Space Jam

Last week I was wandering around Walmart when I stumbled into one of their big baskets full of movies on sale. After a little bit of rummaging, I found a childhood favorite of mine, Space Jam. This classic was about Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes playing basketball along side Michael Jordan against a group of evil aliens.

As a kid this movie stood out to me because it was one of the first movies I had seen that mixed cartoons and live action. Now, nearly 20 years later, animation has advanced significantly. Yet watching the movie is still impressive. While it may not look as realistic most of the other CG movies today, that is part of the point of Looney Tunes. They are cartoons and live in an animated world where anything is possible. That being said, when looking at Space Jam compared to any of the classic Looney Tunes cartoons preceding it, you can't help but see a drastic difference in quality. In Space Jam, the characters do look more realistic, and a lot more 3D. I think most of this can be attributed to the use of lighting and shadows used in the animation. The background also looks fairly realistic. While you can tell it is animated, it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.

While this movie may be fairly old at this point, I still think we can learn from it. While it may not be the most technologically advanced, it definitely shows the progression of the Looney Tunes since 1930.

Space Jam & Greenscreens

I'm pretty sure the first movie I ever saw using Green Screen to insert a real-life character into a completely animated movie was "Space Jam". I own this movie on VHS and I used to watch it all the time as a kid. The other one I remember was "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", but for whatever reason I think Space Jam stuck with me more, even though Roger Rabbit is probably a better movie. Who can deny the Looney Tunes? I remember as a kid wondering how they inserted Michael Jordan into the cartoon, and it's funny to me now how obvious it looks. It's also astounding how easy it actually is to do stuff like this, especially when your lead actor is Michael Jordan, and nobody is expecting an Oscar-winning performance. Still, I love this movie. For your viewing enjoyment, the final basketball game between the Tune Squad and Monstars:

And as a bonus, the ESPN 30 for 30 on this legendary game between the Looney Tunes and Monstars. Here they reflect on the majesty of this historic game. They also acknowledge the tragic death of Foghorn Leghorn in the first half, where he was burned alive. Truly heartbreaking.