Space Jam 2 was grim, but there are better ways for your kids to meet the Looney Tunes

Although it got off to a promising start in the US, ticket sales for Space Jam: A New Legacy had taken a nosedive by the second weekend, leading to much industry speculation. Was it the pandemic? Has audience behaviour fundamentally changed due to streaming? Or was it because the film is about as enjoyable as a bad case of haemorrhoids?

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The film’s rapid decline is likely due to all of these factors. Moviegoing hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, and some people might consider a trip to the cinema to be an unacceptable risk. Those who desperately wanted to see LeBron James awkwardly interact with the Looney Tunes on the big screen probably got it out of the way on opening weekend. Also, the film had a day and date release on HBO Max, allowing anyone with a subscription to watch it in their own home. And any potential for positive word of mouth was largely cancelled by the fact that the film is a raging dumpster fire, to put it as diplomatically as possible. The team at Honest Trailers summed it up pretty well:

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One Long Advertisement for Warner Bros.

Much of the criticism of the film is pointed squarely at its crude commercialism. Every character owned by Warner Bros. seems to make a cameo appearance. This isn’t new, with Disney’s Ralph Breaks the Internet (the 2018 sequel to Wreck-It-Ralph) employing a similar strategy, featuring appearances from other intellectual properties owned by Disney, including The Muppets and various Star Wars characters. At least Disney showed some restraint, with a planned animated cameo from The Golden Girls cut from the finished product because it would have been a bit too far-out for audiences.

Not Safe for Kids

If only Space Jam: A New Legacy had the same self-control. The film features endless references and character cameos from the Warner Bros. library. Mad Max, The Matrix, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat… all so timely, and so relevant. A crowd scene even features Pennywise the Dancing Clown from It and the droogs from A Clockwork Orange. A demonic force who takes the shape of a clown and abducts children, with a gang of brutal teenage thugs whose interests include extreme sexual violence? Have fun explaining that to your kids.

Even with these absurdly unsuitable additions, Space Jam: A New Legacy had no place for noted cartoon sexual predator, Pepé Le Pew. The character’s planned appearance was cut so as not to make light of rape culture. This is a legitimate move, but seriously… A Clockwork Orange was okay?

A Better Introduction to the Looney Tunes

You might have been a kid in the 90s when the original Space Jam was released. Maybe now you might want to watch its sequel with your own kids, giving them their own introduction to the subversively bonkers world of the Looney Tunes. Instead, after watching the movie, you might feel compelled to drink a bottle of the strongest alcohol you can find in order to destroy your short-term memories. Surely this grim affair isn’t the best way for your kids to experience these iconic cartoon characters? It’s really not. There are a few things you can pick up to give your kids the proper Looney Tunes experience.

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The First Space Jam

Nostalgia is a powerful thing, which is another way of saying that the first Space Jam (1996) probably isn’t as good as you remember. Still, it’s better than its alleged new legacy, so you might want to sit down with your kids to enjoy the original Warner Bros. live-action/animated hybrid. Your kids might not get the 90s cultural references or recognise the cast beyond the Looney Tunes themselves. But maybe they’ll get a kick out of Bill Murray’s supporting role (playing himself), allowing you to enjoy a Wes Anderson film on your next family movie night.

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The Original Cartoons

It’s remarkable that the Looney Tunes are still around. Daffy Duck made his debut in 1937, with Bugs Bunny following in 1940, but the series actually began back in 1930. There are some 1041 animated short films to choose from (including Looney Tunes and its partner series, Merrie Melodies). The delightfully crazy animated shorts are a way to show your kids that these characters once existed as independent creations, instead of a way for a movie studio to pimp out its own intellectual property. Before you sit down with the little ones to enjoy a box set, remember that certain aspects of the show might require an explanation. Bugs and his friends could be more than a bit racist at times.

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Cuddle a Looney Tune

Now that your kids have been properly introduced to the Looney Tunes, they’re likely to have a favourite (which hopefully isn’t Pepé Le Pew). Each character you know and love (and probably many you haven’t heard of) is available as a plush toy. Maybe your child has a soft spot for Elmer Fudd? It’s more likely that they prefer the looniest of the tunes, Bugs Bunny himself.

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Looney Tunes Monopoly

If you really want to get deep and meaningful, you could explain to your kids that Space Jam: A New Legacy is in fact an exercise in capitalism pretending to be a movie. Sad but true, although you can expand upon that idea and have a family game night with the Looney Tunes version of Monopoly, the game that teaches children the importance of material wealth. Still, any excuse to play Monopoly, right?

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Looney Tunes Lego

Your kids can probably come up with a better Looney Tunes adventure than the six (yes, really) credited writers of the new film. So why not introduce another childhood favourite into the mix? The Looney Tunes Lego mini-figures are a brilliant way for your kids to come up with their own adventures for the beloved characters, and you might be tempted to keep this one for yourself.

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Time to Play

Maybe you don’t want to encourage your kids to spend even more time staring at a screen. Both Space Jam and its sequel are basketball-themed movies, one starring Michael Jordan, and the other starring LeBron James, along with (to quote Honest Trailers), “Basketball’s most available talent at the time of filming.” But if your kids were charmed by the film’s sport elements, why not set them up with a Space Jam Bugs Bunny basketball jersey? Send them outside to shoot hoops, which gives you time to wonder which other wildly inappropriate Warner Bros. owned characters will show up in the next instalment of the Space Jam franchise. Maybe Carrie and the gang from Sex and the City will give Pepé Le Pew a valuable lesson about sexual consent?