SPACE JAM

"SPACE JAM"
(1996) (Michael Jordon, Bugs Bunny) (PG)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
None	None	Mild	Mild	*Mild

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	None	Mild	Minor	Minor

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Minor	Mild	None	Minor	Moderate

QUICK TAKE:: Children's Animated/Live Action: A professional basketball player is chosen by the Looney Tunes characters to help play against space aliens.

PLOT:: Things are going bad on Moron Mountain, an outer space amusement park. Swackhammer (voice of DANNY DEVITO) decides that he and the other Nerdlucks need better attractions at their park and picks the Earth based Looney Tunes characters as his quick fix. His "men" go to Earth and prepare to take BUGS BUNNY and the rest of the 'toons back to their home planet. Bugs won't be taken without a fight, though, and challenges the diminutive Nerdlucks to a game of basketball. The aliens, however, steal the talent of several pro basketball players and grow into huge and talented "MonStars." Bugs and company then abduct basketball legend Michael Jordan and bring him to the world of Warner Brothers to help them win. As the big game draws closer, the future of both the 'toons and Jordan is at stake. Among those making cameo appearances are BILL MURRAY, LARRY BYRD, PATRICK EWING, CHARLES BARKLEY and many others, all playing themselves. Rounding out the cast is WAYNE KNIGHT as Stan Podolack, Jordan's appointed assistant.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: It's a sure bet. With the doubling up of NBA stars and Warner Bros. cartoon characters, there won't be many kids who don't want to see this one.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG: For some mild cartoon language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: MICHAEL JORDAN plays himself, an honest, hard working, and likeable athlete.
BUGS BUNNY also plays himself, the wisecracking, carrot chewing, unofficial leader of the Looney Tunes.; BUGS BUNNY also plays himself, the wisecracking, carrot chewing, unofficial leader of the Looney Tunes.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

OUR TAKE: 6.5 out of 10: This is an entertaining and inoffensive film that also happens to be a shameless promotional piece for Michael Jordan, the NBA, and Warner Brothers. Based on a TV commercial from the early 90's (also starring Jordan), this movie has its amusing moments, but doesn't provide many new, fun-filled scenes for the characters most of us grew up with. Ancillary characters (Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, etc...) get just brief moments to show their trademark shtick, but nothing more. This film pales considerably when compared to "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," which sparkled in originality and technical showmanship. Whereas that film took two dimensional characters and gave them interesting depth, this movie just runs them by on a conveyor belt so that we can get a quick look at the enormous cast. Some things do stand out, however, such as a funny jab at long time cartoon competitor Disney, and a quick, but hilarious spoof of "Pulp Fiction." And as much as this is a movie about Michael Jordan highlighting his skills, he does take a self deprecating turn by making fun himself as a not so successful baseball player. For those who grew up with these characters, it'll be fun seeing them up on the big screen and children of all ages will enjoy this entertaining, but not overly original movie. We give it a 6.5 out of 10.

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:: There's not a great deal to object to in this film and it certainly isn't any worse than what's seen on Saturday morning cartoon shows. There are some phrases you might not want your younger kids repeating, and violence is rated as moderate, but all of it occurs in the traditional cartoon-ish way. Animated and real life characters get hit and flattened like pancakes, but none are permanently hurt. Two characters (Yosemite Sam and Elmer Fudd) carry weapons, but neither is any more extreme than what they've done in their TV cartoons over the decades. Since your kids are going to want to see this, we suggest you read the scene descriptions in each category before allowing them to do so.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: None.

BLOOD/GORE: None.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Obviously the Nerdlucks' attempt to kidnap the Looney Tunes and enslave them on their planet reeks of both types of attitudes, but none of it's played out that bad.
Both Bugs and one of the "MonStars" call Lola Bunny, "Doll," which she doesn't appreciate.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: The "MonStars" might be frightening to little kids as they have glowing eyes, sharp claws and deep, resounding voices. In addition, the scene where the tiny, cute Nerdlucks turn into the "MonStars" during a typical cartoon-ish thunderstorm has the greatest chance of scaring the little ones.

GUNS/WEAPONS: All of the following occurs as a cartoon, and none of the actions have long lasting effects:
Shotgun: Aimed at Bugs Bunny by Elmer Fudd.
Nerdluck Laser Gun: Used by the aliens occasionally to threaten or zap several Looney Tunes characters.
Pistols: Fired by Yosemite Sam into the air.
Dynamite/Bombs: Used by Wile E. Coyote to blow up one of the "MonStars."
Guns: Used by Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam to shoot out the teeth of one of the "MonStars."

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Stinks," "Shut up," "We're getting screwed" (non sexual), "Idiot," "Suck," and "Nice butt."
When a character mentions that all a rundown basketball court needs is a little spit- shine, all of the cartoon characters spit on the floor (and Taz, the Tasmanian Devil, spins around and uses their spit to polish it).

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): There is a mild amount of cartoon-ish dramatic music.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): The phrase, "Undesirable passion of love for someone else" is heard in a song on the soundtrack (but will probably go over the heads of younger kids, if it's not missed entirely).

PROFANITY: There is 1 use of "Hell" and 1 use of "God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: A psychiatrist asks basketball player Patrick Ewing, "Are there any other areas of your life where you can't perform?" (after Ewing and the others have been trying to figure out why they've lost their basketball skills).
Lola Bunny, one of the few female cartoon characters in the film, is occasionally portrayed as a young sex-pot (ie. a rabbit Lolita) who makes Bugs' heart pound away, while at other times she's seen as a pure tomboy.
The cartoon bare butt of one of the "MonStars" is seen after his shorts come down.

SMOKING: A ride on Moron Mountain displays a large mechanical cat's head with a laser shooting cigar in its mouth.
Swackhammer (a cartoon character) occasionally smokes a cigar.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: None.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: The cartoon violence (if you're worried about it).

VIOLENCE: A ride on Moron Mountain displays a large mechanical cat's head with a laser shooting cigar in its mouth. One of the cars on the ride is hit by a laser and it crashes to the ground, but its occupants aren't hurt.
Swackhammer momentarily holds his cigarette lighter to the backside of one of his subordinates.
Elmer Fudd holds his shotgun on Bug Bunny, but the Nerdlucks land their spaceship nearby and their landing platform smashes Fudd into the ground.
Everything around Bugs is disintegrated by a laser blast from a Nerdluck weapon.
Yosemite Sam fires his six shooters into the air, but is then zapped by the Nerdlucks.
Foghorn Leghorn is hit by a box of popcorn and is knocked to the ground.
The "MonStars" grab Michael Jordan and smash him into the shape of a basketball and throw him around the court.
Tweety Bird is flicked across the court and smashes into a wall.
There's also some slapstick violence such as when Stan falls into a baseball dugout, or when several tall basketball players smack their heads on a low overpass in a hospital.
Daffy Duck is attacked by a real life dog when he pops up in its doghouse. The attack isn't seen, but the doghouse is seen shaking and Daffy's later seen a bit roughed up.
During the final basketball game the following happens: Bugs is hit across the court; Granny is flattened when the "MonStars" fall onto her; Sylvester eats Tweety Bird but is hit in the stomach and Tweety flies out; one of the "MonStars" breathes fire that burns Foghorn Leghorn to a Kentucky fried crisp; Marvin the Martian accidentally shoots a large hole through Sylvester the cat with his laser gun; Wile E. Coyote blows up a "MonStar" with his usual dynamite and bombs; Stan appears somewhat roughed up after an encounter with the aliens; Tweety Bird beats up the aliens with punches and kicks; Jordan is hit on the head; Daffy Duck and Stan are both flattened like pancakes; and Sylvester the cat is seen sitting on the bench with his head literally in his hands.

Reviewed November 12, 1996

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