HBO Max continues to scoop up deal after deal in order to outpace the competition and gain an edge as a premiere streaming platform. From a massive deal with Warner Bros. for 2021 to reunion episodes of classic shows, it seems that there’s nothing outside the realms of possibility for the service.
It’s been known for some time as well that a sequel to Space Jam is in the works, set to come out on the streaming service in June 2021 starring Lebron James. A teaser for Bugs Bunny's new look has even been released for marketing purposes. However, for a moment, it’s a good idea to take off those rose-tinted glasses and examine the original Space Jam, starring Michael Jordan, and discuss the fact that it really wasn’t all that good of a movie.
The idea of merging animation with live-action was not new when Space Jam graced theaters in 1996. In fact, the concept had been pretty much done perfectly just under a decade prior with the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, so Space Jam already had some big, rabbit-sized shoes to fill already.
In the original Space Jam, Bugs Bunny and his fellow cast of zany cartoon characters find that they have made a bad deal with a group of aliens, who have sucked the athleticism out of famous players like Charles Barkley and want to force them to be sideshow attractions at a failing amusement park. A basketball game will decide the fate of the iconic cartoon characters, so they seek out the help of Michael Jordan to try and win their freedom, sucking him into the world of Looney Tunes through a hole in a golf course. Michael Jordan was the obvious choice because of his reputation of being one of the best to ever play the game. Does any of that make sense? Sure it’s a cartoon, but as far as contrived plots go, it ranks up there with some of the worst, not that kids would notice.
After a brief segment showing a young Michael Jordan telling his father about his aspirations to become a champion NBA player, the movie mocks Jordan’s brief stint as a minor league baseball player. Perhaps the sequel can mock Jordan’s short turn as an actor, because his performance falls unfortunately short for the movie. Sports stars have made appearances in television and movies all the time, and rarely are their performances any good, which is why they generally stick to sports.
For Michael Jordan, his unfortunate acting chops would be forgivable if he weren’t the main character of the movie. Thankfully, Bill Murray and Wayne Knight are there as well to help round things out with their acting caliber. The Looney Tunes themselves help fill in some of the other gaps as well, but they don’t have to act so much as bounce off the walls in an amusing fashion.
Speaking of The Looney Tunes, all the most popular characters are there, but then there’s also a fresh face, Lola Bunny, basically a gender-swapped Bugs Bunny. She arrives to help the Tune Squad with their foolhardy deal. While the cast of Looney Tunes has been rather lacking when it comes to female characters, particularly ones with any agency or even personality, her role in the movie is extremely questionable.
Bugs Bunny and the other Looney Tunes lust after her throughout the movie, but the movie also seems to be pretty intent on making viewers attracted to her character. While reducing any female character to a sex symbol was rampant back then, it's a practice that has shown its age. Who is her character for? The adults who might be attracted to anthropomorphic rabbits who are stuck in the theaters with their kids, or the kids watching the movie who are most likely too young to understand what’s happening? It’s overall a questionable creative choice, but since Space Jam, she has been a part of the Looney Tunes cast in a way that’s much more congruent with the rest of the characters.
Another big issue with Space Jam is the product placement. While all sorts of media is no stranger to product placement, which has shown up in even serious projects like Hideo Kojima's latest game Death Stranding, its inclusion is still egregious. The movie is, technically, one big product placement for both Looney Tunes and Michael Jordan’s career, but it even goes beyond that.
There’s a scene in the film where Jordan just feels he isn’t playing to the best of his ability so Bugs and Daffy go back to Jordan’s house and get him his basketball gear. The most effective item it would seem are his sneakers, Air Jordan 11’s, which were available in stores at the time of the movie’s release. Any products that Michael Jordan was hocking that year got an appearance or mention in the movie as well, like Wheaties or Gatorade, and while it may not have been noticeable as a kid or the less savvy viewer, nowadays it can be pretty hard to miss.
Space Jam's success was eventually followed up with another attempt at merging the iconic characters with live-action, this time with Looney Tunes: Back In Action, this time with actual actors working alongside the likes of Bugs and Daffy. However, that movie was somehow even less inspired, and even Steve Martin, who gave his role everything he could, was not able to save the film. Since then, Looney Tunes has seen even more iterations that have updated with the times, going as far as to ban the appearance of guns.
Still, there has been a growing call from those who grew up watching the movie for a Space Jam sequel, so what is it that people still like about the movie? Those who grew up with the movie, watching it over and over on VHS and had the soundtrack on CD will probably always find a semblance of joy and nostalgia in watching the movie again, and it should be noted that the quality seems to improve dramatically with a group of friends to sit around with to yell at the TV with. Perhaps HBO knows this and is expecting the same sort of audience participation with the upcoming sequel.