Space Jam teams up His Airness, Michael Jordan, with His Hareness, Bugs Bunny, for a fun, and funny, family film.Michael Jordan has retired from basketball, and currently playing baseball, when Bugs Bunny and his Looney Tunes pals ask for his help in playing a b-ball game against diminuative aliens from Moron Mountain. These aliens have stolen the talent of 5 NBA players, including Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing, and are now larger than life. Since this is Looney Tunes Land, this game is NOT your average basketball game. If it was, it wouldn't be any fun.
Though not an actor of any kind in anyone's book, Michael Jordan does a very good job of interacting with his cartoon co-stars. Most of the jokes are well done and the basketball game itself is a lot of fun. In addition, it is quite funny to watch the 5 NBA players that had their "games" stolen trying to cope with their newfound ordinaryness.
This movie is not groundbreaking by any means and most all of the original Looney Tunes cartoons are better. But this movie never tries to be more than it is: a good time. And at that, it succeeds very well.
Disc One features the film, which can be enjoyed with commentary from the director, as well as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Most DVD commentaries are a bore to sit through--and this one does have its over technical moments (especially if you have young children who "believe in" Bugs or Daffy), but the comments from the characters are very witty--including a jab that Bugs throws at Michael Jordan early in the presentation (concerning his brief baseball career).
Rounding out the first disc is the theatrical trailer of the film (this is almost a MUST with me for any DVD).
The Second Disc is a nice bonus and could have easily been packaged as a stand-alone item. It features a "Making of Space Jam" and several Looney Tunes shorts (from the 1980's and 1990's), as well as the 1988 television special, "Bugs vs. Daffy: Battle of the Music Video Stars". Speaking of music videos, the second disc also features "Fly Like an Eagle" and "Monstars Anthem".
This is a great gift for any Looney Tunes fan. Folks who liked it as children in 1996 (when the film was released) should still like it as teens. Children who have never seen it will also enjoy it. In short, it's a keeper.Air Jordan and the Heckling Hare? Couldn't work.....could it? Leave your cynicism about merchaindaising at the door, because Space Jam accomplishes something that The Flintstones Meets The Jetsons, or other such fare, could never achieve. First, for such a goofy concept, the film is remarkably grounded in reality, and some of the best scenes are about victimized NBA players dealing with no talents; add to that the implications of Jordan's experience with the Looneys affecting his chosen sport. Performances are dead-on, and Michael is as properly laconic an actor as he is a player. Finally, the key to this is the Looney Tunes themselves it's their first foray into true feature films. Thankfully, each character (especially Bugs and Daffy, and those two ought to be) are complete in character as they were in the 40s and 50s. Seeing Bugs get equal billing as the live-action star is beyond promising; it's a reminder that Bugs Bunny has possibly meant more to Americans than a great deal of actors, writers, and directors combined. People will pass on, but the "mild-mannered forest creature", as he himself would put it, will live on into eternity.
Read Best Reviews of Space Jam (2009) Here
"Space Jam" was the first feature-length film with the Looney Tunes characters...or was it a kid's-eye view of the Michael Jordan-era NBA? This mid-'90s release, made when computer animation was new, still seems more than a bit dated. That said, it's a modestly amusing live-action/animated movie, revolving around Jordan's two-year baseball "sabbatical" and his adventures with the "Tune Squad", the world's most unusual basketball team. More a marketing-based pastiche than a story, "Space Jam" has some good sequences (Mr. Swackhammer, a green-slime, cigar-chomping carny boss, and his mini-monster employees; a clever golf bit with Jordan, Larry Bird, and Bill Murray in his "Caddyshack" garb; Bugs and Daffy sneaking into MJ's house) and some bad ones (Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley losing their power, the toons at practice). As for the basketball game between the Tunes and the no-longer-mini "Mon-stars", it shows some imagination, especially with Hubie and Bertie the mice as P.A. announcers and the final-play sequence involving Murray as a walk-on. I suppose this looked like a slam dunk on release, given how huge Jordan was in the '90s and a time when classic Looney Tunes weren't too easy to find. The animation isn't too slick and some of the jokes are flat, but "Space Jam" is still watchablea lay-up, if you will. Some of the extras, however, are great, notably the four newer Looney Tunes on Disc 2. An aging Chuck Jones gamely reprises his classic "One Froggy Evening" storyline on "Another Froggy Evening"; the Roman "Saladus Caesar" bit is good. The others, created by Greg Ford, come very close to the originals in humor and timing, especially "Night Of The Living Duck"see Daffy croon in an all-monster nightclub, dubbed by, of all people, the late Mel Torme! There's also an extended "Bugs and Daffy's Video Stars"overlong, badly mixed at times, but still a collection of old-school (and very old-school) Warner musical clips going back to the '20s. Overall, if you're a Looney Tunes completist or old Jordan fan, you'll probably like this a little. But I'd go with the "Back In Action" movie, which at least is more original and genuinely funny in spots. Of course, the fabulous"Golden Collection" sets are the greatest...that's all, folks!
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Even with the technology of recent animated films, Space Jam still holds it ground as one of the best. It combines great animation with the classic humor of Looney Tunes. This film is great for basketball lovers of all ages because it includes humor for both kids and adults. This film is also a must have for any Michael Jordan Fan. An all-around awesome film.The dual-disk is entertaining, especially if you enjoy looney tunes cartoons which are included in the special features. The behind the scenes and commentary are interesting and informing. Good if you are interested in animation or film making. The special features includes two music videos: Seal's "Fly like and Eagle" and The Monstar's Theme by a selection of rappers from the era. It does not include R. Kelly's video for "I Believe I can Fly."
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