[REVIEW] Space Jam (E.O. Costello)
eocos...@aol.com
[Spoiler Advisory]
I went to see "Space Jam" tonight, 11/15/96, at the Sony theatre at
86th and 3rd tonight.
Summary of my reaction: the movie wasn't as good as it could have
been, but it was a great deal better than I had feared it might be.
Live Actors: Jordan really doesn't do much more than play basketball
and mouth a few platitudes, but we really weren't expecting Gary
Cooper-like performances, so that was okay. Outside of that, the live
actors really weren't much. Wayne Knight was intensely annoying, even
more than his sycophant character demanded. I didn't think too much of
Bill Murray's part, either. Doesn't seem like much of a mistake that
Swackhammer mistook him for Dan "Valkenvania" Ackroyd. The basketball
players were all right, and the bit with the shrink was okay. But don't
give up your day (night?) jobs, fellas.
Animated Characters. As to the voices, leaving aside June Foray (who
reprises Granny), the vocal characterizations were not bad, though I could
have sworn the Daffy voice had a tendency to wander. They weren't at Mel
Blanc level, but, heavens, what is? They were good enough for the
performance, and unless you were really listening for it, you wouldn't
really notice all that much.
The characters were all in their traditional roles. Daffy, it has
been noted by others, seems to have reverted more to his 40s hoo-hoo
hysteria, though elements of his bitter Chuck Jones 50s persona came
through.
Because the writers (seemingly) wanted to put as many of the
characters in the film as possible, it's pretty difficult for the
characters to stand out. Pepe, for example, only got a few lines (though
he did get good laughs with what he had). Remarkably, the character who
got the biggest laughs at my showing was Elmer Fudd, when he (a) goes air
to the hoop (b) gets whanged by the gangplank of the Nerdlucks' spaceship
and (c) does a "Reservoir Dogs" with Yosemite Sam. Still, it was nice to
see the characters get their time.
Lola Bunny, quite frankly, was a disappointment. She doesn't get
much time, and beyond "Don't call me doll" and giving Bugs a kiss, they
really didn't develop her character. This may show up if they decide to
use her character in shorts or other features (as I think is probably
likely). Swackhammer and the Nerdlucks, for the most part, didn't make
much of an impression, either, particularly Swackhammer, who is allegedly
the major villain. He needed more time, I think, to really establish his
nasty credentials.
Story: Well, I wasn't expecting "Citizen Kane." There really isn't
all that much plot, but I think the critics who carp on this point should
realize cartoons, for the most part, aren't dependent on plot and story so
much as a good series of gags. The first half was a bit slow, because the
gags came at a slower pace. It was only during the basketball game, with
the quicker pace of the gags, that the movie began to move. The second
half got far more laughs than the first at my showing, and really makes
the movie, for me, worth it. The discussion about merchandising between
Bugs and Daffy was pretty good.
Quality of animation/film. Decent, though I think Pytka's background
in commericals makes him jump around the camera a wee bit too much for my
taste. Not even Clampett went that far with cutting. Gotta let the gags
register, Joe. Considering the rush job and the huge numbers of studios
they used, the animation was a lot better than I expected.
Faces in the crowd: Well, you'd expect this from me, so here is some
of the faces I spotted (some make multiple appearences), with major and
minor characters (aside from Bugs, Daffy, Foggy, Elmer, RR, Coyote, Taz,
Pepe, Sam, Sylvester, Tweety as the starters, plus Granny): This is by no
means a complete list (not even close, really), which would require video
viewing.
(1) Spike/Chester: As the medics who take away Wayne Knight's character.
(2) The Martins (from "Hillbilly Hare") seen at the town hall sequence.
(3) Witch Hazel: as cheerleader/medic giving Taz shock treatment. (4)
Speedy Gonzales: As one of the scorers giving a ten (note Foggy's sign,
with his southern reference). (5) Hubie and Bertie as announcers at the
game [Very good]; (6) Claude Cat (at game); (7) The Traveling Salesman
(from "A Pest in the House") at the game; (8) Michigan J. Frog in the
traffic jam (9) The Bull from "Bully for Bugs" (gag at game, traffic jam);
(10) The Three Bears (at game); (11) Rocky and Mugsy (when Jordan makes
his appearence); (12) Beaky Buzzard (a player); (13) Sniffles (a player);
(14) Giovanni Jones ("Long Haired Hare") at the game; (15) Cecil Turtle
(Tortoise Beats Hare/Tortoise Wins By A Hare/Rabbit Transit) at game.
Also spotted (but I can't remember where): (16) Egghead (the little
genius chicken, not Fudd's predecessor), (17) the version of Little Red
Riding Hood ("Ta HAVE!") from "Little Red Riding Rabbit." As I said,
there are probably a large number of appearences that only a second
viewing would reveal.
Also, note the nod to Leon Schlesinger, in the gym named for him, and one
background which has a sign for "CJ's Toys" (Probably Chuck Jones.)
Note to WB: next time, guys, give yourself some more lead time and get a
story that allows for characterization. Now that you've given each of the
characters a bit in a major movie, narrow the focus a bit. And don't do a
sequel -- you've got just about as many laughs as you're going to get from
Jordan.
Eric O. Costello (EOCos...@aol.com)
(Author of "The Warner Brothers Cartoon Companion," a guide to obscure and interesting items of Classic WB animation, now being serialized at http://www.spumco.com. A through D up as of 11/1/96.)
eocos...@aol.com
I almost forgot: ol' Pete Puma also makes an appearence or two in the
crowd . Good to see him again.
George P. Markham
eocos...@aol.com wrote:
> Remarkably, the character who
> got the biggest laughs at my showing was Elmer Fudd, (c) does a "Reservoir Dogs" with Yosemite Sam.
If you mean when they pulled out their guns and the surf guitar music
played, I think it was more of a "Pulp Fiction" reference but in any
case in was hysterical.
> (Author of "The Warner Brothers Cartoon Companion," a guide to obscure and interesting items of Classic WB animation,
I really enjoy your Cartoon Companion. Excellent job!!! What REALLY
would be cool if there was some way to include illustrations and
pictures along with the entries. Maybe when you publish the thing?? I
know I'd buy a couple of copies....
--
“Son of a b-b-b, son of a b-b-b, son of a b-b-b-gun!! Heh, heh, heh.
And you thought I was going to say s-s-son of a bitch, didn’t
you??”--Porky Pig
George
tu...@foto.infi.net
Ali Assa Seen
In article <328EAE...@foto.infi.net>, tu...@foto.infi.net wrote:
> eocos...@aol.com wrote:
>
> > Remarkably, the character who
> > got the biggest laughs at my showing was Elmer Fudd, (c) does a
"Reservoir Dogs" with Yosemite Sam.
>
> If you mean when they pulled out their guns and the surf guitar music
> played, I think it was more of a "Pulp Fiction" reference but in any
> case in was hysterical.
>
> > (Author of "The Warner Brothers Cartoon Companion," a guide to obscure
and interesting items of Classic WB animation,
>
> I really enjoy your Cartoon Companion. Excellent job!!! What REALLY
> would be cool if there was some way to include illustrations and
> pictures along with the entries. Maybe when you publish the thing?? I
> know I'd buy a couple of copies....
>
Good luck finding someplace to carry it when you do. One of the
wage-slaves at the local Warner Brothers store informed me that they have
dropped all books about cartoons because they don't sell. They made plenty
of room for Magic Jordan action figures though.
Ira Zimmerman
The story was poor and the animation was second rate. In an hour and a half,
I had only one moment where I smiled. What a waste of money! The theater had
only one family in it to see "Space Jam", while "Ransom" had ten times more
people in the theater. The word must have gotten out. This movie stinks.
Ira Zimmerman
warme...@earthlink.net
eocos...@aol.com
"BTW, my thanks to to Mark LoPresti, Jaime Weinman and especially Eric
Costello for their interesting, informative, (and sometimes amusing)
posts!"
That's an unholy trinity if I ever saw one...
TNesi
George P. Markham wrote:
> =93Son of a b-b-b, son of a b-b-b, son of a b-b-b-gun!! Heh, heh, heh.
> And you thought I was going to say s-s-son of a bitch, didn=92t
> you??=94--Porky Pig
Where did that come from?!!?
Ted
-- =
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"I'm just your average, wholesome girl next door." - Michelle Pfeiffer
"Boy, I'm living in the wrong neighborhood!" - Clifford
--from "Muppets Tonight!" w/ Michelle Pfeiffer (Aired 3/8/96)
sevg...@aol.com
EO Costello re-posted:
<<<"BTW, my thanks to to Mark LoPresti, Jaime Weinman and especially Eric
Costello for their interesting, informative, (and sometimes amusing)
posts!"
And added:
That's an unholy trinity if I ever saw one...>>>
Well now, I wouldn't say that!
Mark LoPresti, Buffalo NY
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With ABC cutting dynamite gags from cartoons, do you find
that your children are using explosives less frequently?
eocos...@aol.com
The quote is from an gag produced by the WB (or, more properly, the
Leon Schlesinger) cartoonists for the 1938 Warner Brothers blooper reel
(the cartoonists had their own blooper reel for the years 1937-9).
The scene (which I personally believe was done by the Hardaway/Dalton
unit, based on the way Porky is drawn), shows him hammering a nail into a
board, and banging his thumb with the hammer, and giving the quote above.
The film "Here's Looking At You, Warner Brothers" contains this clip,
which is where I have seen it. There is also a reference to it in the
one, the only guide produced by Beck & Friedwald to the WB cartoons. (If
you don't have it, get it. I rely constantly on it.)
hueb...@aol.com
the bit with the shrink was okay.
Thanks. That was my idea.
Peter Gullerud
http://members.aol.com/huebytoon/Hueby.html
