Similar to the Mortal Kombat film, we need to figure out what Space Jam is looking to accomplish.  What we have here is a kids’ film with the Looney Tunes and Michael Jordan. Some decent comedy and a simple story would make Space Jam a success. For the most part that’s what we get, although it’s far from perfect.

The good news for Space Jam is that it doesn’t try to do anything crazy. Our story is simple. Mr. Swackhammer (one of those characters that had to be created for Danny Devito) needs new attractions for Moron Mountain and learns of the Looney Tunes. He sends his alien minions to capture the Looney Tunes to be that attraction. The Tunes come up with a way to the defend themselves. Since the aliens are diminutive in stature, the Tunes challenge them to a basketball game. The aliens steal the powers of several NBA stars and become huge monsters (The Monstars), and the Tunes answer by kidnapping Michael Jordan. It isn’t a complicated story and the film delivers this.

Your mileage will vary with the humor in this film. The Looney Tunes do seem toned down overall but that makes sense. Most jokes are as kid friendly as possible and while the slapstick is there, you can’t go overboard here. Some of the jokes are absolute misses (Porky Pig claiming he wet himself, for example) but overall, I do find the Looney Tunes either funny or just non-offensive. You’re either going to find Daffy Duck funny or insufferable. I found him funny. Bugs is funny at some moments too.  As a bonus, the NBA players who lose their talent also provide some good humor. Charles Barkley specifically looked to be taking Space Jam much more seriously than anyone else.

The main issue of the film mostly revolves around Michael Jordan. I don’t think Jordan’s necessarily to blame, but knowing the man now and comparing him to the character he is in Space Jam is a bit nauseating. On the film side, Jordan does poke fun at it in the film at times (upon being asked if everyone was mad at him striking out in a minor league baseball game, Jordan replies with “it’s worse, everyone was really nice about it”). We get shown that Jordan has a perfect family and everyone in the world loves him and he’s level headed and a leader in all situations and blah blah blah. It just makes for a boring character who’s there to save the day at the end. The closest thing to a conflict Jordan has in the film is at the very end, when he decides to return to basketball to see if he still “has it”. There’s also the side issue of anything involving Michael Jordan, which is that it turns into a commercial.  Stan, Jordan’s publicist in the film (and played by Wayne Knight, which is something else where your mileage will vary) actually has the following line in the film: “C’mon, Michael! It’s game time! Get your Hanes on, lace up your Nikes, grab your Wheaties and your Gatorade, and we’ll pick up a Big Mac on the way to the ballpark.”

Some other odds and ends before we cover the big game at the end. Bill Murray has a weird and completely unnecessary side story where he thinks he can be a NBA player. Larry Bird is pretty funny as well and we get a little of that legendary trash talk. Lola Bunny was added as a new character, but was an oddly sexualized female bunny. But she did become a female basketball icon for a while so I guess that worked? I don’t recall how the film looked back when it came out, but watching it on Amazon Prime Video HD I must say the film animation looks fantastic. The soundtrack is incredible as well. Sure, some songs are hard to listen to now because of who sang them (looking at you R. Kelly). The Space Jam theme though is right up there with the Mortal Kombat theme for best movie music of the 90s though.

As for the big game, it’s fine for what it is. Just some whacky fun with a comeback story attached (and a joke about steroids?). The gags during the Looney Tunes’ comeback are fun enough. Just harmless fun for the most part. MJ of course hits the winning basketball (after upping the stakes…which is hilarious knowing MJ) and everyone lives happily ever after.

Best Scene: The intro with the Space Jam theme is fantastic.

Worst Scene: Porky Pig saying he wet himself is eye-rolling at best.

Final Thoughts: Space Jam is a simple and fun 90 minutes. It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t try to be either. And the MJ-Looney Tunes combo made big money so it’s all good.

Grade: B-