November 10, 1996 (Los Angeles)
November 15, 1996 (United States)
Space Jam is a 1996 American live-action animated sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Herschel Weingrod. The film stars basketball player Michael Jordan as himself; the live-action cast also includes Wayne Knight and Theresa Randle, as well as cameos by Bill Murray and several NBA players, while Billy West, Dee Bradley Baker, Kath Soucie and Danny DeVito headline the voice cast. The film follows Jordan as he is brought out of retirement by the Looney Tunes characters to help them win a basketball match against invading aliens intent on enslaving them as amusement park attractions.
Space Jam was the first film to be produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation and was released theatrically in the United States on November 15, 1996, by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment label. Critics were divided over its premise of combining Jordan and his profession with the Looney Tunes characters, while praising the technical achievements of its intertwining of live-action and animation. It was a commercial success, grossing over $250 million worldwide to become the highest-grossing basketball film of all time until 2022, and the tenth-highest-grossing film of 1996.
A standalone sequel, Space Jam: A New Legacy, was released in 2021, with LeBron James in the lead role. The sequel failed to match the commercial success of the first film and received generally negative reviews.
Storyline[]
In 1993, professional basketball player Michael Jordan announces his retirement from the sport to follow his late father’s career as a baseball player. However, it becomes evident that he is not as skilled in baseball as he was in basketball. Jordan is assigned a publicist, the bumbling Stan Podolak (Knight), to make his new career less bumpy. Elsewhere, in outer space, an intergalactic amusement park called Moron Mountain faces dwindling popularity, so its owner, Mr. Swackhammer (Danny Devito), sends his diminutive minions, the Nerdlucks, to capture the Looney Tunes as new entertainment. The Looney Tunes live in an animated world hidden in the centre of the Earth, but don’t take the Nerdlucks’ threats seriously and challenge them to a game of basketball to try to win back their freedom.
However, the Nerdlucks steal the talents of basketball players Charles Barkley, Shawn Bradley, Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, and Muggsy Bogues, leaving them incapable of playing. The Nerdlucks absorb the talent, transforming into the gigantic Monstars who easily intimidate the Looney Tunes. While playing golf with Bill Murray, Larry Bird, and Stan, Jordan is sucked down a hole and is recruited by Bugs Bunny to help the Tunes win against the Monstars. Jordan agrees to help, but sends Bugs and Daffy Duck to his house to retrieve his basketball gear. The two have a difficult time obtaining the clothes thanks to Jordan’s pet dog, but his children help them out.
Meanwhile, Stan has been digging out the golf hole to find Jordan, but spots Bugs and Daffy leap down another one and pursues them, reuniting with Jordan in the Tunes’ world and joins the Tune Squad. Another new recruit is Lola Bunny, a skilled basketball player whom Bugs falls in love with. The day of the match arrives, but the first half is dominated by the Monstars, leaving the Looney Tunes unconfident. Stan eavesdrops on a conversation between the Monstars and Swackhammer, learning of how they gained their talent and informs Jordan. Bugs and Jordan convince the rest of the Tune Squad to fight back, and the first half of the second round allows the characters to take the lead using Acme weaponry. Swackhammer decides he wants Jordan as a new attraction, and makes an agreement with him that he will become said attraction if he loses the match, sparing the Looney Tunes.
To ensure his victory, Swackhammer has the Monstars play dirty and injure all of the Tune Squad save Jordan, Bugs, Daffy, Lola, and Stan. Stan becomes the fifth player and manages to score, but is literally flattened by the Monstars and is removed to be inflated. The referee, Marvin the Martian, informs Jordan unless the team gets a fifth player then the game is forfeit. Bill Murray appears and volunteers to be the team's fifth member. In the final seconds of the game, Jordan gains the ball and manages to use cartoon physics to extend his arm and score the winning points. Murray retires from the sport, and the Monstars blast Swackhammer to the Moon in a rocket when they realise they don’t have to take his abuse anymore. Jordan convinces them to give up the stolen talents and they are welcomed to stay with the Looney Tunes.
Jordan and a recovered Stan return to the surface, the Nerdlucks dropping them off at Jordan’s next baseball game. Later on, the two visit the incapacitated basketball players and return their talent. The players invite Jordan to a three-on-three match but when he declines, they question his loss of talent. In a move mirroring his actual comeback in 1995, Jordan returns to the Chicago Bulls to reprise his basketball career.
Also See[]
- Space Jam (1996) (Trailers)
- Space Jam (1996) (TV Spots)
- Space Jam (Video Game)
- Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
- Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) (Trailers)
- Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) (TV Spots)
- Teen Titans Go! See Space Jam (2021)
Sound Effects Used[]
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