Space Jam 2

The guy who directed Shazam has an excellent video about test screenings:

A bad response to a test screening might not be bad though. Because an audience might be responding to something they're supposed to be feeling (like sadness). Still somehow I doubt that's a major facet of Space Jam: A New Legacy...

As much as I don't like what the Cinemascore represents, it is true that anything lower than a B+ is probably not gonna generate that much audience interest, which probably what that is drawing on.

Edited by jjjj2 on Dec 5th 2020 at 12:53:19 PM

I notice the questionnaire has four options for various flavours of positive ratings, and only one for negative ratings. Seems a little biased.

Space Jam was also not very popular with critics. I'm not really sure if its remembered fondly out of a sense of irony or Nostalgia Tinted Goggles

I don't know, I enjoyed it well enough when I saw it the first time, and on rewatch I felt it held up well enough. It helped that by then I could recognize all the obscure cameos as well.

Bit of both I think, to people of a certain generation at least. They (we) know that objectively it's... Okay, at best, but like it anyway. At least in part there's always at least some fun to be had with Bugs and Co. doing their thing.

Yeah, this movie is often derided for all the product placement, but it never really bothered me, and it was integrated into the plot well enough. Like, it made sense in the plot that Michael needed someone to get his Nikes, and I don't mind that he called them that. It was never all that intrusive.

Most of the time I don't even notice product placement in movies unless it's pointed out to me.

Edited by windleopard on Dec 8th 2020 at 9:21:22 AM

Same here.

When I first the movie (two decades ago by way of DVD), I enjoyed it. Didn't learn about the purpose of the film until I traveled here onto TV Tropes.

There's Wayne Knight's "C'mon, Michael! It's game time! Get your Hanes on, lace up your Nikes, grab your Wheaties and your Gatorade, and we'll pick up a Big Mac on the way to the ballpark" line, but that was so over the top it was an obvious mockery of the Product Placement trope.

Back in Action had one such gag too and nobody hassles it for that.

Edited by AmazingSpiderHam on Dec 8th 2020 at 4:40:27 AM

A lot of people seem to forget that film even exists.

It seems to be remembered only when it's time to compare Space Jam with something else.

Funny thing is, Back in Action usually comes as the victor in said comparisons, but then it's forgotten again while Space Jam's not.

You'd think they would just compare Space Jam to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?.

Back in Action's whole Monkey Diamond thing can't help but remind me of Super Mario Bros.

To be fair both SJ and BIA are both 'pure' Looney Tunes movies, not mega crossovers, so the comparison is more direct there.

Edited by AmazingSpiderHam on Dec 9th 2020 at 4:34:01 AM

How is Space Jam a mega crossover? It only had Looney Tunes characters alongside the human cast.

Uh, that's what I said, though? I literally wrote SJ and BIA were not 'crossover' movies, unlike Roger Rabbit.

Closest thing would be Shaggy and Scooby's very brief cameos for Back in Action.

Edited by AmazingSpiderHam on Dec 10th 2020 at 4:57:36 AM

Oh sorry, misread.

Want to see some actual tie-in animation for Space Jam 2? Well, LeBron James' I Promise Schools program has a brief segment of Bugs chatting with LeBron about a contest where STEM kids could pitch an arcade-style tie-in video game.

Additionally, the video also confirms the roster for the Tune Squad and the film's synopsis:

Edited by XMenMutant22 on Dec 14th 2020 at 2:11:44 PM

That seems like an overly huge roster. Also the same cast as the first movie, excepting Penelope Pussycat and Gossamer, neither of which I know about.

Penelope is the cat that is always mistaken for a female skunk by Pepe Le Pew. Gossamer is the big hairy red monster in some of the horror-themed shorts.

Barnyard Dawg was in the original roster but doesn't seem to be in this one

Oh yeah, I remember now. I thought they were always different cats though.

So does that mean there will be a few Pepe jokes? It's hard to imagine having her without at least a reference to those cartoons.

Edited by Redmess on Dec 14th 2020 at 8:05:06 PM

I don't remember Granny being a part of the roster before, just Sylvester and Tweety.

Granny was the cheerleader.

For the most part... Yeah I don't think they were intended to be the same cat. It's just latter-day company retconning for merchandising purposes.

Edited by Brandon on Dec 14th 2020 at 11:44:48 AM