Space Jam

"Get ready to jam."

1996 1h 27m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 6,587

FamilyScience FictionFantasyComedyAnimation

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

With their freedom on the line, the Looney Tunes seek the help of NBA superstar Michael Jordan to win a basketball game against a team of moronic aliens.

“Get ready to jam.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

HBO Max Amazon ChannelSubscription

HBO MaxSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

YouTubeRent

Fandango At HomeRent

Spectrum On DemandRent

PlexRent

Amazon VideoBuy

Apple TV StoreBuy

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Wayne Knight
Stan Podolak
Theresa Randle
Juanita Jordan
Manner Washington
Jeffery Jordan
Eric Gordon
Marcus Jordan
Penny Bae Bridges
Jasmine Jordan
Brandon Hammond
Michael Jordan (10 Years Old)
Larry Bird
Larry Bird

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joe Pytka
Writers: Herschel Weingrod, Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $80M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Space Jam Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

350+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joe Pytka, shot by Michael Chapman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joe Pytka directs. Michael Chapman behind the camera. James Newton Howard scores. Sheldon Kahn cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Mid-budget at $80M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
3Made its money back 3.1× over at the box office.
430 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
5Part of the "Space Jam Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6350+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
7Directed by Joe Pytka, shot by Michael Chapman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor Sheldon Kahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Michael Jordan and Wayne Knight and Theresa Randle carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "Get ready to jam.".
12IMDB entry: tt0117705 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Classified under 16 themes, including "sports", "cartoon", "villain", "basketball".

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Chapman
Original score: James Newton Howard
Editing: Sheldon Kahn
Production design: Fred Cline
Costume design: Marlene Stewart
Makeup / hair: Larry Waggoner
VFX supervisor: Erik Dehkhoda
Sound: Gary Alexander
Stunt coordinator: Bob Bralver
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $80,000,000
Box office: $250,200,000
Return: 313% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Space Jam (1996)

Part of

Space Jam Collection

Classic Looney Tunes characters team up with real-life NBA superstars to stop various villains evil schemes.

Also by

Joe Pytka

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

tmdb440066252019-03-12
★ 7/10
A wonderfully constructed marriage of live action and animation, probably the best since Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It's a simple story of the Looney Tunes teaming up with Michael Jordan to stop the oppressive Monstars from enslaving them. The basketball scenes are great, the jokes mostly land, and Bill Murray steals the show whenever he's onscreen. Not to mention the fantastic soundtrack that today is pure standard. If you're looking for a serious movie, Space Jam isn't your thing. If you want a fun family movie that makes you laugh and cheer on the greatest basketball star of all time, then this is definitely worth your time.
Peter89Spencer2020-04-22
★ 8/10
Brings me back to my childhood days! I forgot how much I loved this film.
Filipe Manuel Neto2022-10-11
★ 6/10
It was a landmark film for young people and children in the 90s, but it is currently forgotten. This is one of those movies that almost everyone has seen or heard about… or, at least, everyone who was children or teenager in the 90s, like me. Currently, the film is largely forgotten, and I feel that not even the release of a new film has served to spark interest in it. I don't know if that's entirely fair, because the movie is quite entertaining and works well, providing some nice, enjoyable fun for everyone… even non-basketball fans like me, who've never even seen a game. The plot is simple: a group of tiny, seemingly unthreatening aliens are willing to do anything to kidnap the Looney Tunes and take them to their planet. Watching them, Bugs Bunny comes up with the idea of challenging them to a basketball game that will decide the toons fate, convinced that everything will be resolved easily. But lo and behold, the aliens steal the talent of top NBA players and turn into monsters, dominating the match. Aware of the situation, Bugs and Daffy Duck decide to bring in Michael Jordan, who had retired to play baseball. The film was, financially, a safe bet for Warner Bros. We don't just have Looney Tunes, the crazy creatures we've grown used to after decades of cartoons, but also basketball, a particularly popular sport in the US. In addition to Jordan, other famous players of the time will appear in the film, also representing themselves, in addition to their teams, and I have no doubt that the NBA paid a lot of money for all this publicity. And it's not even worth talking about the huge amount of products that come up strategically or that are named in the dialogues, and that also paid for it. Add to the advertising revenue the box office receipts (it was the most successful basketball movie to date) and all the merchandising that was sold afterward, from toys to coasters... and we have an idea of how profitable the movie was for the studio. Michael Jordan made his cinematic debut here, as it was the first (and, I think, the only) feature film he starred in. He's not an actor, he's not trained as such, but he managed it reasonably well, which shouldn't have been too difficult, as everything was limited to playing himself and making a few passes with the ball. The other players also did a decent job, and seem to be enjoying while parodying themselves. In the dramatic field, it is really Bill Murray who shines, as a professional comic actor, giving us the best performance in the film. There are several competent voice actors here, with Danny De Vito being the most easily identifiable and the one who stands out the most. Technically, the film deserves an applause for the quality of the animations, and for the positive way in which they play with real characters. It's not a pioneering film, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” did the same several years earlier, and with better results, but what we're given here is good enough. The cinematography is good and the same can be said for the effects. As for the soundtrack, only the song “I Believe I Can Fly” stands out particularly, and this film contributed a lot to popularize it and guarantee it the Grammy Award that year.