When this film was originally released in theaters, I shrugged it off as another hype-fueled marketing ploy to sell everything from Happy Meals to bedspreads, all adorned with the smiling faces of Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan. Fortunately, I happened to catch this gem of a movie on cable, while channel-surfing no less.
Space Jam is a movie that knows what it is and pokes fun at itself. The direction and the script both cater to the fact that there are two built-in audiences for this movie. The kids that want to see a cartoon and the adults that have to take them to see it. However, with the huge built-in adult fan base for the Warner Bros. cartoon characters, there’s actually a third audience for this film: Those who want to see a good Bugs Bunny cartoon and don’t necessarily have kids.
The plot concerns some aliens, called Nerdlucks, who need a new attraction to their interstellar amusement park, Moron Mountain. Traveling to Earth, they find the Looney Tunes characters more-than-suitable candidates for inclusion in their theme park. Bugs, being the ever-thinking bunny he is, arranges a way for the Looney Tunes characters to escape such a fate. The Looney Tunes characters must face the Nerdlucks on the basketball court. You see, the Nerdlucks are quite short and there’s no way the Looney Tunes characters can lose. Right? Wrong. The Nerdlucks can usurp NBA players’ skills right out of their bodies and use them for their own gain. This results in some hilarious scenes of players like Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing becoming completely useless on the court, missing baskets and such.
The Looney Tunes only hope is to recruit Michael Jordan to help them defeat the Nerdlucks, who have now grown in size and dubbed themselves the Monstars. Jordan is pulled into the Looney Tunes’ world and given the task of whipping the Tunes into shape for their big game. But, first, the Tunes have to talk Jordan out of being a baseball player, something he’s always wanted to do.
As I mentioned, the script and the directors were smart enough to realize that this movie has several levels of audience comprehension built-in. All at once, the movie satirizes itself, the cartoon merchandising industry, the characters, the NBA, and even Walt Disney’s empire, all the while remaining entertaining for kids and adults. It all happens so smoothly, it’s hard not to smile at the wit involved. The movie never becomes too watered down for adults, but never becomes too adult for kids. It’s a near perfect family movie, especially for fans of either Jordan or the Looney Tunes characters. (Or both.)
The addition of talent like Bill Murray, Wayne Knight (Seinfeld‘s Newman), the voice of Danny DeVito (as an alien honcho), and several NBA players like the aforementioned Barkley and Ewing, Larry Bird, Muggsy Bogues and Vlade Divac simply allows all of them to make unique contributions to the mix. The result is never muddled or dumb. It’s surprisingly consistent and superior to most animated comedy fare.
If you’ve overlooked Space Jam as a kid’s movie, you’re missing a fun and wholesome good time. It’s a guilty pleasure, similar to that of finding that a food that’s supposed to be good for you actually tastes good. Rent it.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
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