Space Jam

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Space Jam
Directed by	Joe Pytka
Produced by	Ivan Reitman
Written by	Leo Benvenuti Steve Rudnick Timothy Harris (screenwriter)
Starring	Michael Jordan Bugs Bunny Wayne Knight Bill Murray Daffy Duck Charles Barkley Patrick Ewing Shawn Bradley Larry Johnson Muggsy Bogues Larry Bird Billy West (voice) Bob Bergen (voice) Bill Farmer (voice) Dee Bradley Baker (voice) Danny DeVito (voice)
Music by	James Newton Howard
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	November 15, 1996 (USA)
Running time	87 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$80,000,000 US (est.)
Followed by	Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Space Jam is a 1996 American live-action/animated film starring Michael Jordan opposite Bugs Bunny (voiced by Billy West) and the rest of the Looney Tunes characters. It was produced by Ivan Reitman, and directed by Joe Pytka (live-action) and Tony Cervone & Bruce W. Smith (animation). This film was released to movie theatres by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment in November 15, 1996.

Other voices included Bob Bergen as Porky, Tweety, Hubie and Bertie and Marvin the Martian, Bill Farmer as Sylvester and Dee Bradley Baker as Daffy and Taz. The Looney Tunes crew did not return to movie status afterwards until 2003 in Looney Tunes: Back in Action. Space Jam was also converted in a pinball and a video game by Acclaim Entertainment for PC-DOS, Sega Saturn and PlayStation.

[edit] Plot

A boy named Michael Jordan shoots baskets outside his home, telling his father that he wants to one day go to college and play ball and eventually play in the NBA. Flash forward several years, and Michael Jordan has not only fulfilled his dream of playing college and professional basketball, but has become a bona fide NBA superstar. After winning the NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls, Jordan announces his retirement from basketball and his intention to play baseball. Signed to the Birmingham Barons minor league team, Jordan is a major draw for the team, but only a fair to mediocre player.

Deep in space, on another planet, five tiny aliens called Nerdlucks (Zilch is the orange one, Bupkus: the purple one, Nada: the red, Null: The green one and Void, the Blue) have been sent to Earth to go to Looney Tune Land and capture the Looney Tunes characters and take them back to Moron Mountain, an outer space theme park belonging to their boss, Mr. Swackhammer (voiced by Danny DeVito). The Looney Tunes call a meeting to find a way to escape slavery on Moron Mountain. Bugs Bunny convinces the Nerdlucks that the Looney Tunes must be allowed to defend themselves and, after consulting with his fellow Tunes, challenges the Nerdlucks to a basketball game, cockily expecting a blowout defeat in light of the Nerdlucks' small size.

The Nerdlucks then use their strange powers to steal the talent of five NBA stars (Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Muggsy Bogues, Larry Johnson and Shawn Bradley) and transform themselves into the tall and muscular Monstars. Faced with this unsettling new development, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck snatch Jordan from his recreational golf game with Larry Bird and Bill Murray and bring him to Looney Tune Land. The Looney Tunes convince him to take up the position of "player-coach" and train them for their game with the Monstars.

Jordan's work is cut out for him, for none of the Looney Tunes knows how to play basketball, except for newcomer Lola Bunny, who Bugs takes an immediate shine to. Jordan also finds himself dressed incorrectly for playing basketball, so he dispatches Bugs and Daffy to go to his home in the real world to retrieve his sneakers and lucky shorts. After a close call with Charles, the Jordans' pet bulldog, Bugs and Daffy are able to fetch Jordan's gear with the assistance of the Jordan children.

The game starts disastrously for the TuneSquad, whose numbers are rapidly being whittled down by the injurious play of the Monstars. Come halftime, the Monstars lead by an overwhelming score of 66-18. Jordan tries to fire up the team with a pep talk, but they are unresponsive. Bugs fills a sport bottle with water and pastes a label on it that reads, "Michael's Secret Stuff." Giving Jordan a knowing look, he manages to convince the team that a dose of "Michael's Secret Stuff" will give them the strength and dexterity they need to win. The TuneSquad eagerly gulp down the "Secret Stuff," and in the first part of the second half, they mount a comeback, using crazy strategies and props to baffle the Monstars. The TuneSquad has rallied to within two points of the Monstars when Swackhammer calls for a time out. He confronts Jordan, who decides to raise the the stakes: if the Looney Tunes win, the Monstars have to return the stolen skills to the NBA players they stole them from. If the Monstars win, Swackhammer gets Jordan, along with the Looney Tunes. As the game resumes, Swackhammer tells the Monstars to "Crush 'em", which they do, literally. They beat up and injure almost every player on the TuneSquad, until only Jordan, Bugs, Lola, Stan Podolak, and Daffy Duck are left standing. Stan is literally flattened by the Monstars, but manages to bring the TuneSquad within one point of the Monstars. Marvin the Martian, the referee, warns the TuneSquad that if they cannot find a fifth player soon, they will have to forfeit the game. Bill Murray, who has somehow made his way to Looney Tune Land, suddenly makes the scene to offer assistance, and the game continues. The TuneSquad manages to steal the ball and pass it to Jordan. He makes a leap to the basket from halfcourt, but is snagged in mid-air by two Monstars. Exploiting the unique physics of Looney Tune Land, Jordan stretches his arm towards the basket as his body is restrained. Jordan's arm grows longer and longer, and he drops the ball into the basket as time expires. With that, the TuneSquad wins the game and their freedom. Swackhammer berates the Monstars for losing, but when they finally realize that they are physically bigger than he is, they turn on him and shoot him into outer space. Jordan convinces the Monstars return the skills to the players, making them Nerdlucks again. The aliens beg the Looney Tunes to let them stay in Looney Tune Land, despite Bugs' objection that they're "not looney enough". Jordan then dashes back home in time to join the Barons on the diamond, and later makes his return to the NBA, mirroring his real-life return.

[edit] Reaction

Space Jam had mixed critical response, and was a great success at the box office. Notable critic Roger Ebert gave Space Jam an enthusiastic "thumbs up." Leonard Maltin also gave the film a positive review. Some critics compared it unfavorably to Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a popular film in which cartoon characters and live-action humans coexisted in the same film as well.[1] Those who liked the film praised the visual effects, which were groundbreaking at the time.

The film's soundtrack was popular and highly praised, and it 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 notable musical numbers appearing in the film include a cover of "Fly Like an Eagle" (by Seal), "Hit 'em High (Monstars' Anthem)" (by B-Real, Coolio, Method Man, LL Cool J, and Busta Rhymes), and "For You I Will" (by Monica).

Further information: Space Jam (soundtrack)

[edit] Cast of Looney Tunes characters

• Bugs Bunny
• Daffy Duck
• Lola Bunny (debut)
• Porky Pig
• Elmer Fudd
• Yosemite Sam
• Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner
• Sylvester
• Sylvester Junior
• Tweety
• Granny
• Witch Hazel
• Rocky and Mugsy
• Foghorn Leghorn
• Barnyard Dawg
• Sam Sheepdog
• Pepé Le Pew
• Penelope Pussycat
• Taz
• Beaky Buzzard
• Marc Antony and Pussyfoot
• Claude Cat
• Pete Puma
• Speedy Gonzales
• Slowpoke Rodriguez
• Hubie and Bertie
• Miss Prissy
• Gossamer
• The Three Bears
• The Crusher
• Playboy Penguin
• Egghead Junior
• Hippety Hopper
• Michigan J. Frog
• Mac and Tosh, the Goofy Gophers
• Marvin the Martian
• K-9
• Sniffles
• Henery Hawk
• Spike the Bulldog and Chester the Terrier
• Charlie Dog
• Giovanni Jones from Long-Haired Hare
• The Bull from Bully for Bugs
• Cecil Turtle
• The Gambling Bug
• Mr. and Mrs. Gruesome Gorilla
• The Three Little Bops
• The Dover Boys
• Inki
• Little Red Riding Hood from Little Red Riding Rabbit
• Lepricauns from Wearing Of The Grin
• The Weasel from Weasel Stop and Plop goes the weasel
• The Scotsman from My Bunny Lies Over The Sea
• The Hillbillies from Hillbilly Hare

[edit] Cast of NBA Players

• Michael Jordan
• Charles Barkley
• Patrick Ewing
• Larry Johnson
• Muggsy Bogues
• Shawn Bradley
• Larry Bird

[edit] Actor cast

• Michael Jordan - Himself
• Wayne Knight - Stan Podolak
• Theresa Randle - Juanita Jordan
• Manner Washington - Jeffery Jordan
• Eric Gordon - Marcus Jordan
• Penny Bae Bridges - Jasmine Jordan
• Bill Murray - Himself
• Thom Berry - James Jordan
• Larry Bird - Himself
• Charles Barkley - Himself
• Patrick Ewing - Himself
• Larry Johnson - Himself
• Muggsy Bogues - Himself
• Shawn Bradley - Himself
• Dan Castellaneta - Male Fan
• Patricia Heaton - Female Fan

[edit] Voice Actor Cast

• Billy West - Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd
• Dee Bradley Baker - Daffy Duck, Tasmanian Devil, Bull
• Danny DeVito - Mr. Swackhammer
• Bob Bergen - Porky Pig, Marvin the Martian, Tweety Bird, Bertie, Hubie
• Bill Farmer - Sylvester, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam
• June Foray - Granny
• Maurice LaMarche - Pepé Le Pew
• Kath Soucie - Lola Bunny
• Frank Welker - Charlie Dog
• Jocelyn Blue - Nerdluck Pound
• Joey Camen - Monstar Bang
• T.K. Carter - Monstar Nawt
• Dorian Harewood - Monstar Bupkus
• Charity James - Nerdluck Blanko
• Steve Kehela - Monstar Blanko, Announcer
• Catherine Reitman - Nerdluck Bupkus
• M. Darnell Suttles - Monstar Pound
• Colleen Wainwright - Nerdluck Nawt, Sniffles

[edit] Trivia

• The orange Monstar tells Michael Jordan "You heard of the Dream Team? Well we're the mean team!". Jordan and two players robbed of their talents in the film, Barkley and Ewing, were all members of the Olympic gold medal-winning 1992 United States team.
• Daffy asks about a team called "the Ducks". Bugs replies with this 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 (who are also a real team), as well as Wayne Gretzky's comments concerning the New Jersey Devils in the 1980s.
• Dan Castellaneta and Patricia Heaton make a cameo as Wife and Husband Fans at the New York game.
• One scene references Pulp Fiction, with Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam dressed as killers and "Misirlou" in the background.
• The movie was inspired by Nike commercials featuring Michael and Bugs against Marvin and an alien. Another shoe commercial is referenced when Larry Johnson says that his grandmother can play better than him (he played his grandmother in an ad for Converse).
• When sending Bugs and Daffy to pick up his basketball gear, Michael Jordan tells them that he wore his UNC basketball shorts under his Chicago Bulls uniform in every game he played. Jordan really did do this, as a good luck charm.
• Bugs and the other Looney Tunes are shown to reside in Looney Tune Land, a realm located beneath Earth's surface. Only two known portals to Looney Tune Land exist, one lying beneath a Piggly Wiggly parking lot in suburban Birmingham, Alabama (also the home of Michael Jordan's minor-league baseball team the Birmingham Barons), the other accessible from a tunnel beneath an unspecified hole on a golf course in the Birmingham metropolitan area. Each portal consists of a membranous elastomer imprinted with the Warner Bros. studio shield (anywhere from 20-50 feet in diameter). The portal can be stretched and punctured by a projectile, admitting persons or vehicles into the skies of Looney Tune Land.
• The song that Foghorn Leghorn was singing on the basketball court (oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton...) was "Dixie" .
• Mr. Swackhammer, the antagonist of the movie, mistakes Bill Murray for Dan Aykroyd during the basketball game.
• This was the first live-action/animated film ever to be based on various classic Warner Bros. animated cartoons.
• A few pieces of animation made for this movie were reused in commercial bumpers on Kids' WB! in the late '90s.
• A portrait of Bosko can be seen on the wall when Yosemite Sam remarks, "We ain't-a goin' nowheres!"
• At one point, the Looney Tunes can be seen exercising while watching a Richard Simmons tape.
• The character Stan makes this quote:"C'mon, Michael, it's game time. Slip on your Hanes, lace up your Nikes, take your Wheaties and your Gatorade, and we'll grab a Big Mac on the way to the ballpark", humorizing Jordan's sports product brand endorsement [2]
• Excluding the events involving the Looney Tunes, the story loosely mirrors Jordan's real life. After the murder of his father, James Jordan, Michael Jordan announced his retirement from basketball and later signed with the Birmingham Barons minor league baseball team. Soon after, after posting lackluster numbers with the Barons, he returned to the Chicago Bulls for one more season before retiring from active play for good. James Jordan's death is not referenced in the film directly, but only implied in the retirement press conference.
• Ironically, Eric Gordon played Marcus Jordan in a high school game between Gordon's North Central High School and Jordan's Loyola Academy. Gordon acted as Marcus Jordan in the movie.

[edit] External links

• Space Jam at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website