Space Jam (1996)

The other day I was reading Michel Chion’s Audio-Vision, which deals mainly with sound in cinema. At one point, he discussed the sound design in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and how the sound design for the animated characters had a tinny, flat quality to it, while the sound design associated with the human characters was much more lifelike and robust. I was fascinated by this idea and how the sound design is handled for a film that has both animated and live action characters. I immediately thought of Space Jam and knew I had to watch it for my next film.

            I am a disgrace to 90s kids everywhere in that, until now, I’d never seen Space Jam.  My immediate reaction was that whoever came up with the concept for the film had to have been on drugs. I was shocked at how complex the story was. There are three completely separate ideas—Michael Jackson self-promotion storyline, the monsters with the amusement park, and the Looney Tunes. It seems a bit convoluted but I could see how the wow factor and just the absurdity of the whole idea would fascinate kids.

 

He believes he can fly

Structure

            Structurally, it combines different styles in a way I don’t think happens a lot. The film opens in cartoon outer space. It quickly zooms into a city and becomes live action as young Michael tells his dad about his dreams (and features the epic “I Believe I can Fly” song). Then it cuts to the opening credits and title sequence, which takes place in documentary style, outlining the arc of Michael Jordan’s career and success through archival and newsreel footage, childhood pictures, and home videos. The film then switches back and forth between the Looney Tunes world and the live action world throughout the rest of the film.

 

Mr. Swackhammer and Moron Mountain:  A Totalitarian Regime

If you really think about it, the premise of the basketball game is kind of dark. The aliens are playing the Looney Tunes for their freedom; if the Looney Tunes lose, they will be subjected to a life of slavery and servitude. Moreover, the whole relationship between the aliens (aka the Nerdlucks) and their boss, Mr. Swackhammer (voiced by Danny DeVito), could be read as a critique of a totalitarian regime with Mr. Swackhammer as the tyrannical leader. Mr. Swackhammer, early in the film, is featured looking at an extensive wall of television screens, which broadcasts a feed of what is happening in his kingdom. This voyeuristic, privacy-invading surveillance system gives him access to all of his subjects.

His cruel, abusive behavior towards the Nerdlucks further paints him in the light of the power-hungry tyrant. The shortcomings of this system are emphasized in the failing amusement park and in the corruption of the Nerdlucks once they grow in size after stealing the talent from the NBA stars; though complacent and docile at first, the moment the Nerdlucks grow larger, they become evil and possessed by power, ultimately seeking retaliation on Mr. Swackhammer and dooming Moron Mountain to failure.

 

Humor and Reflexivity

Though the film is mostly targeted towards children, watching it as an adult, I was able to pick up on jokes that children wouldn’t necessarily understand. For example, at one point, I believe it is Bugs who responds to Daffy’s suggestion that they name their basketball team “The Ducks” with the snarky response: “What kind of Mickey Mouse organization would name their team “The Ducks”? This is an overt jab at Disney, one of Warner Bros. biggest competitors, making fun of the film “The Mighty Ducks”.

There were also moments in which Space Jam seemed to be making fun of itself as a film within the Hollywood system. Towards the end of the film, Bill Murray tells Daffy that he knows the producer and that’s why he’s able to attend the TuneSquad/Monstars game, to which Daffy responds “Well, that’s how it works around here”, seemingly making fun of Hollywood and the idea that it’s not about what you can do but about who you know.

 

Sound

There were other moments in the film in which the (arguably epic) soundtrack participated in the humor of the film. One such example that really stuck out to me took place during the montage in which the suddenly untalented NBA players undergo medical tests to try to determine the source of their abrupt inability to play basketball. This montage features the song “Basketball Jones” by Barry White and Chris Rock. Though the music is non-diegetic, it participates in the narrative as the shrink questions one of the players (I believe it is Muggsy Bogues). As the music plays subtly in the background, the shrink asks, “Have you had any trouble performing… in other areas?” (obviously implying sexual performance). Immediately after he asks this question, Barry White’s voice in the song emphatically says “YEAH!” Muggsy Bogues quickly interjects, “No!” and then Barry White says again in the song, “YEAH!” This pseudo call-and-response between the non-diegetic music and the narrative dialogue serves to provide subtle adult humor that would go over the heads of children while simultaneously provoking a tension between the narrative and the film itself, demonstrating a sense of reflexivity and self-awareness.

As far as the sound design goes, I thought it was very interesting how the sound design for the live action characters changed once they entered into the animated world. From the moment Michael Jordan enters the tunes world, his movements and actions are accompanied by exaggerated, cartoonish sound effects similar to those in classic Looney Tunes cartoons. In contrast, when the Looney Tunes enter into the live action world, they maintain their cartoonish sound design rather than adopt the more realistic type of sound design exhibited by the other live action characters. I’m interested in why the Looney Tunes are allowed to maintain their cartoonish, over the top sound design regardless of the world that they are in (i.e. the world of the aliens, the world of the Looney Tunes, and the live action world) while the live action characters who enter the animated world, like Michael Jordan and Bill Murray, adopt the sound design typical of the other animated characters rather than maintaining the more realistic sound design they demonstrate while in the live action world. Perhaps this is a subtle way of emphasizing that the focus of this film is the Looney Tunes—as this was the first time the Looney Tunes were part of a feature length film—and not Michael Jordan, whose presence in the film often threatens to overtake the other aspects of the film and posit it strictly as a vehicle for his career thinly disguised as a children’s movie by the addition of the Looney Tunes characters.