Space Jam Review

Space Jam


Release Date: 12th December 1996 - Australia


Production Companies
Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
Northern Lights Entertainment
Courtside Seats Productions


Genre: Family/Comedy

Rating: G

Runtime: 88 minutes


Budget: $80,000,000

Box Office Gross: $230,594,962 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
When a group of aliens arrives to capture the Looney Tunes as they plan to use them as an attraction for their failing amusement park in outer space, the gang enlists retired basketball champion Michael Jordan to help them win a basketball game.

Cast
Michael Jordan - Himself
Wayne Knight - Stan Podolak

Theresa Randle - Juanita Jordan

Manner Washington - Jeffery Jordan

Eric Gordon - Marcus Jordan

Penny Bae Bridges - Jasmine Jordan

Brandon Hammon - Michael Jordan (10 Years Old)

Thom Barry - James Jordan

Charles Barkley - Himself

Mugsy Bogues - Himself

Shawn Bradley - Himself

Patrick Ewing - Himself

Larry Johnson - Himself

Larry Bird - Himself
Bill Murray - Himself
Ahmad Rashad - Himself (Cameo)
Del Harris - Himself (Cameo)
Vlade Divac - Himself (Cameo)
Cedric Ceballos - Himself (Cameo)
Jim Rome - Himself (Cameo)
Paul Westphal - Himself (Cameo)
Danny Ainge - Himself (Cameo)
Patricia Heaton - Woman Fan (Cameo)
Dan Castellaneta - Male Fan (Cameo)
William G. Schilling - Golfer
Albert Hague - Psychiatrist
A.C. Green - Himself (Cameo)
Charles Oakley - Himself (Cameo)
Derek Harper - Himself (Cameo)
Jeff Malone - Himself (Cameo)
Anthony Miller - Himself (Cameo)
Sharone Wright - Himself

(Cameo)

Bill Wennington - Himself

(Cameo) (Uncredited)

Brian Shaw - Himself (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Steve Kerr - Himself (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Charles Hallahan - Baron's Owner (Uncredited)

Voice Cast
Billy West - Bugs Bunny/

Elmer Fudd
Dee Bradley Baker - Daffy Duck/Tazmanian Devil/Bull
Bob Bergen - Berite/Hubie/

Marvin the Martian/Porky
Bill Farmer - Sylvester/

Yosemite Sam/Foghorn Leghorn

Maurice LaMarche - Pepe LePew
June Foray - Granny
Kath Soucie - Lola Bunny
Danny DeVito - Mr Swackhammer

Jocelyn Blue - Nerdluck Pound

Charity James - Nerdluck Blanko

June Melby - Nerdluck Bang

Catherine Reitman - Nerdluck Bupkus

Colleen Wainwright - Nerdluck Nawt/Sniffles

Dorian Harewood - Monstar Bupkus

Joey Camen - Monstar Bang

TK Carter - Monstar Nawt

M. Darnell Suttles - Monstar Pound

Steve Kehela - Monstar Blanko/Announcer

Frank Welker - Charles the Dog


Crew
Director - Joe Pytka

Directors of Animation - Bruce W. Smith

and Tony Cervone

Writers - Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick,

Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod

Executive Producers - David Falk and Ken Ross

Producers - Ivan Reitman, Joe Medjuck and

Daniel Goldberg

Co-Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Gordon Webb

Co-Producer - Curtis Polk
Co-Producer/Editor - Sheldon Kahn

Animation Producers - Ron Tippe,
Jerry Rees and Steven Paul Leiva

Animation Producer/Associate Producer -

Dennis Edwards

Animation/Line Producer - Richard Sullivan

Animation Co-Producer - Allison Abbate

Studio Producer: Premier Films Ltd. -

John Leatherbarrow

Production Designer - Geoffrey Kirkland

Art Director - David F. Klassen
Set Decorator - Jennifer Williams

Property Master - Sean Mannion

Production Designer: Animation/

Visual Development/Character Designer -

Fred Cline

Animation Art Director - Bill Perkins
Original Character Designer - Jenny Lerew
Character Designers - Chris Aguirre,
Jean Giraud, Ashanti Miller, Vladimir Spasojevic,
Tim Watts, Mark Whiting and Bill Wray
Supervising Animator/Sequence Director -

Uli Meyer
Supervising Animators - Neil Boyle,
Chuck Gammage, Jim Kammerud, Jeff Siergey,
Dave Spafford and Bruce Woodside
Supervising Animator: Stardust Pictures -
Robert Stevenhagen

Background Director/Supervisor - William Dely

Background Stylist - Scott Wills
Layout Director - Gary Mouri

Costume Designer - Marlene Stewart

Costume Supervisor - Christopher Lawrence

Assistant Costume Designer - Lisa Loovas

Director of Photography - Michael Chapman

Camera Operator - Bill Roe

First Assistant Camera - Jamie Barber,

Louis Niemeyer and Vern Nobles Jr.
Stunt Coordinator - Bob Bralver

Basketball Technical Advisor - Nigel Miguel

Basketball Coordinator - Nathaniel Bellamy Jr.
Special Effects Coordinator - Daniel Pritchett
Additional Special Effects Supervisor -

Raymond Pang

Live-Action/Animation Visual Effects - Ed Jones
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Warner Bros -
John Scheele

Visual Effects Supervisors - Erik Dehkhoda and
James Lima

Digital Effects Supervisor: Cinesite -

Carlos Arguello

Digital Effects Producer - Alex Bicknell

Head of ADA - James C.J. Williams

Supervising Film Editor - Nancy Frazen

Associate Editors - John Currin,

Richard L. McCullough and Mark Solomon

Supervising Sound Editor - Mark A. Mangini

ADR/Supervising Dialogue Editor -

Burt Schulkey

Production Sound Mixers - James LaRue

and Gene S. Cantamessa

Re-Recording Mixers - Gary Alexander,

Gary C. Bourgeois, Jim Fitzpatrick,

John T. Reitz, Gregg Rudloff,

David E. Campbell and Mark D. Fleming (Uncredited)

Music - James Newton Howard


Review

Build in the techniques that combined hand-drawn animation and shot to frequent live-action into the distinct format of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Here's what you get when Warner Bros unleashes their cartoon brand Looney Tunes and basketball legend Michael Jordan in a movie that some deem to be underwhelming. That type of film is SPACE JAM. And for several years, I've anticipated reviewing this nostalgic flick. Hopefully, my newly resumed schedule for this feature won't be as delayed as I've missed a year of re-watching it simultaneously. As you may have guessed, SPACE JAM is a movie based on the commercials in which Jordan had previously promoted his Air Jordan sneakers with Bugs Bunny. I find it frustrating that these product advertisements get adapted into a single full-length feature. I've always considered the possibility that SPACE JAM was in its regal splendour of blending live-action and animation. Though not to the extent that Robert Zemeckis had envisioned for Roger Rabbit.

Michael Jordan wasn't much of an actor when his performance had gotten so uncharismatic and stiff. It could be that he didn't have experience in acting. He excels, however, in basketball. I hated how they expanded Bill Murray's cameo in the final round that the role should have been the Road Runner. I liked the gorgeous design of Bugs' love interest, Lola Bunny. Her personality is too shallow to be the foil and main centre for the cartoon hare. These factors should have slowed the film down in mainstream obscurity when only the soundtrack placement redeems its average quality. "I Believe I Can Fly" is probably one of the most iconic songs I want to hear again.

SPACE JAM was neither good nor bad, and it should have been the movie that ended the Looney Tunes. Instead, it is enjoyable to younger fans of the cartoon characters and fans of Michael Jordan. Th-th-that's all, Folks!

Star rating: (5/10) Average

Back to Home