Reviewed by: Larry Massey
Moral Rating: | Average |
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Primary Audience: | • Kids • Teens • Adults |
Genre: | Live-Action Animation Sports Comedy Family |
Length: | 90 min. |
Year of Release: | 1996 |
USA Release: |
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Sequel: “Space Jam: A New Legacy” (2021)
Wow! The elements are all there. Michael Jordan to the Max. The best of the original Looney Tune cartoon characters with all their famous lines. Even exciting, jam-packed basketball action and a visit from aliens. What more can we ask?
The movie starts out with scenes from Jordan’s childhood, interspersed with Looney Tune Land and the recent visit of aliens from Moron Mountain (an ultimate theme park on another planet). The plot: to capture all the Looney Tune characters and force them to be in the amusement park so that it will be a thousand times better.
But wait, the aliens are really short and Bugs (as in Bunny) comes up with the challenge of a basketball game to keep them in Looney Land or, if the aliens win, to make them leave forever. The challenge goes out, the aliens from Moron Mountain accept it, find out what basketball is and turn into a huge, tall, “monster dream team.” Enter Michael Jordan.
The aliens find a way to become super-talented in slam dunking and all spectacular aspects of NBA action (much to the dismay of some NBA superstars) and the game begins. Although the Looney Tune characters are not good at basketball, it is a sight to behold. Tweety Bird and Grandma, Wiley Coyote and Roadrunner, even Yosemite Sam all contribute to this memorable game of all time. And who wins? Not Michael Jordan as you might expect, but someone who is not even a cartoon character.