

Space Jam received generally mixed-to-negative reviews. According to Rotten Tomatoes, only 37% of critics, and 46% of their selected "Top Critics", gave the film a positive review; this gave it a "Rotten" rating. Notable critic Roger Ebert gave Space Jam an enthusiastic "thumbs up," which Gene Siskel also gave the film, although his zeal was more subdued. Leonard Maltin also gave the film a positive review. Some critics compared it unfavorably to Disney's Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a popular film in which cartoon characters and live-action humans coexisted. Those who liked the film praised the visual effects, which were groundbreaking at the time.

The soundtrack sold enough albums to be certified as 6x Platinum. It also served as a high point for musical artist R. Kelly, whose song "I Believe I Can Fly" became a hit after it was featured on the film's soundtrack. Other tracks included a cover of "Fly Like an Eagle" (by Seal), "Hit 'Em High (The Monstars' Anthem)" (by B-Real, Busta Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J, and Method Man), "Basketball Jones" (by Chris Rock & Barry White), and "For You I Will" (by Monica). The movie's theme song was performed by the Quad City DJ's.

Box office

Despite the mixed reviews, Space Jam was a box office success. At the end of its running, it grossed $100,463,534 in the United States and approximately $230,000,000 internationally.

NBA players

Aside from Jordan, who plays the lead role, Space Jam contains a liberal amount of appearances by NBA players and coaches. Larry Bird plays golf with Jordan, and when the Monstars steal the NBA players' skills, they invade a game between the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks, causing the Knicks' Patrick Ewing and the Suns' Charles Barkley to make in-game mistakes. In these scenes, the Knicks' Charles Oakley and Derek Harper and the Suns' A. C. Green, Danny Ainge, and Paul Westphal (coach) are also onscreen.

Later in the film, Ewing and Barkley are joined by the now "gameless" Larry Johnson, Muggsy Bogues and Shawn Bradley. Also, when the Los Angeles Lakers are trying to avoid playing basketball in fear of getting infected, Lakers Vlade Divac, Cedric Ceballos, Anthony Miller, and coach Del Harris make a short cameo. Similar short appearances are also made by NBA players Jeff Malone, Alonzo Mourning, and Sharone Wright and TV commentators Jim Rome and Ahmad Rashad.

Awards and nominations

• 1997 and 1998 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards
  • Winner: Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures (Diane Warren for the song For You I Will)
  • Winner: Top Box Office Films (James Newton Howard)

• 1997 Annie Awards
  • Winner: Best Individual Achievement: Technical Achievement
  • Nomination: Best Animated Feature
  • Nomination: Best Individual Achievement: Directing in a Feature Production (Bruce W. Smith and Tony Cervone)
  • Nomination: Best Individual Achievement: Producing in a Feature Production (Ron Tippe)

• 1998 Grammy Awards
  • Winner: Best Song Written Specifically for Motion Picture or for Television (R.Kelly) (For the Song I Believe I Can Fly)

• 1997 MTV Movie Awards
  • Nomination: Best Movie Song (R.Kelly) (For the Song I Believe I Can Fly)

• 1997 Satellite Awards
  • Nomination: Best Motion Picture- Animated or Mixed Media (Danial Goldberg, Joe Medjuck, Ivan Reitman)

• 1998 World Animation Celebration
  • Winner: Best Use of Animation in a Motion Picture Trailer

• 1997 Young Artist Awards
  • Nomination: Best Family Feature- Animation or Special Effects

Soundtrack

Main article: Space Jam (soundtrack)

References to popular culture

• Daffy tells Bugs that they should name their basketball team with Jordan "the Ducks". Bugs replies with his potshot at WB rival Disney: "What kind of Mickey Mouse organization would call a team 'The Ducks'?" - a reference to Disney's The Mighty Ducks films and the real National Hockey League team then known as "The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim", now known as the Anaheim Ducks, although that team is no longer under Disney ownership. Many viewers also find this to be a reference to the University of Oregon's Oregon Ducks; who, through a special contract, use a variation of Disney's Donald Duck (The Oregon Duck) as their mascot. There are also comments made by Wayne Gretzky concerning the New Jersey Devils in the 1980s.
• The Nerdlucks/Monstars' names are never mentioned throughout the movie, but they are listed in the credits. Several action figures and trading cards also helped people tell which had which name.
• When Bupkus gets his teeth shot out by Elmer and Yosemite who are wearing matching Black Suits, the music playing is Dick Dale's Misirlou, a clear reference to Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction.
• On the bench, when Taz is shocked by Witch Hazel, he has Eat at Joe's written across his chest.
• Bill Murray comments to Daffy that he's friends with the producer; this refers to Ivan Reitman, director of Ghostbusters, which Murray starred in. Upon his arrival, Swackhammer mistakes him for Dan Aykroyd, who also was in said film.
• The movie was inspired by a Nike commercial which premiered during Super Bowl XXVI featuring Michael and Bugs against Marvin and his Instant Martian army.

External links

• Official website
• Space Jam at IMDb
• Space Jam at AllMovie
• Space Jam at Box Office Mojo
• Space Jam trivia at the Internet Movie Database