I remember I was in fourth grade when ’Space Jam’ starring all the Looney Tunes characters along with Michael Jordan, was released.I never managed to watch the film, but I assume this is the sequel to Bugs Bunny & his friends’s movie careers.
The movie starts with a famous scene from the cartoon which goes like "IT’S DUCK SEASON!NO, IT’S RABBIT SEASON!IT’S BASEBALL SEASON!!!!!YOU ARE DESPICABLE!".Remember these lines?Well, I grew up watching this & it was my parents’s personal favourites, till date they still remember this as the most memorable Looney Tunes cartoon of all time.
Anyways, even though this cartoon became an instant hit, Daffy Duck is gloomy since Bugs Bunny’s getting all the fame & credit for it.Daffy does the inevitable mistake of asking the Warner Bros. Studio to choose between them & he gets fired by Kate Houghton(Jenna Elfman).Bugs is devastasted & tries his best in asking Daffy & Kate to reconsider.But Kate’s a stubborn career girl who refuses to listen to Bug’s advice.Hot headed Daffy meanwhile is assigned to be escorted out of the studios by Security Guard cum Stuntman, DJ(Brendan Fraser).Unfortunately, DJ loses his Security job due to Daffy’s foolishness & heads home with a heavy heart.Daffy follows DJ & is surprised to see him live in a big mansion.As it turns out, DJ is a rich movie star’s kid.His father, Damian Drake(TImothy Dalton) has made his earning by playing a ’James Bond like’ spy.DJ also gets a shocking message from his father in which he’s informed that Damian’s infact a real spy & that he’s been kidnapped by the evil ACME Coorporation.It’s now DJ’s job to find the ’Blue Monkey’ before Mr.Chairman(Steve Martin) from ACME gets hold of it.Daffy decides to team up with DJ since he’s in the mood for adventure & money.The two head to Las Vegas to save DJ’s father.Meanwhile, Kate is consulted by the Warner Bros. Studios who threaten to fire her unless she gets Daffy back.WithBug’s help she manages to locate where Daffy & DJ’s gone to.As expected, all four of them get embroiled in the quest to find the ’Blue Monkey’.
One can catch a gilmpse of all the Looney characters we have grown to love, from Yosemite Sam to the cute Martian, everyone’s starring in this movie.The animations have been beautifully merged with the real life actors.It must’ve them a lot of effort to actually imagine themselves speaking to the characters.Brendan Fraser seems totally natural in his acting while Jenna who I remember as Dharma from ’Dharma & Greg’ has done well too.The two compliment each other well & I could feel their onscreen chemistry even without any kissing scenes.Heather Locklear, Steve Martin & Joan Cussack appear mainly as guest stars along with a bunch of other sport & movie stars.Steve Martin plays his role as the stupid Mr.Chairman effortlessly.I couldn’t even recognise him until I read the end credits.The animators deserve total credit for this film.
Final grade- B+, If you’re an avid fan of Looney Tunes, you’ll tend to enjoy this movie a s much as I did.But if you’re someone who’s outgrown your love for the cartoon series, then it’s better to avoid this as it’ll seemingly give non-Looney fans a splitting headache.