A quintessential 1990s movie, "Space Jam" is a cultural touchstone that every millennial has at least some connection to. The film combined the generation's biggest sports star in Michael Jordan with Bugs Bunny and a Looney Tunes franchise that defined our childhoods. Combine that with an iconic, timeless sneaker and one of the greatest movie soundtracks of the decade, and we have a seismic moment that is still remembered three decades later.
That's the legacy of Space Jam -- and it's one worth revisiting as we approach the 30th anniversary of its theatrical release.
This sentence is going to sound silly but here it is: Jordan and Bugs Bunny had a working relationship before the 1996 film blew up the box office. In 1992, Bugs began appearing in a Nike campaign called "Hare Jordan," which depicted the cartoon character in baggy pants and a pair of Jordan 7s, teaming up with MJ to take on an opposing team. This also coincided with a guerilla-style popularity of Looney Tunes characters appearing on bootlegged streetwear. Rather inexplicably, urban clothing was full of images of Bugs with gold chains, the Tasmanian Devil with baggy jeans and Tweety Bird with a fitted cap. Looney Tunes had become cool.
Jordan, on the other hand, was always cool. He spent the early '90s cementing himself as the greatest of all time, racking up a three-peat with the Chicago Bulls from 1991 to 1993. But the unexpected happened: He retired from the NBA to pursue a baseball career. The idea of any Jordan-centered basketball movie was far from anyone's imagination. Yet when he returned to the NBA two years later, he opened the door for the mashup flick.
The movie was pitched as a "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"-like mixed media movie where 2-D cartoons interacted with real-life actors. The plot was straightforward enough: A group of aliens steal NBA players' powers to defeat the Looney Tunes and take over their universe. The only hope for the characters to defeat superpowered intergalactic hoopers was to enlist the help of Jordan playing basketball against ... aliens? And cameos from personalities such as Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and other players. It was wacky on paper, but all sides were convinced it would work.
Jordan was down with the time it would take to make the movie, but he needed one accommodation: He needed to hoop. The making of Space Jam had real life sports implications that changed the course of the NBA. The film was shot months after Jordan had made his return to the NBA, a mixed bag of incredible appearances and disappointment. A second-round exit to a young Orlando Magic team had skeptics wondering if Jordan had somehow lost his edge. So during the filming of Space Jam, Jordan had Warner Bros. built the "Jordan Dome," a thousand-meter tent where he invited all his peers -- and rivals -- to run pickup games. Jordan would film the movie from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. before playing pickup for three hours. This is where he perfected his patented fadeaway, learned players' habits and honed his skills.
It worked.
Jordan used the next season to secure another MVP, lead his Bulls to a record-breaking 72-10 record and win his fourth NBA title. After a short bout with doubters, MJ was back on top of the world.
It was from this perch on top that Space Jam was released.
Ten-year-old me was going to be locked in regardless. But the movie itself exceeded all expectations. There's just so much to love. Of course, for kids, there's just the over-the-top gimmicks we've come to expect from Looney Tunes -- Daffy is all over the place, Tasmanian Devil is spinning around causing chaos and Bugs' fake "Michael's Secret Stuff" gag still hits to this day.
What makes the movie timeless, though, is the way it still appeals to older audiences. A lot of that falls on Bill Murray, who reminds us why he was one of the most popular movie stars of the '90s. Every line hits and it's one of his underrated comedy performances. Wayne Knight acts as a goofy slapstick, and Danny DeVito brings it as the voice of Swackhammer.
Athletes also play a huge role in the movie's charm. They all play themselves, so they're not asked to step outside themselves. The NBA stars' disbelief at their lost skills and scenes in therapy are legitimately hilarious. We know Barkley is pure comedy, but Muggsy Bogues, Ewing, Larry Johnson and even Shawn Bradley buy into the absurdity.
Then there's Jordan. He's not exactly the second coming of Denzel Washington, but he doesn't have to be. He's simply himself, but extremely willing to ham it up whenever needed. As a kid, in the pre-social media age where our celebrities weren't at our fingertips, this felt like I was getting to know my sports hero.
All of these elements combined to create box office magic. Space Jam grossed $230 million worldwide on an $80 million budget, topping the charts in its first month. But the real magic was in VHS sales: Space Jam was a Blockbuster staple movie for kids who wanted a rental on Friday nights. The movie made another $209 million in home video sales.
The film's success tells only half the story -- it was a multifaceted marketing earthquake. First, there were the sneakers Jordan himself wore. You knew there would be an Air Jordan tie-in, but no one could predict what would come from it. The Jordan 11s are maybe the most desired Jordans ever made -- with their icy soles, shiny patent leather mudguard and versatility to look like a sneaker and a dress shoe simultaneously. The shoe that appeared in the movie -- with an all-black upper, white midsole and light blue outsole -- is synonymous with Jordan's 1996 on-court success and Space Jam. So much so that they're affectionately just called "Space Jam Jordans" across the internet.
READ MORE: Behind the brand power of the 'Space Jam' franchise -- Andscape
Then there was one of the greatest movie soundtracks of the '90s. The very first song is Seal's "Fly Like an Eagle," an undeniable hit that peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard charts. R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" spent years as a staple singalong for years. The titular song by the Quad City DJ's? C'mon. The album is six-time platinum with three top-10 Billboard songs on its résumé.
Here's another tidbit about the album you might need to know: The last song is "Buggin'," featuring vocals from Bugs Bunny. It's a cute little exhibition of Bug's rapping prowess. To pull the song off, Warner Bros. reached out to a young, up-and-coming rapper to pen the bars for the rabbit. The rapper's debut from earlier that year had been buzzing around New York, and he seemed like he could handle the lift.
The rapper's name? Jay-Z. Yes. Jay-Z has a writing credit on the Space Jam soundtrack.
The movie. The shoes. The album. The merch. It all came together to encapsulate everything that made the '90s great. The movie helped define style, what we were listening to and what creativity looked like. Like any movie that formed our childhoods, Space Jam has become a classic that has transcended generations. I'm just one of many millennials who made the movie required viewing for our kids. My son, for instance, never saw Michael Jordan play basketball. His first highlights of the legend came from clips shown in Space Jam.
In 2021, LeBron James -- the heir apparent to the GOAT title -- took the reins for "Space Jam: A New Legacy." Even though James said the movie wasn't a sequel, but a new chapter, it was still very much a tribute to the original: a film that piqued his imagination just like it did ours. We can quibble over which one was better, just like we can debate about the two players, but one benefit of the new movie is that it reminded so many of us how great the original was.
Space Jam ages as well as Jordan's game. It was a core part of any millennial's childhood and watching it 30 years later still feels like that same magic we saw when we wanted to put on those patent leather Jordans, stretch our arms across the court for a game-winning dunk and do the Bankhead Bounce to the Quad City DJ's music.
Yes, Space Jam is silly. Yes, it's cartoons and anvils falling on people's heads. But the movie and all that it encompassed should be regarded as one of Jordan's great off-court cultural accomplishments and one that will help new audiences learn about him long after we've given up debating who's the greatest of all time.