Michael Jordan with the Looney Tunes (Warner Bros)

"Space Jam" is a movie directed by Joe Pitka in 1996 during the peak of Michael Jordan’s career. Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest player of all time, is asked by the Looney Tunes group to join their basketball team in a quest to defeat the monsters in a game that would determine their fate and freedom forever.

The plot begins by featuring a little boy shooting a basketball and dreaming to become an NBA player someday, which then transitions to Michael Jordan, the retired basketball player. Over on the other side of the (animated) world are the Looney Tunes who decide to challenge the Nerdlucks to a basketball game at a time when the Nerdlucks weren’t exactly the MONSTARS!

Michael is portrayed as a retired NBA star, playing baseball in the minor leagues somewhat unsuccessfully. The monsters, having been challenged by the Looney Tunes, steal the talent and skills of professional NBA players Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley and Shawn Bradley, which gave them an unfair advantage over the Looney Tunes.

The Looney Tunes drag Michael into their world in hopes that he will help them win the biggest game of their life. This, however, would take some work as none of the bunch have ever played basketball. As training begins, Michael starts to get back into basketball shape while simultaneously getting his little friends into basketball mode.

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As the game begins the Looney Tunes alongside Michael Jordan begin getting destroyed, trailing by a large deficit. During halftime in the locker room, the Looney Tunes drink water out of a bottle thinking that it has magical powers which will help them develop unreal skill. At the start of the second half, things begin to turn around. However, right before the last play, Michael informs his team that the spirit of victory that they showed isn’t something that a magic water bottle gave them, but a feeling that they had in them the entire time. The Loons led by Michael ultimately win the game and force the Monstars to return the stolen talent they took from the NBA players.

Overall, the movie does a great job juxtaposing two completely different storylines and bringing them together for a smashing hit. On one side, there is Mike who is having a mediocre baseball career while on the other, is a group of rugrats who are absolutely awful at the sport that Jordan dominated for so long. The film does a great job of pointing out that Mike is really a basketball player and will always be a basketball player, not a baseball player.

In 1996, Michael Jordan was the top player in the league, having won 3 NBA titles in a row with 3 finals MVPs. Mike at this point in his career had accomplished so much, from league MVPs, to dunk contests, to scoring titles. At the end of the 1993 season, he felt as though he had accomplished everything he ever wanted to in his sport. This led to his retirement and the beginning of his baseball career, which was an uneventful one. However, this movie was made and released at a perfect time when Mike decided to return to the Chicago bulls. This American sports comedy action packed movie did a great job of showcasing Michael Jordan’s greatness as a player and the embrace he received for his return.

Michael Jordan dunking during the slam dunking contest

Every team needs that star player that will get a team to a championship level. When Jordan left the bulls during 1995 and 1996, the team made it to an eastern conference finals, led by Scottie Pippen, but failed to make it to the finals, let alone win a championship. Well very similarly, this Looney Tunes squad needed Mike to lead their team to a win just like the Bulls needed him to do so throughout the 90s.

More importantly than the greatness of one individual is the commitment and desire of the team to win that really counts. As great as he was during his championship run, if he hadn’t had Scottie Pippen step up to the best of his potential along with the rest of the Bulls squad, they would’ve never had their successful run. The same applies in this plot, if Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes hadn’t stepped up and believed in themselves the way they did, Michael Jordan’s heroics would’ve been for nothing.

The production set for this movie was incredible given its time. To shoot animated figures into a 3D world and to do it so accurately and so vividly (almost as if these Looney Tunes were really there) was creative and speaks high of their entire production value. The acting in this movie by the NBA players wasn’t great, but this movie wasn’t about their acting -- it was about their presence in the movie. For Mike to be able to talk to Bugs and the rest of the group as if they were real must have required a lot of concentration and great psyche control. I am not sure if his scenes with the cartoons were shot in a green room, but that would be my best bet. I applaud Mike for pulling this off and doing it so convincingly.

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The soundtrack utilized throughout this film suited this athlete to perfection. Mike wasn’t just known for being a great player, he had an ability to hang in the air as if he were really flying. Here is where he got his nickname Air Jordan, which is also the name he uses for his successful shoe brand. The soundtrack played throughout the opening credits by Quad City DJ sets up the tempo for the type of athlete that would be featured as well as the attitude and tempo of the film. R Kelly’s single "I believe I Can Fly" was a quintessential hit that summoned the Air Jordan era and Michael Jordan as a player. "Fly like an Eagle" by Seal greatly complemented his air hanging, winning, clutch-shooting abilities as well.

Upcoming Space Jam 2 possibility staring Lebron James

In last season’s finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers led by LeBron James, went up against Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors. LeBron’s team lost two of its star players during the finals -- Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. LeBron was underhanded in this series and looked like he was carrying around a bunch of Looney Tunes on his back in their battle against the Warriors. LeBron looked like a superhero, much like Mike did in "Space Jam." Lebron was dominant and his performance is considered to be one of the greatest in finals' history. So dominant that he was able to put the Cavaliers up 2 to 1 against the Warriors (who were the heavy favorites to winning the entire thing).

The Cavaliers would go on to lose. Still, while watching this series, I couldn’t help but remember this movie. It didn’t have the same happy ending that "Space Jam" had, but, for a while, it sure looked like it might. As a matter of fact, his performance in those finals were so great that there have been rumors that Warner Brothers is thinking of making a sequel starring LeBron. I'd certainly watch it. 

Retro Movie Reviews is a weekly column by Kent Martinez, published every Friday. Read other Retro Movie Reviews here.

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