Good, clean, mindless fun that was made surprisingly well

My opinions of Space Jam is, I fear, a bit biased. See, I was visiting my family during Thanksgiving break in 1996, and we decided it might be nice to take in a movie. After discussing the choice of films at length, we stupidly decided to see Mars Attacks. If you've never seen Mars Attacks, bear in mind that it's one of those types of films that causes one to say things such as, "Now I truly know what hell is like," "Oh, God, please make it stop," or "Why didn't I act on those suicidal impulses in my teenage years?"

At any rate, Mars Attacks drew to a close, and we discussed seeing the next film, which was Space Jam. The theater, see, was running this promotion and everyone who purchased a Mars Attacks ticket that night got to see Space Jam for free. It's the least the theater could do, in retrospect, because Mars Attacks is one of the worst movies ever made. In my opinion, everyone who suffered through that piece of crud should be given a nice, German luxury car. However, some free tickets to Space Jam made us feel a bit better about being subjected to that dreadful Mars Attacks.

After seeing Mars Attacks, Space Jam looked like one of the finest movies ever made. That's where my bias comes in -- I hated Mars Attacks so much, that Space Jam really entertained the heck out of me, and I've loved the movie ever since.

So, with that said, perhaps I should actually write something about Space Jam and stop griping about Mars Attacks. Space Jam, simply put, is a light-hearted little comedy that fans of Warner Brothers cartoons and Michael Jordan will enjoy. Those who don't care for either will hate this film. Those who dislike Michael Jordan will particularly hate this movie as it's an unapologetic piece of hero worship if there ever was one.

I, however, like both classic Warner Brothers characters and Michael Jordan. In fact, I haven't enjoyed the NBA as much since Chicago pulled that clever business move and ran off both Phil Jackson and Jordan. Leave it to the city of Chicago -- if it can put together a winning pro sports team, it will find a way to ruin it. That's enough about that topic, as well.

In the movie, the alien owner of an amusement park, Moron Mountain, decides that he needs some new attractions to improve business. He views some Warner Brothers cartoons from earth, and decides that Bug Bunny and company is just what he needs. So, he sends some flunkies to bring the Looney Tunes characters to him.

The shrimpy little aliens are challenged to a basketball game by the Looney Tunes, and that is meant to decide whether the 'toons go to Moron Mountain or not. Bugs and crew are pleased with the bet as the aliens are small, and would be easy to beat at a game of basketball.

Oh, but those aliens are clever. They steal the talent of such greats as Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley and Muggsy Bogues (go Muggsy!) and become the skilled Monstars. Bugs and crew are sure of defeat, so the enlist the aid of Michael Jordan to play basketball on their team. I don't want to reveal too much about the plot, but anyone want to guess who wins the game?

The mixture of "live" footage and animation in this film was done quite well. After awhile, it just makes sense that Michael Jordan is interacting with cartoon characters. Watch for insane performances by Bill Murray and fun sequences which involve NBA players who became lost on the court after their powers were stolen by those pesky space aliens.

The movie is also a charming attempt to explain why Michael Jordan stopped playing basketball and what got him back into the game. Also fun is the Charles Barkley reference -- Jordan has a dog named Charles in the film. Hehehehe! For the cartoon fans, just about every cartoon character in the Looney Tunes shorts appears in this film at one point or another. Everyone's favorite characters are there, and provide plenty of that wacky fun that made Looney Tunes such an institution.

So, for an evening of family-friendly fun, Space Jam is hard to beat. It's a lot better than Mars Attacks, anyway. The best thing I could ever say about this film is that my three-year-old Son loves it. If Sonny's watching something that's not bad for him and he's happy, then Daddy's happy.