The Bugs Bunny movie that saved Michael Jordan’s career

No one would have thought that Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan could coexist in the same universe. A priori, this would be impossible, since one is a cartoon character that does not exist in the real world, while the other is one of the most famous and transcendent basketball players and athletes in all of history … but  cinema made it possible through Space Jam, a movie that is now available on Netflix.

These are two stars that are really trending. According to Marca's website, the rabbit, 80 years old,  is considered “the most important animated character of all time”. Through him, the Looney Tunes franchise became one of the most important in the entire history of television. However, he is also recognized in the world of cinema, starring in a film alongside a figure who is also enormously popular today.

This is Michael Jordan, who recently, according to the website of La Nación, had his own documentary series broadcast by Netflix, known as The Last Dance, which made him rise on the Forbes list of the richest on the planet. Well, let's remember when Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny joined forces in the box office movie Space Jam.

Space Jam, a film that made the impossible possible

First, we must put ourselves in context. This film was directed by Joe Pytka in 1996, when Michael Jordan was still a basketball player, after returning from his first retirement, where he had ventured to play baseball. Even the documentary of The Last Dance itself shows some of the most interesting and intimate aspects of this production.

According to what the specialized site Sopitas mentions, Space Jam "saved Michael Jordan on his return to the NBA." This is because, after exhausting himself mentally, the basketball player left the Chicago Bulls and decided to start playing baseball for the White Sox. However, after a while he regretted it … and the body felt the change. Despite this, he decided to accept the filming of this movie, taking on a demanding routine.

This is the case since he filmed and trained for 12 hours in a row, while in his free time he was dedicated to playing friendlies with stars from other teams, so, paradoxically, entering the world of cinema allowed him to once again be a star within the world of sport, which led him to win 6 titles together with his team.

So one of the most positive aspects is the appearance of Michael Jordan and a series of players within a film that is clearly framed within humor. As mentioned by the NBA website, within the film appeared Larry Bird, Talks Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Muggsy Bogues and Shawn Bradley, all recognizable figures who accompanied Michael Jordan on his adventure.

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All this suggested that it would be a real box office success … something that came true. According to the Publimetro website, the film had a budget of 80 million dollars, but it reached a gross of 230 million dollars.

Even the film itself was excellently received by critics and fans. According to Espinof , Space Jam tells the story of some thugs aliens who want to kidnap the Looney Tunes to take them to an entertainment park. Therefore, they decide to play a historic basketball game, where great touches of humor are given from the cartoons with the performances of the basketball players.

All this led to the thought of a second part of this story … although with a new protagonist. The TyC Sports medium mentions that Space Jam 2 will be released in 2021, with the appearance of LeBron James, the new star of the NBA. Therefore, we see that it is a film that allows us to know the popularity of the rabbit and the former player, but also the possibilities of the world of cinema and animation.