Space Jam is the 183th episode of Screen Junkies comedy series Honest Trailers. It was written by Spencer Gilbert, Joe Starr, Dan Murrell and Andy Signore. It was narrated by Jon Bailey as Epic Voice Guy. It parodies the 1996 live-action/animated sports comedy film Space Jam. It was published on January 17, 2017, as part of Screen Junkies' Fan Appreciation Month. It is 4 minutes 48 seconds long. It has been viewed over 4.0 million times. This Honest Trailer is notable for provoking an unexpectedly emotional response from viewers and reviewers who felt the video had destroyed their childhood memories of the film.
Watch Honest Trailers - Space Jam on YouTube
"Look, millennials; I know you're just getting old enough to feel nostalgia for the first time, but trust me, this one sucks." ~ Honest Trailers - Space Jam
Script[]
It's Fan Appreciation Month at Screen Junkies, and to reward our awesome fans, we're making the Honest Trailers that you voted for. Here's your number three choice.
Based on a sneaker commercial, comes a film that got the rights to Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes, then said, "Screw it; that's all the work we're going to put into this one. It's money time!"
Space Jam
Experience the Citizen Kane of live-action/animated hybrid basketball movies, full of bright colors, cartoon violence...
Bang: --someone's killing someone.
...and second-tier mid-90's NBA stars, that blew the tiny mind of every kid who saw it, and permanently blinded them to its many, many flaws. Look, millennials; I know you're just getting old enough to feel nostalgia for the first time, but trust me, this one sucks.
Journey to the center of the Earth, where all the Looney Tunes live, apparently, for a story about aliens stealing the talent of basketball players, to win a game against Bugs Bunny, to rescue a failing amusement park -- Ugh... -- that's so lazily told, no one even cares that Michael Jordan got kidnapped...
Larry Bird: You think Michael's all right? Boy, I hate to leave him like this.
Bill Murray: Oh, I'm sure he's fine.
...cartoons are real...
Stan: --you know that your friends are cartoon characters?
Jordan: Yeah. So?
...or that Bill Murray can travel between dimensions.
Daffy: --how did you get here, anyway?
Bill Murray: Producer's a friend of mine. Just had a teamster come and drop me off.
I mean, I'm not mad that he's in this; just, try even a little bit next time?! The movie doesn't even take place in space! It's called "Space Jam"!
Return to Michael Jordan's weird baseball era, that conspiracy theorists think was a secret suspension for gambling.
Jordan: (to Swackhammer) If we win, you give the NBA players their talent back. / If you win? / You get me.
Hmm... Then cringe as your childhood hero shows off the limitations of his non-basketball skills, like... acting...
Jordan: You're a cartoon. You're not real.
...coaching...
Jordan: --let's just go out and have fun.
Looney Tunes: Yeah!
...being a good teammate...
Jordan: Somebody steal the ball, get it to me...
...being a good friend...
Jordan: (to the talentless NBA players) Just face it. You guys stink.
...wearing appropriate-sized khakis (zooms in on Jordan's baggy pants), and being a role model.
Daffy: (about to drink some "secret stuff") --this goes against everything they taught me in health class.
Jordan: Do you want to win or not?
Yikes. Unless you're dunking on somebody, don't be like Mike, kids.
Cling to your fleeting innocence with all your favorite Looney Tunes, or at least these bootleg sound-alikes now that Mel Blanc is dead...
Bugs: Eh... What's up, Doc?
...and rev up your engines for the debut of Lola Bunny -- (in a deep voice) Oh, yeah... -- who gave boys a weird rabbit fetish long before Judy Hopps, as you laugh along with all their classic cartoon hijinks, and conveniently forget that most of this movie's run-time is dedicated to Newman trying not to get fired.
Stan: (running up to Jordan and hugging him) You're all right! You're all right! Oh, I was so worried!
Thrill at one of the worst-refereed games of basketball since the ref in Air Bud let a dog on the court...
Referee (Air Bud): He's right. Ain't no rule said the dog can't play basketball.
...with dozens of flagrant fouls (montage of the Looney Tunes and Monstars inflicting slapstick violence on each other), shady scorekeeping (shows the Monstars winning with "Kinda one-sided isn't it?" points to the Tune Squad's 18), and a blatant disregard for solid fundamentals.
Marvin: --if you don't find a fifth player, your team will forfeit the game.
Oh, now you care about the rules! Where were you when the two players in the Tune Squad shot a Monstar in the face?! (shows Elmer and Sam shooting Bupkus' teeth out)
So enjoy a 90-minute-long commercial...
Stan: (to Jordan) Get your Hanes on. Lace up your Nikes. Grab your Wheaties and your Gatorade, and we'll pick up a Big Mac on the way to the ballpark.
...that, in retrospect, only exists to sell Looney Tunes toys and Air Jordans...
Blanko: Cool shoes.
...but sadly is still the best movie starring an NBA player. (shows the posters for Kazaam, Thunderstruck (2012), and My Giant)
Kazaam: You realize who I am?! (removes his turban) I'm your genie!
Euugh; Space Jam 2 with LeBron it is!
Starring A Soundtrack That Totally Makes Up for the Mediocre Movie: Seal's Version of "Fly Like an Eagle"; Salt-N-Pepa ("Upside Down ('Round-N-'Round)"); R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly"; A Duet Between Chris Rock and Barry White ("Basketball Jones"); More R. Kelly ("All of My Days" by R. Kelly feat. Changing Faces & Jay-Z); and That Quad City DJ's Song That's All "Come On and Slam, and Welcome to the Jam!" ("Space Jam") You know? So good.
NBA Jam: Toonament Edition
Honest title for Space Jam - NBA Jam: Toonament Edition. Title design by Robert Holtby.
You know what else is better than the movie? The original website that Warner Bros. hasn't changed since 1996. (pulls up said website)
Trivia[]
- For Fan Appreciation Month, Screen Junkies ran a poll where viewers got to decide which films they would make Honest Trailers for during January, 2017. Space Jam got the 3rd highest number of votes.
- Screen Junkies have produced several Honest Trailers for 1990's movies including Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, Super Mario Bros., Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of Their Shells, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Fight Club, Showgirls, The Matrix, Point Break, Home Alone, Hook, The Santa Clause, The Lion King, Toy Story, Forrest Gump, Jurassic Park and the 90's TV show X-Men: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series .
- Commenters were notoriously harsh on Screen Junkies for their take on the film. As a result, the Honest Trailers writers learned the lesson that they had to tread more carefully around cherished childhood films. The writers occasionally refer to Space Jam when discussing the reasons behind their gentler approach towards other nostalgic favorites.
- In June 2017, when Honest Game Trailers tackled the beloved video game Crash Bandicoot, they were met with an even more extreme version of the "Space Jam effect." Commentators accused the writers of being too harsh on a nostalgic classic and down-voted the video relentlessly.
- An Honest Trailer Commentary for this episode was recorded and was available on the Screen Junkies Plus until the website/app was discontinued. Screen Junkies don't currently have any way of releasing the video.
Reception[]
Honest Trailers - Space Jam has a 96.1% approval rating from YouTube viewers. Reviews for this Honest Trailer were uncharacteristically emotional, with many media sites commenting on how sad the Honest Trailer made them feel. Sporting News said the Honest Trailer was here "to destroy your childhood memories." In the same article, Sporting News also noted that the Honest Trailer was "simultaneously hilarious, saddening and undeniably true. Providr wrote that as Screen Junkies "reveal plot holes big enough for Michael Jordan to get pulled through ... and list every shameless corporate plug, you’ll feel your childhood being torn away." Neatorama noted that fans of the film hold it on a "sacred pedestal" but also that "there's plenty to mock here, and this Honest Trailer makes it clear that to love Space Jam, you pretty much had to be there. If you were, it was perfect."
Some sites were positive towards the Honest Trailer, despite its harsh tone. MovieWeb observed that the "kids who adored the movie then are likely so blinded by nostalgia that they can't see the obvious flaws of Space Jam, then and now. Thankfully, we have this honest trailer to point out all of its misgivings." For The Win wrote that the Honest Trailer was "extremely funny and well worth your time," and also said it was "arguably better than the movie itself." Slash Film highlighted the Honest Trailer for pointing out the film was "a 90-minute commercial to sell Air Jordans & Looney Tunes toys." Screen Rant remarked that "the biggest target in the video is the laziness of the storytelling, with the implication being that the filmmakers stopped trying once they learned they had the rights to Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes. It is funny to consider that a majority of the movie does not take place in outer space, even though it is called Space Jam....Screen Junkies also amusingly takes aim at the famous basketball game itself, questioning everything from the scorekeeping to officiating."
Sporting News said the "woke-est line in the trailer" was "The movie doesn't even take place in space." However, Sporting News took issue with two points: "First, Jordan, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing absolutely were not second-tier NBA stars. Larry Bird shows up, too. And Shawn Bradley, he wasn't an NBA star on any tier. So yeah, Larry Johnson and Muggsy Bogues qualify, but let's not act like they didn't line up one hell of a squad for pickup games (which, by the way, were amazing on the set). Second, this isn't the best movie starring an NBA player because He Got Game exists."
Production credits[]
Video thumbnail for Honest Trailers - Space Jam
Voiceover Narration by Jon Bailey
Title design by Robert Holtby
Series Created by Andy Signore & Brett Weiner
Executive Producer - Andy Signore
Producers - Dan Murrell, Spencer Gilbert, Michael Bolton, Christina Kline
Written by Spencer Gilbert, Joe Starr, Dan Murrell & Andy Signore
Edited by TJ Nordaker & Bruce Guido
External links []
- Space Jam Gets An Honest Trailer Screen Rant article
- The Newest Honest Trailer Takes Shots At ‘Space Jam’ - Uproxx article
- This Honest Trailer Is Here to Reveal the 'Many, Many Flaws' of Space Jam to Millennials - Time article
- An Honest Trailer for Space Jam - Neatorama article
- The honest (but fake) trailer for 'Space Jam' is actually better than 'Space Jam' itself - For The Win article
- Space Jam gets dunked on by Honest Trailers - EW article
- Space Jam Honest Trailer Slam Dunks on Michael Jordan Classic - MovieWeb article
- ‘Space Jam’ Finally Gets An Honest Trailer After 20 Years - Inquisitr article
- ‘Space Jam’ Honest Trailer: A 90-Minute Commercial to Sell Air Jordans & Looney Tunes Toys - Slash Film article
- This 'Space Jam' honest trailer is here to destroy your childhood memories - Sporting News article
- Honest Trailer For Space Jam Will Challenge Everything You Know About The Classic - Providr article