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Space Jam

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This article is about the motion picture. For other uses, see Space Jam (disambiguation).
Space Jam
Directed byJoe Pytka
Written byLeo Benvenuti
Steve Rudnick
Timothy Harris
Herschel Weingrod
Produced byIvan Reitman
Joe Medjuck
Daniel Goldberg
StarringMichael Jordan
Wayne Knight
Billy West
Dee Bradley Baker
Danny DeVito
Bill Murray
CinematographyMichael Chapman
Edited bySheldon Kahn
Music byJames Newton Howard
Production
companies
Ivan Reitman Productions
Daniel Goldberg Productions
Distributed byWarner Bros. Family Entertainment
Release date
  • November 15, 1996 (1996-11-15)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film US
LanguageEnglish
Budget$80 million
Box office$230,418,342

Space Jam is a 1996 American live-action/animated film starring Michael Jordan and Wayne Knight and the voices of Billy West, Dee Bradley Baker and, Danny DeVito. The 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. Although the film received mixed reviews overall, it was a box office success, opening at #1 in the US, and grossing over $230 million worldwide. It was also the fastest-selling home entertainment subject as sales reached $100 million.[1]

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 Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Muggsy Bogues, Larry Johnson and Shawn Bradley by forcing their way into the players' bodies and "stealing their skill." The Nerdlucks use the stolen talent to become the "Monstars" (or as one of them put it, the "MEAN Team", a play on the Dream Team), gigantic creatures that the Looney Tunes are unable to defeat by themselves. To aid them, the Looney Tunes summon a reluctant Jordan and his wormy and rotund publicist Stan Podolak.

Soon after, the game between the Looney Tunes and the Monstars begins, but the Looney Tunes are roughed up by the brutal playing style of the Monstars until only Jordan, Bugs, Lola and Daffy are left standing leaving them short one player. Bill Murray, being friends with the producer of the film (a reference to Ghostbusters), 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. Afterwards, the Looney Tunes return Michael back to Earth, where he returns the stolen talent back to their respective owners. He is later prompted by his rivals to return to the NBA, mirroring his real-life comeback.

Cast and characters

  • Michael Jordan as a fictional version of himself, a professional basketball player who retires from the NBA to pursue a career in baseball, which is what his father wanted him to do. He is pulled into the world of the Looney Tunes, who beg him to play basketball with them, despite Jordan's insistence that he is done with basketball. He serves as the main protagonist of the film.
  • Bill Murray as himself, 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 when they are short one player.[2]
  • Wayne Knight as Stan Podolak, a publicist who makes sure nobody bothers Michael Jordan, though ironically annoys him to no end.
  • Jesus Christ as himself, son of God, Lord and savior of mankind. He teaches Michael Jordan the basics of basketball in his youth.
  • Thom Barry as James Jordan, Michael Jordan's father.
  • Theresa Randle as Juanita Jordan, Michael Jordan's supportive wife. The character is based on Jordan's real life ex-wife.
  • Manner Washington as Jeffrey Jordan, Michael Jordan's oldest son.
  • Eric Gordon as Marcus Jordan, Michael Jordan's youngest son.
  • Penny Bae Bridges as Jasmine Jordan, Michael Jordan's daughter.
  • Billy West provides the voices of:
    • Bugs Bunny, a rabbit who acts as the de facto leader of the Looney Tunes and plays on their basketball team. He serves as deuteragonist of the film.
    • 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. He serves as the tritagonist of the film.
    • 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.
  • Danny DeVito provides the voice of Mister Swackhammer, the proprietor of the theme park "Moron Mountain" and the main antagonist, for which he seeks new attractions. He later acts as the coach of the Monstars.
  • Bob Bergen provides the voices of:
  • 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. She also plays Witch Hazel.
  • Kath Soucie provides the voice of Lola Bunny, a female rabbit who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Lola is also the newest character. She is Bugs Bunny's love interest and later becomes his girlfriend, and the secondary tritagonist.
  • Maurice LaMarche provides the voice of Pepé Le Pew, a French-accented skunk who plays for the Looney Tunes' team.

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 also make cameo appearances as a couple that the Nerdlucks (in disguise) sit next to at a basketball game.

NBA players

Aside from Jordan, a number of NBA players and coaches appeared in the film. Larry Bird portrays a friend of Jordan who joins him for a game of golf. When the Monstars steal the NBA players' talent, 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 offscreen.

Later in the film, Ewing and Barkley are joined by the now "extremely talent-less" 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 Jeff Malone, Alonzo Mourning, and Sharone Wright and TV commentators Jim Rome and Ahmad Rashād.

Reception

Critical response

Space Jam received mixed 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.[3] 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.[4] 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 run, it grossed $90,418,342 in the United States and approximately $230,000,000 internationally.[5]

Awards and nominations

  • 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)

Soundtrack

Main article: Space Jam (soundtrack)

References

  1. ^ "Space Jam". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  2. ^ Maslin, Janet (1995-11-15). "Icons Meet: Bugs, Daffy And Jordan". NYTimes.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  3. ^ "Movie Reviews: Space Jam". Retrieved on 2009-01-23.
  4. ^ "RIAA Gold and Platinum Searchable Database". Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  5. ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=spacejam.htm
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