Space Jam is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Herschel Weingrod. The film, which combines live action and animation, stars basketball player Michael Jordan as himself; the live-action cast also includes Wayne Knight and Theresa Randle, while Billy West 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 premiered in Los Angeles on November 10, 1996, and was released theatrically in the United States on November 15, by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment label. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who were divided over its premise of combining Jordan and his profession with the Looney Tunes characters, while the technical achievements of its intertwining of live-action and animation were praised. It was a commercial success, grossing $250.2 million worldwide against an $80 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing basketball film at the time, and the tenth highest-grossing film of 1996. A sequel, Space Jam: A New Legacy, was released in 2021.
Plot
In 1973, a young Michael Jordan tells his father, James, about his dreams of playing in the NBA. Twenty years later, following James' death, Jordan retires from basketball to pursue a career in baseball.
In outer space, amusement park Moron Mountain is in decline. Its proprietor, Mr. Swackhammer, learns of the Looney Tunes from the Nerdlucks, his quintet of alien minions, and orders them to abduct the Tunes to serve as attractions. The Nerdlucks enter the Tunes' universe via a portal hidden in the center of the Earth and hold them hostage before Bugs Bunny convinces them to allow the Tunes to defend themselves. The Tunes take advantage of the Nerdlucks' small stature and challenge them to a basketball game. After seeing a documentary about basketball, the Nerdlucks infiltrate various NBA games, stealing the talents of Charles Barkley, Shawn Bradley, Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, and Muggsy Bogues. They use these talents to transform into hulking and adept versions of themselves known as the "Monstars".
Deciding they need help, the Looney Tunes pull Jordan into their universe as he golfs with Bill Murray, Larry Bird, and Jordan's assistant, Stan Podolak, where Bugs explains their situation to Jordan. However, Jordan is initially reluctant to help, but later agrees after a confrontation with the Monstars, and forms the "Tune Squad" with the Tunes; they are joined by Lola Bunny, with whom Bugs is enamored. To prepare himself, Jordan sends Bugs and Daffy Duck to his house to obtain his basketball gear. Jordan's children aid them and agree to keep the game a secret, while Stan, searching for Jordan, notices Bugs and Daffy, follows them to their world, and joins the team. Meanwhile, the incapacity of the five players results in a nationwide panic that culminates in the season's suspension. The players unsuccessfully try to restore their skills through various methods.
The game between the Tune Squad and the Monstars commences, with Swackhammer arriving to observe. The Monstars dominate the first half, lowering the Tune Squad's morale. During halftime, Stan surreptitiously learns how the Monstars obtained their talent and informs the Tune Squad. Disguising a bottle of water as "secret stuff", Bugs and Jordan motivate the Tune Squad, who improve in the second half using their cartoon antics. During a time-out, Jordan raises the stakes with Swackhammer: if the Tune Squad wins, the Monstars must relinquish their stolen talent, and if the Monstars win, Jordan will spend the rest of his life being Moron Mountain's newest attraction. On Swackhammer's command, the Monstars play more aggressively, injuring most of the Tune Squad.
With only ten seconds left in the game, the Tune Squad is down by one point and one player, with only Jordan, Bugs, Lola, and Daffy still able to play. Murray unexpectedly arrives and joins the team. In the final seconds, Jordan gains the ball with Murray's assistance but is pulled back by the Monstars. On Bugs' advice, Jordan uses cartoon physics to extend his arm and achieve a slam dunk, winning the game with a buzzer beater. After Swackhammer scolds the Monstars for their failure, Jordan helps them realize that they only served him because they were once smaller. Having had enough of their boss's behavior towards them, the Monstars insert Swackhammer inside a missile that sends him to the moon. After relinquishing their stolen talent, the Nerdlucks decide to join the Tunes, while Jordan and Stan return to Earth and return the talent to the five players, whose remarks convince Jordan to return to the NBA.
Cast
Live-action
Michael Jordan as himself Wayne Knight as Stan Podolak, a publicist and assistant who aids Jordan Theresa Randle as Juanita Jordan, Jordan's wife Charles Barkley as himself Muggsy Bogues as himself Shawn Bradley as himself Patrick Ewing as himself Larry Johnson as himself
Space Jams cast includes Manner Washington, Eric Gordon, and Penny Bae Bridges as Jordan's children, Jeffrey, Marcus and Jasmine, respectively. Brandon Hammond plays the ten-year-old Michael Jordan. Larry Bird and Bill Murray appear as themselves, and Thom Barry portrays Jordan's father, James R. Jordan Sr. Several NBA players make cameo appearances in Space Jam, including Danny Ainge, Steve Kerr, Alonzo Mourning, Horace Grant, A.C. Green, Charles Oakley, Luc Longley, Cedric Ceballos, Derek Harper, Vlade Divac, Brian Shaw, Jeff Malone, Bill Wennington, Anthony Miller, and Sharone Wright, as do coaches Del Harris and Paul Westphal, and broadcasters Ahmad Rashad and Jim Rome. Dan Castellaneta and Patricia Heaton cameo as fans at a game between the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns, as does Charles Hallahan as the Barons' Team Owner.
Voice cast Billy West as Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd (most scenes) Dee Bradley Baker as Daffy Duck, the Tasmanian Devil, and Bull Danny DeVito as Swackhammer, the proprietor of Moron Mountain, an intergalactic amusement park Bob Bergen as Porky Pig, Tweety, Marvin the Martian, Barnyard Dawg, Hubie and Bertie, and Chester the Terrier Bill Farmer as Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, and Foghorn Leghorn (some scenes) Greg Burson as Elmer Fudd (some scenes, uncredited) and Foghorn Leghorn (most scenes, uncredited) Maurice LaMarche as Pepé Le Pew June Foray as Granny and Witch Hazel (uncredited) Paul Julian as the Road Runner (archive recordings) (uncredited) Kath Soucie as Lola Bunny Mel Blanc as Daffy Duck on TV (archive recording) (uncredited)
The Nerdluck voices include Jocelyn Blue as their orange leader, Pound, Charity James as the dim-witted blue Blanko, June Melby as the neurotic green second-in-command Bang, Colleen Wainwright as the diminutive red Nawt, and producer Ivan Reitman's daughter, Catherine, as the eccentric purple Bupkus. Their transformed "Monstar" versions are voiced by Darnell Suttles (Pound), Steve Kehela (Blanko), Joey Camen (Bang), Dorian Harewood (Bupkus), and T.K. Carter (Nawt). Wainwright also voices Sniffles, Kehela also voices Bertie's announcer voice, and Frank Welker voices Jordan's bulldog, Charles.
Production
Development
In 1992 and 1993, two Super Bowl Nike ads, "Hare Jordan" and "Aerospace Jordan" respectively, aired on television and featured Michael Jordan with the character Bugs Bunny. Wieden+Kennedy creative director Jim Riswold conceived the "Hare Jordan" campaign following the popularity of advertisements where Jordan played with Mars Blackmon (played by Spike Lee), a character from She's Gotta Have It (1986); he chose Bugs Bunny for his next campaign because the character was his "childhood hero." Directed by Joe Pytka, "Hare Jordan" took six months and a $1 million budget to make. It was hindered by reluctance from Warner Bros. to allow Nike to modernize Bugs' character; however, the commercial success of both ads "was a nice bit of research for Warner Bros. to understand that the Bugs character still had relevance and to tie it in with Michael," explained Pytka. This led to the company green-lighting a film featuring Jordan and Bugs, which came out of a plane meeting between a Nike executive and producer Ivan Reitman. Jordan was offered movie deals previously, but his manager, David Falk, turned them all down because he felt the basketball icon could only act as himself.
The project was closed when Jordan retired from basketball in 1993, only to be reopened in 1995 when Jordan returned as a basketball player. Falk pitched the idea to several major studios, without a story or script written. One of them was Warner Bros., which tried to create more "adult, sophisticated material" that deviated from the formula set by Disney in the animated film market. After Warner Bros. initially rejected Falk's pitch, he called the consumer products division leader, Dan Romanelli, reacting in surprise the studio would turn down a project having potential of high-selling merchandise.
Pytka was informed about the project only months before the start of principal photography; in addition to being hired as director, he also revised the script, including writing a scene where Jordan hits a home run after he returns to Earth that was filmed, but ultimately never used. Spike Lee was also interested in helping Pytka with the screenplay, but Warner Bros. blocked him from the project out of dissatisfaction from how he funded Malcolm X (1992).
Casting According to Pytka, it was difficult to get most actors involved with Space Jam due to its odd premise: "I mean, they're going to work with an animated character and an athlete — are you serious? They just didn't want to do it." Before Wayne Knight was cast as Stan, his initial choices were Michael J. Fox and Chevy Chase, whom he had worked with on Doritos commercials; Warner Bros. rejected both actors. Jason Alexander also turned down the role. Nathan Lane said Pytka rejected him for the part because he appeared "too gay."
The easiest actors to obtain were the NBA players, except for Gheorghe Mureșan. Bill Murray's appearance was present in the script from the beginning, but the filmmakers were unable to book him until filming started; Murray held out until Jordan personally asked him to be in the film.