Some movies I watched in 2024: Space Jam
I’ve mentioned pal ShaolinTurtle before, and bless his heart, he’s a terrible man for exposing himself to obnoxious discussions or terrible opinions, only to rant about it to no one on Discord. One such occasion was an inexplicable comparison between Sonic the Hedgehog‘s Rouge the Bat, and Space Jam‘s Lola Bunny.
Because we are both insufferable dweebs, we had lots of opinions on Rouge and how she’s a far more capable character than she’s often depicted, but were coming up short on defences for Lola. Time to take notes and expose everyone to an impromptu watch party, then!
I probably haven’t seen this film in twenty years, but boy howdy was the internet reluctant to make you forget about it, up until the sequel made people want to forget that. “Because you demanded it!” feels more and more like a monkey’s paw every time our modern culture makes it happen, huh.
Folks like Chris Antista on Thirty Twenty Ten have defended the film not so much as a Looney Tunes movie, but an encapsulation on a brief period of Michael Jordan’s career. In honour of his father’s untimely death, the man packs up his professional basketball career for a stint in baseball, the path his dad always wanted for him… a move that, to him, is about grappling with grief, responsibility, and making his father proud, while the rest of the world wonders why the best baller on the planet is suddenly riding with the little leaguers.
The first five minutes feel charmingly ‘adult’ in that regard, presenting this relatively dry and melancholy sports drama, a day in the life of a sports star coming to terms with his decisions. I’m sure documentaries on the man do a better job exploring it, it’s just neat seeing this glimpse into a topic I didn’t expect to be so engrossed in. I came here for the cartoons, after all!
Speaking of, just as I’m getting engrossed in a day in the life of Michael Jordan– bam, we cut to Moron Mountain and we’re knee-deep in wackity-schmackity stuff. Yet it’s hard to even call it a true Looney Tunes movie since it feels like throws these guys under the bus…!
A distinctly Bugs-like scheme of challenging pipsqueaks to a game for lanky bois does not pan out like they’d hoped, and he’s forced to ask for help — one of the most iconic visuals in the movie, for sure, seeing cartoon and live-action interact face-to-face, but it’s kinda hard to live it down after fifty years of being an undefeated trickster.
(it doesn’t quite hit the same in comic form, but you get the gist)
That’s my biggest quibble rewatching the film: it simply doesn’t acknowledge these toons are toons for the longest time! You get a cast whose whole schtick is bending the rules and acting like stinkers, and they play basketball like basketball players…! Up until the final act when they realise, oh, we should be doing gags during this. I understand it’s dramatic tension and all, but c’mon, lads.
Seeing Ivan Reitman’s name in the credits had me confuddled at first, until the subplot of the skill-sapped basketballers came in and it all made sense. They turn to shrinks, doctors and psychics trying to find a cause for why they suck so bad, and the rest of the NBA effectively disbands, thinking there might be a virus going around, with both the players and the officials going to ludicrous lengths to find an answer. It’s low-stakes fluff helmed by folks who are very much not actors, but it’s breezy and charming, and seeing the germ busters have to fumigate the stadium definitely rings of the escalating silliness in the likes of Ghostbusters or Evolution.
I’m obviously not the person to talk about sports films, having only seen this and Bernie Mac’s Mr. 3000, but it does feel like they rarely have a legacy. The Natural lives on in homages to its spotlight-busting sequence, but unless it’s an out-and-out ribald comedy, few are remembered fondly unless they impressed upon you as a youngster.
I can’t imagine sports fans were expecting a true basketball experience from flippin’ Space Jam of all things, but it’s clearly too looney to sate that itch, while toon fans might be bummed their boys aren’t bringing their A-game. The theatrical-quality animation is nice to see after years of sub-par guff, and it is a chill watch to share with friends, but woof, this ain’t as good as you remember it, folks.
Anyway, Lola! She’s introduced like a merchandising sensation more than a character: look at this sexy rabbit who’s good at basketball and says “don’t call me doll!” They’ve practically laid out all the templates for her clothing line right there, but they have zero interest in her as a cartoon.
I think fans and animators alike were just thrilled they were allowed to draw sexy animals, between this and Animaniacs. Before furry commissions became more accessible, people just had to write in to animated shows and ask to see more of the characters with ridiculous physiques. Truly a dark time.
So much of Looney Tunes is about the dynamic, the pair-up of unlikely forces, and Lola barely has that or even a character arc. Bugs is gaga for her, and at the end woos her enough for her to do the weakest wild take possible. Is she the ’90s “girl power” equivalent to that cat Pepé Le Pew would fawn over, showing just enough spunk and attitude to make up for the fact she’s still an object to be fawned over? I’m just saying right after they introduce her, they forget about her completely as they launch into a Bugs-Duffy setpiece, as if to remind you why they make a more entertaining couple.
I try my best to refrain from judging people who like Lola, but Space Jam does not present a great case for her as a character, largely because there’s so little material to work with. She’s a competent b-baller, that much is evident! But the entire film, from the cast to the camera to the musical score, are dedicated solely to going unga-bunga over her.
I can’t even use the defence for Mikaela Banes from Transformers — where the visual medium actively undermines what is on paper a strong and capable character, ignoring her daring and know-how to focus on her bending over a car — because there’s just so little Lola to work with!
Warner Bros. wanted a hot bunny, and they got a hot bunny, but I’d argue they didn’t get a character ’til they revamped her completely for The Looney Tunes Show (unless any comics-heads want to illuminate me about her DC Comics appearances). I am no stranger to liking characters for simple reasons, Lola just ain’t my bag.
In contrast, Sonic the Hedgehog is actually pretty respectful to Rouge the Bat, at least in Sonic Adventure 2. She’s crafty, cunning, and capable, but still with charming character flaws like being blinded by her love for jewels on occasion. Being a thief and a spy gives her an angle few other characters slot into, and playing on people’s foibles is just one of those skills…
… but I’d be reluctant to call her an outright femme fatale. She’s very capable of getting what she wants through force or theft, yet it’s only after fighting Knuckles to a standstill that she figures playing on his goodhearted nature might get results… though Sonic Generations undoes a lot of my argument where Rouge literally weaponises her feminine wiles in the form of heart projectiles to stun robots. It’s pretty embarrassing.
Sonic’s got fun female characters, but they’ve all got some baggage that seemingly makes them trickier to run with with compared to the male cast. Amy’s obsessive stalker angle has been toned down over the years to the point where she’s mostly a wet blanket, and Cream being a poo-poo pants infant means everyone has to be in parent mode around her.
Rouge’s cleavage being too hot for television is about the only obstacle she faces, and yet the games have been polite in never making it a point of discussion, in spite of her outrageous jiggle physics in her debut. Vector asking “who’s this broad?” is about the closest one can extrapolate, which is a darn sight better than everyone reacting to Lola with “👀 GODDAMN!! 🤪”
I felt bad for overlooking Blaze the Cat when Shaolin and I were discussing this ’til someone reminded me — she’s kind of the platonic ideal of a female Sonic character! The closest the series has to an equal, though she’s more akin to a female lead from a shonen series, in that she’s never given her dues or allowed to shine the way fans want her to.
I’m still aghast that Sonic 06 effectively broke her a mere year after her debut, making her Silver’s sidekick before sacrificing her inexplicably, and not even Sonic Rush Adventure knew what to do with her.
If the fact this diatribe is interrupting a movie review weren’t a clue, I still have a lot of opinions on this franchise despite not really meshing with any of its games made in the past eighteen years.
