Seeing Michael Jordan play alongside Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and some of our other favorite Looney Tunes characters is something we’ll always remember. But there were actually a lot of things that happened both behind-the-scenes, or right on screen, that you probably didn’t catch because, you know, you were probably six.
So here’s a list of fascinating facts about Space Jam that can help you appreciate one of the greatest pieces of your childhood, regardless of if there’s a sequel.
Uncle Drew, Who?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwGnE3bnYkA
Kyrie Irving was far from the first NBA player to add on some extra years by dressing up like a senior citizen. Larry Johnson starred in his own line of Converse commercials back in the ’90s where he dressed up like his grandmother just to prove how much the sneakers improved your game. Right before Michael Jordan gives the NBA stars their talent back in Space Jam, Larry Johnson makes a comment about how even his grandmother could beat him in his current state.
Getting the Team Back Together
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2URMB4NGbo8
You may have been too young to remember, but Space Jam wasn’t the first time the G.O.A.T. teamed up with Bugs Bunny on the court. Before the movie was even a thing, Nike had a campaign where MJ and Bugs teamed up to take on Marvin the Martian. This is actually where the idea of the movie started to form.
Shots Fired
When the characters were trying to come up with the name for their team, Daffy let his narcissistic nature show and suggested the “Ducks.” Bugs responded by saying, “What kind of Mickey Mouse organization would name their team the Ducks?” The funny thing is, Disney did just that in The Mighty Ducks movie and in real life when they founded the Anaheim Ducks in the NHL in 1993.
Giving Respect Where It’s Due
There was a time when no one thought that the Looney Tunes could star in a feature film. Probably not including the forefathers of Looney Tunes. So the movie gives a couple nods to them. In the background of one scene, there’s a building called “CJ’s Toys,” which is a call back to Chuck Jones, the creator of many of the same characters in Space Jam. Also, the gym they practiced in was named after Leon Schlesinger, a producer on some of the earliest Looney Tunes cartoons.
Rule No. 1: Keep the Star Happy
One thing we’ve come to know about Michael Jordan is that he never really took time off from basketball – unless we’re talking about that one time he went to play baseball. But, as a lifetime Bulls fan, I’m inclined to ignore it. So when he was filming Space Jam, Warner Bros. went as far as to build a court on set for him to use during filming.
They Have Names and You Should Learn Them
We spent an entire movie watching a group of aliens beat up our favorite cartoon characters and flatten Stan the publicist like a pancake, but we never once heard their names – they were just “The Monstars.” Well, I don’t feel that’s fair. So we did some digging and found out the names of the multi-colored crew: Pound (orange), Bang (green), Nawt (red), Bupkus (purple) and Blanko (blue).
Real Life Callbacks
There were a handful of callbacks in Space Jam to real life events, but here are the most important ones:
- Bill Murray claimed the film’s producer, Ivan Reitman, was a friend of his when Daffy asked him how he got there. This was probably true given that Reitman also produced Stripes, Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II.
- Michael Jordan had three kids in the movie named Jeffrey, Marcus and Jasmine. Those are actually the names of his real-life kids, but actors played them instead.
- When Charles Barkley, notorious for not wanting to be a role model, lost his basketball talent in the movie, he went to church. One of the things he promised was that he wouldn’t date Madonna again, which referenced rumors that they had dated.
Living Out a Dream
Space Jam let a lot of people see things they only dreamed of, including Bill Murray. In the early ’90s, Murray had a series of commercials that showed him retiring from acting to pursue a career in the NBA that never really formed. So when the Toon Squad desperately needed someone to come off the bench, he finally got to live out that dream.
Box Office Hit
Space Jam isn’t just some cult classic that didn’t do well at the box office but went on to gain a second life with home video sales. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Space Jam is still the most financially successful basketball movie to ever be released in theaters, bringing in a total of more than $230 million. The next closest movie is White Men Can’t Jump at $90 million.
Don’t Call Her Doll (Or Rookie)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7MIZoMaOSI
We got to see a lot of familiar cartoon faces on the big screen. But Space Jam was our first time ever seeing Lola Bunny, who would go on to make appearances in a lot of future Looney Tunes productions. She instantly impressed the team with her handles and showed that she was probably one of the best players they had.
Note: If you don’t ask me about the confusing feelings I had for an animated rabbit, I won’t ask you.
Rediscovering an Old Friend
Have you ever thought back about how the Internet used to be back when we still used floppy disks and dial-up? Things were a lot simpler back then. Well, hidden away deep within the world wide web lives the original website for Space Jam, which was never taken down. That’s right. You can still access it today to find information about the original cast, soundtrack, and a lot of other gems including a tour of Jordan’s on-set court that we told you about before.
Getting It All Out of the Way
Michael Jordan’s marketability was unlike anything the world had ever seen. As a result of that, pretty much every major company wanted to endorse him. So when he did a movie, of course, he had to pay them back with some good publicity. But he did it in a pretty clever way.
In a scene in Space Jam, MJ’s publicist Stan comes in and says, “C’mon, Michael, it’s game time. Slip on your Hanes, lace up your Nikes, take your Wheaties and your Gatorade, and we’ll grab a Big Mac on the way to the ballpark.” All of those companies were MJ sponsors when the movie was released.
