'90s live-action-animation mix has some cartoon violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 7+?
Any Positive Content?
Products & Purchases
some
Product placement. Michael Jordan shown in his hotel room sipping from a McDonald's soft drink cup. In the same scene, another character gratuitously mentions Nike, Hanes, Gatorade, and Wheaties. V-8 commercial slogan used as a punchline. Piggly Wiggly grocery store prominently shown in one scene.
Violence & Scariness
some
Cartoon violence throughout. Elmer Fudd shoots his hunting rifle. Yosemite Sam fires his pistols. Lasers. Explosions.
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The leader of the bad guys smokes a cigar. A special liquid formula is given to the Looney Tunes to increase their basketball skills, but it's shown to really be water, having only a placebo effect.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
Infrequent mild profanity, some innuendo. "Hell." "Sucks" also used. "Dork." Jokes made at the expense of an overweight character. Some potty humor involving flatulence, and Porky Pig announcing, "I wet myself."
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Some innuendo. While on a psychiatrist's couch after losing his ability to play basketball, Patrick Ewing is asked by the psychiatrist if he's "unable to perform" in other areas; Ewing acts offended and angrily answers, "No!" Sylvester the Cat uses a fishing line to drop the pants of one of the "Monstars," exposing his rear end. Monsters show up to a basketball game in a raincoat; a woman seated next to them tells her companion, "This man is doing something very weird in his raincoat."
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Some messages on teamwork and "practice makes perfect," but likely to be lost in the comedy and cartoon pratfalls and violence.
Positive Role Models
very little
In a flashback scene, a young Michael Jordan is shown practicing basketball late into the night in his family's driveway.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Space Jam is a 1996 live/animated comedy in which Michael Jordan joins Bugs Bunny and other Warner Brothers cartoon characters to defeat the "Monstars." Keeping with the tradition of older Warner Brothers cartoons, there's quite a bit of cartoon violence and exaggerated pratfalls. There's also some potty humor involving flatulence, and Porky Pig announcing, "I wet myself." Some of the jokes veer into adult territory, like a psychiatrist asking a basketball player who has lost his ability to play basketball if he is "unable to perform" in other areas. The main bad guy smokes a cigar. Gratuitous product placement in one scene, where Michael Jordan sips from a McDonald's soft drink cup while another character rattles off the names of four other brands. One of the characters is overweight, and there are constant jokes made about it at his expense. "Hell" and "sucks" are said. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
I liked that LeBron James was in it, but it was a little boring in the beginning. It is safe for kids because there is nothing scary in it, they don't swear, and there isn't any violence.
Katherine R.Parent of 8, 10, 14, 18+, 18+ and 5-year-old
April 6, 2024
age 6+
What's the Story?
Made shortly after Michael Jordan's first retirement from basketball and his short foray into professional baseball, SPACE JAM marks an attempt to revive the Looney Tunes franchise by creating a big-budget live-action/animation feature riding on the basketball superstar's coattails. Bugs, Porky, Tweety, and other favorite Looney Tune characters assemble a basketball team, including Michael Jordan as a member, to defeat a group of aliens, the Nerdlucks, who are trying to enslave the Tunes as attractions in their outer space theme park.
This moviedoes little to revive the Looney Tunes characters, who pretty much stick to their tried and true (and violent) antics, even in a new setting. As for Jordan, his athletic prowess need not be proven, but the mix of animation in the basketball sequences tends to trivialize his abilities. With cartoon characters bouncing around every which way and easily slam-dunking the ball, Jordan's acrobatics seem minor in comparison.
While the film fails on many counts to best utilize the characters at its disposal, it's still likely to impress younger viewers, especially those without any sentimental attachment to the original Looney Tunes cartoons. By standing up against their potential slave masters, the Tunes' efforts are admirable, so the overall message is fairly positive. Jokes about merchandising and Jordan's ill-fated baseball career are thrown in for the older folks.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether or not they think the blending of animation and live-action in Space Jam works. Would this movie have been better as a completely animated feature?
How does the movie use product placement? Why do you think some movies advertise products within the scenes? What are your thoughts on product placement in movies?
How was cartoon violence used for the sake of comedy, and how does the violence allude to older Warner Brothers cartoons?
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suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
