Released in 1996,Space Jamstars two of the most iconic figures of the twentieth one C : cartoon lapin Bugs Bunny and human basketball game instrumentalist Michael Jordan . A mix of live action and aliveness , Jordan and Bugs are support by the full roster of belovedLooney Tunescharacters , with cameos from a who ’s who of mid-’90s NBA stars . The film is a classic narrative of underdogs defeat great odds to win , though in this font , the underdogs mostly prevail because they recruit the safe player on the satellite to help them get the better of a squad of exotic monsters who want to twist them into slaves . Here , 23 things you may not know about the movie .
1. Michael Jordan’s numbers in the big game are sick
The Harvard College Sports Analytics Collectivetallied all the statsfrom the game between the Tune Squad and the Monstars , then extrapolate those number over a regulation 48 - minute game . The resultant role : Jordan led all scorers with 44 detail on perfect 22 - for-22 shooting . He scored more than half his points on dunks – though that ’s not a surprise , consider that more than 85 % of the item in the game come on slams .
2. The Monstars who stole Shawn Bradley and Muggsy Bogues' talents don’t score any points
The same number - crunchers break down how much each Monstar contributed to the personnel casualty . As you ’ll think , the five aliens steal the talents of five NBA histrion : future Hall - of - Famers Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing ; Larry Johnson , who by then had dally in two All - Star Games ; plus Shawn Bradley and Muggsy Bogues , who are substantially get laid to hoop fans as being really grandiloquent and really short , respectively . The Monstar with Bogues ' talent at least notched six assists , but neither he nor the Monstar with Bradley ’s power scored any points . Bradley ’s Monstar actually does n’t registeranystats in the game : no points , no rebounds , no help – not even any blocks .
3. Producers built a gym for Jordan to train on after he was done shooting each day
The movie filmed in the summer of 1995 , just after Jordan returned to the NBA from his least sandpiper play Minor League baseball game . Producer Ivan Reitmansaid in a 2013 interviewthat the studio built a irregular indoor gymnasium for Jordan on the Warner Bros. lot so he could school and take part in pickup games . Said Reitman : " Every evening after shooting was done , he ’d have this whole very complex physical exertion regime , after which there was a 90 - min biz . " dub the " Jordan Dome , " the gym host games with whichever NBA players materialize to be around . " While out in L.A. , [ Jordan ] essentially let it be bonk that any of the NBA Guy who were in town should come and act with him , " said Jordan ’s former teammate Steve Kerrin a 2003 consultation . " They had unlikely game all summertime long . That meant that when Michael come to grooming camp he was in incredible shape and incredibly motivated . " Among thosewho playedwith Jordanthat summer : Shaquille O’Neal , Reggie Miller , and Magic Johnson .
4. There’s a subtle tribute to an earlyLooney Tunesproducer in the film
The gymnasium where the Tune Squad take for its tryout is call Schlesinger Gym – a nod to Leon Schlesinger , who establish the studio apartment that ultimately became Warner Bros. Cartoons , and who produced some of the earliestLooney Tunesmaterial .
5. Space Jam’s website is still online, even though it briefly died a few years back
In December 2010 , a Reddit user noticed thatSpace Jam ’s website , a glorious fourth dimension capsuleof nineties web aim , was still on-line – a relic of an earned run average when kick upstairs a film with a website was still a comparatively new concept . According to Erik Malinowski’shistory of the siteforRolling Stone , once the Internet rediscover the long - leave internet site and started send it loads of traffic , one Warner Bros. executive director order it taken down . gratefully , he was convinced to flip it back on , and the web site populate on to this sidereal day – a fact confirmed by the Twitter bot@spacejamcheck , which every three hour verifies that the site ’s still online .
6. Michael Jordan admitted he’s not a very good actor
say His Airnessat the 1996 premierein New York : " I ’m a learning player , I ca n’t say I ’m good . This is a whole novel arena . I ’ve done commercials , which means four - hour , six - hour days . This is a long outgrowth , very meticulous , especially when you ’re render to match up with an invigorate character you ca n’t see . "
7. Critics didn’t love the movie, but it’s the highest-grossing basketball film ever
Roger Ebertgave it3.5 out of four stars , butSpace Jamhas aRotten Tomatoesscore of just 36 % . According to theChicago Tribune , though , it gross $ 90.4 million in the United States and $ 230 million worldwide . Not a sorry return for a movie that cost $ 90 million to make . It ’s still thehighest - grossing basketball movieever – some $ 14 million forward ofWhite Men Ca n’t Jump .
8. Oh, and the merchandise was even more lucrative
There were78 dissimilar tie - in product , from shower bath curtains to candies that came in a mini - flop of Jordan . Altogether , $ 1.2 billion worth ofSpace Jammerch would be sold . speak of that confect , by the means : somewhat concerningly , at least one store was still selling itas of 2014 .
9. Its soundtrack was huge, too
With artists like Seal , Coolio , Monica , and the Quad City DJ ’s , the movie ’s soundtrack has sold more than6 million copies . Its biggest hit : R. Kelly ’s " I conceive I Can Fly , " which won three Grammy Awards . The record finish the 1990s as the tenner ’s 69th - best - selling album .
10. The movie marked the debut of Lola Bunny
Lola has appeared in variousLooney Tunesproductions since , but she made her debut inSpace Jamas a ' toon with serious hoops secret plan and a love pastime to Bugs .
11. Michael Jordan’s shorts superstition is real
In the film , when MJ requests his basketball game gear so he can get ready for the big secret plan , he asks for his old University of North Carolina hoops short , which he wear out under his game uniform . That ’s not a piece of fiction added for storytelling use : Jordanreally didwear his UNC shorts under his uniform throughout his pro career .
12. The sneakers Jordan wore in the movie are getting a reboot
The Air Jordan XI Space Jam sneakers – which MJ wore in the film – arebelovedby sneakerheads : when they were rereleased in 2009 , fans and collectors camped out to attempt to snag a pair . And for their 20th anniversary in 2016 , Jordan Brandwill again sellthe gym shoe in their original black - and - lily-white color dodge .
13. The movie was Michael Jordan’s agent’s idea
Jordan ’s agent at the prison term , David Falk , approachedWarner Bros. with the idea following the achiever of the pop " Hare Jordan " Nike commercial that aired during the 1992 Super Bowl . ( Jordan also appearedin a commercialwith Bugs and Marvin the Martian the following year . )
14. Wayne Knight wouldn’t touch a basketball on set when the cameras weren’t rolling
Knight – well have it away as Newman , Jerry Seinfeld ’s portly television set neighbour and competitor – plays Stan Podolak , a publiciser for Jordan ’s Minor League baseball team who ultimately sees some minutes for the Toon Stars . Knightsaid of Jordanthat " as a physical specimen , I thought that he was the most unbelievable human being I ’d ever seen . He had , like , muscles inside of muscles . " It could be intimidating for an doer who , by his own accession , was n’t especially athletic . allege Knight : " People ask me , ' Did you play any hoops with him ? ' I would n’t even touch a basketball next to those guys . Are you kidding me ? If they passed it to me , I would take the air away . I did n’t want to be seen touching it . "
15. Blake Griffin once took on Jordan’s role in a celebrity-studdedSpace Jamlive-read
In 2014 , the UCB Theater in Los Angeles hosted a live - read of the picture , with celebrities likeNick Kroll and Seth Green reading parts . A brace of NBA players get together in , too : DeAndre Jordan read Charles Barkley ’s lines ( as well as those of Swackhammer ) , and Blake Griffin – who says he once had aSpace Jam - themed natal day political party as a Kyd – read Michael Jordan ’s part .
16. Rumors of a sequel starring LeBron James have been flying for years
It ’s not out of the interrogative , either . In 2015 , James ' production companyformeda partnership with Warner Bros. to get picture show and idiot box show , fueling speculation that the collaboration would one day lead to a newSpace Jammovie – specially since the studiohad also reportedly filedfor newSpace Jamtrademarks . Said the president of James ' production companyin March 2016 : " It ’d be brainsick not to say that it ’s something on the radiolocation , it ’s super on the radar , but it ’s not something we have any tidings on . " In other actor’s line : keep holding out hope !
17. The real lives of the stars are worked into the script
There are some meta mo in this kid motion-picture show : when Bill Murray explain his appearance at the big biz by saying he ’s friend with one of the producers , knowing audience member get that Ivan Reitman , a producer on the film , directed Murray in classics likeStripesandGhostbusters . And when Charles Barkley pray that he ’ll never go on another date with Madonna if he gets his talent back , he ’s pertain to rumors that he and the dada megastar once had a relationship .
18. There’s a not-so-subtle dig at Disney in the movie, too
At one point Daffy suggest naming the squad the Ducks , and Bugs replies , " What kind of ' Mickey Mouse ' organization would name their team the Ducks ? " In 1993 , of course , a Disney - owned team called the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim began play in the NHL , lease their name from the shaver ’s hockey movie give up the class before .
19. There’s a post-credits bit with Jordan and some of theLooney Tunescharacters
How else to close out aLooney Tunesfilm but a gag built around the traditional send - off line , " That ’s all folk music " ?
20. Jordan filmed his scenes with comedy-troupe members in green outfits
To film Jordan in scene that were otherwise invigorate , director Joe Pytkahireda troupe of funniness actors , enshroud them in green against a dark-green - silver screen backdrop , and had them persist around on their knees so Jordan could interact with them and make it seem , once the invigoration was added , like he was blab out and reacting to Bugs and Co.
21. Jordan hated all the meet-and-greets he had to do on set
sound out Pytka ina 2009 interviewwith theChicago Tribune : " They were using him for publicity and every sidereal day they ’d bring in some high-up to conform to him and that begin to piss him off . " finally , Pytka say , " Michael turn to me and said , ' I thought you said this would be [ expletive ] fun . ' " When Pytka told him that it should have been , MJ replied , " So why is n’t it ? " add together Pytka : " Standing in front of a camera and remember your lines , performing is a devastatingly difficult professing , try on to create those emotions … We were very , very careful that Michael was prosperous when he came on the set . The stuff that irritate him was the Porto Rico material . "
22. The director wanted Michael J. Fox in Wayne Knight’s role
In thatsameTribunearticle , Pytka said that notice a name - brand headliner to appear alongside a novice actor and a toon rabbit was n’t easy . Pytka said that Jason Alexander and Chevy Chase turn down the part of Stan Podolak before Knight ultimately landed the role .
23. The movie’s director says he helped sell Jordan on Dennis Rodman
In the summer of 1995 , the Bulls were considering signing Dennis Rodman , the flakey bad - male child forward known as one of the league ’s best rebounders . During a break from shoot , Pytkaasked Jordanwhy he did n’t want to bet with Rodman . " Michael say , ' Because he is a brainsick man and the only someone I know who ’s crazier is you , ' " Pytka said . " I was like , ' Are you an cretin ? All he does is play vindication and rebound . You postulate somebody else to shoot ? ' " Jordan and Rodman finally met … and won three titles together as mate . enunciate Pytka : " From that twenty-four hour period on , he would call Rodman , ' your son . ' "
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