Need more proof that the ’90s were a crazy/awesome time for movies? We’d like to submit to evidence “Space Jam.”
It’s been 20 years since Warner Bros. released the film, a documentary chronicling the time Michael Jordan spent his first NBA retirement teaming up with Bugs Bunny and the other Looney Tunes to defeat a group of super-powered aliens in a high-stakes game of basketball. Because a-doy!
To celebrate that anniversary, and to fill the wait until the long-awaited remake finally materializes, here are 11 interesting facts you might not know about this ’90s classic.
1. For whatever reason, Warner Bros. continues to maintain the official “Space Jam” website 20 years later. You can check it out here if you’re in the mood for some vintage, mid-’90s html work.
2. Early in the film, there’s a shot of Moron Mountain in outer space with a strange, black rectangle in the corner of the screen. That rectangle is the alien monolith from “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
3. When Bill Murray‘s character tells Daffy “the producer is a friend of mine,” he wasn’t lying. “Space Jam” was produced by Ivan Reitman, who’s probably best known for teaming with Murray on classic comedies like “Ghostbusters” and “Stripes.”
4. Though they’re never actually mentioned in the film, all five Monstars have names of their own: Blanko (blue), Bupkis (purple), Bang (green), Nawt (red) and Pound (orange).
5. Perhaps the biggest winner in the whole “Space Jam” enterprise was singer R. Kelly. He wrote the Grammy-winning “I Believe I Can Fly” specifically for the film’s soundtrack. To date, it remains his biggest hit single.
6. Legendary animator Chuck Jones may have helped shape the Looney Tunes franchise, but he was critical of “Space Jam” after release. Among other complaints, Jones said that he felt Bugs should have solved his feud with the Monstars himself, rather than recruiting others to his cause.
7. While Jordan played himself in the movie, his wife, Juanita, and their three children were portrayed by actors. Apparently, not everyone in the Jordan family is eager to be on camera.
8. The Monstars’ career pretty much ended after “Space Jam,” but they did briefly return in 1998 via a cameo appearance in the “Pinky & the Brain” episode, “Star Warriors.”
9. “Space Jam” actually served as a reunion for His Airness and Mr. Bunny. The two appeared in a series of Nike commercials, where they joined forces against Marvin the Martian and his basketball-playing alien allies.
10. With “Space Jam” being such a box office success, it should come as no surprise that Warner Bros. has been trying to craft sequels and/or a remake for years. It sounds like “Space Jam” reboot/remake is finally in the works, with LeBron James apparently taking over for Jordan.
11. Warners had some ambitious franchise plans for the film. At one point, Jackie Chan was slated to star in “Spy Jam” (with that project eventually morphing into 2003’s “Looney Tunes: Back in Action”), and NASCAR racer Jeff Gordon was rumored for “Race Jam.”
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