Well,
after two previous DVD attempts, in the dreaded full screen format, Warner
Home Video finally gives fans what they’ve wanted all along- a 16:9
enhanced, wide screen Special Edition of SPACE JAM ($27). While I’ve
never sang the praises of SPACE JAM from the highest mountain, the
film proves to be a fairly amusing mix of animation and live action- with
a decidedly commercial appeal. All of the classic Warner Bros. animated
characters are on parade in SPACE JAM, and for the feature, they
are teamed with legendary basketball player Michael Jordan- hence the
commercial appeal (let us not forget all those cross promoting commercials
featuring Mike and his "Space Jam Buddies"). Certainly, the
talents of such classic animation directors as Bob Clampett and Chuck
Jones are missed on this production, but SPACE JAM does manage some
amusing charms of its own.
The
plot of SPACE JAM finds that a group of tiny aliens that have come
to Earth, with the intention of enslaving the Looney Tunes characters and
forcing them to work at an intergalactic theme park (did the Six Flags PR
department approve this script?). However, Bugs, Daffy and the rest of the
gang manage to outwit their potential kidnappers- getting them to agree to
a winner take all game of basketball. Unfortunately for our heroes, those
itty-bitty aliens manage to steal the talents of some of the NBA’s best
players and transform into a group of basketball playing Monstars. Now
facing real opponents, the desperate Looney Tunes convince a baseball
playing Michael Jordan to come out of basketball retirement to save them
from perpetual servitude in outer space. The cast of SPACE JAM also
includes Wayne Knight, a hilarious Bill Murray, plus Theresa Randle, Larry
Bird, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and the vocal talents of Danny
DeVito.
Warner
Home Video has made their two-disc Special Edition of SPACE JAM
available on DVD in a 1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the
anamorphic enhancement for 16:9 displays. This is a really nice transfer
that is leaps and bounds beyond the previous two full screen DVD
offerings. The image is pretty sharp and nicely defined, although the
mixing of animation and live action does introduce a slight bit of
softness. Colors are strongly rendered and appear quite vibrant throughout
the course of the movie- without noise or overt fuzziness. Blacks are
accurate and the whites appear stable. The film element used for the
transfer is clean, although one will notice a grain structure from time to
time. Digital compression artifacts always maintain a low profile.
For
a "kid’s movie" SPACE JAM comes with a very impressive
Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. The sound design is highly
aggressive and makes good use of all the discrete channels. Unbound by
reality much of the time, there is a cartoon quality to the sound effects,
which ping pong all over the place. Additionally, the sound track has a
driving quality, which is attributable to its use of bass heavy urban
music. Dialogue is always very cleanly rendered and fully intelligible.
French and Spanish 5.1 channel tracks are also provided, in addition to
English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Animation
and sound serves to enhance the interactive menus, which allow one access
to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as the
supplements that have been spread across both discs of this set. Disc one
includes a running audio commentary with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and
director Joe Pytka. While not the most informative commentary out there,
it does have its amusing qualities. A theatrical trailer is also included
on disc one.
Disc
two starts off with Jammin’ With Bugs Bunny & Michael Jordan,
a twenty-two minute program that offers interviews, as well as a brief
look behind-the-scenes and a glimpse at some of older
animation/live-action materials that venture into the same technical
territory as SPACE JAM. Next are some relatively new cartoons,
including: Another Froggy Evening, Invasion Of The
Bunny Snatchers, Night Of The Living Duck and The
Duxorcist. Bugs Vs. Daffy: Battle of The Music Video Stars
offers twenty-three minutes worth of musical performances from classic
cartoons with new framing animation. Music videos for Fly Like An
Eagle by Seal and the Monstars Anthem- Hit ‘Em High
close out disc two.
Third
time is indeed a charm as the wide screen Special Edition of SPACE JAM
clearly demonstrates. This time out, Warner finally delivers the version
of the movie that DVD fans have wanted since day one- a really good
looking 16:9 enhanced presentation and some nice extras.
Well,
after two previous DVD attempts, in the dreaded full screen format, Warner
Home Video finally gives fans what they’ve wanted all along- a 16:9
enhanced, wide screen Special Edition of SPACE JAM ($27). While I’ve
never sang the praises of SPACE JAM from the highest mountain, the
film proves to be a fairly amusing mix of animation and live action- with
a decidedly commercial appeal. All of the classic Warner Bros. animated
characters are on parade in SPACE JAM, and for the feature, they
are teamed with legendary basketball player Michael Jordan- hence the
commercial appeal (let us not forget all those cross promoting commercials
featuring Mike and his "Space Jam Buddies"). Certainly, the
talents of such classic animation directors as Bob Clampett and Chuck
Jones are missed on this production, but SPACE JAM does manage some
amusing charms of its own.
The
plot of SPACE JAM finds that a group of tiny aliens that have come
to Earth, with the intention of enslaving the Looney Tunes characters and
forcing them to work at an intergalactic theme park (did the Six Flags PR
department approve this script?). However, Bugs, Daffy and the rest of the
gang manage to outwit their potential kidnappers- getting them to agree to
a winner take all game of basketball. Unfortunately for our heroes, those
itty-bitty aliens manage to steal the talents of some of the NBA’s best
players and transform into a group of basketball playing Monstars. Now
facing real opponents, the desperate Looney Tunes convince a baseball
playing Michael Jordan to come out of basketball retirement to save them
from perpetual servitude in outer space. The cast of SPACE JAM also
includes Wayne Knight, a hilarious Bill Murray, plus Theresa Randle, Larry
Bird, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and the vocal talents of Danny
DeVito.
Warner
Home Video has made their two-disc Special Edition of SPACE JAM
available on DVD in a 1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the
anamorphic enhancement for 16:9 displays. This is a really nice transfer
that is leaps and bounds beyond the previous two full screen DVD
offerings. The image is pretty sharp and nicely defined, although the
mixing of animation and live action does introduce a slight bit of
softness. Colors are strongly rendered and appear quite vibrant throughout
the course of the movie- without noise or overt fuzziness. Blacks are
accurate and the whites appear stable. The film element used for the
transfer is clean, although one will notice a grain structure from time to
time. Digital compression artifacts always maintain a low profile.
For
a "kid’s movie" SPACE JAM comes with a very impressive
Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. The sound design is highly
aggressive and makes good use of all the discrete channels. Unbound by
reality much of the time, there is a cartoon quality to the sound effects,
which ping pong all over the place. Additionally, the sound track has a
driving quality, which is attributable to its use of bass heavy urban
music. Dialogue is always very cleanly rendered and fully intelligible.
French and Spanish 5.1 channel tracks are also provided, in addition to
English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Animation
and sound serves to enhance the interactive menus, which allow one access
to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as the
supplements that have been spread across both discs of this set. Disc one
includes a running audio commentary with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and
director Joe Pytka. While not the most informative commentary out there,
it does have its amusing qualities. A theatrical trailer is also included
on disc one.
Disc
two starts off with Jammin’ With Bugs Bunny & Michael Jordan,
a twenty-two minute program that offers interviews, as well as a brief
look behind-the-scenes and a glimpse at some of older
animation/live-action materials that venture into the same technical
territory as SPACE JAM. Next are some relatively new cartoons,
including: Another Froggy Evening, Invasion Of The
Bunny Snatchers, Night Of The Living Duck and The
Duxorcist. Bugs Vs. Daffy: Battle of The Music Video Stars
offers twenty-three minutes worth of musical performances from classic
cartoons with new framing animation. Music videos for Fly Like An
Eagle by Seal and the Monstars Anthem- Hit ‘Em High
close out disc two.
Third
time is indeed a charm as the wide screen Special Edition of SPACE JAM
clearly demonstrates. This time out, Warner finally delivers the version
of the movie that DVD fans have wanted since day one- a really good
looking 16:9 enhanced presentation and some nice extras.
