Back when I looked at the latest Tom & Jerry movie, I made an aside saying that I was looking forward to this feature. Well, after a good few months of reflection, and actually sitting down to rewatch the original for the first time in years, I want to wholeheartedly retract that statement. The original Space Jam is a film that didn’t need to exist in the first place, essentially serving as a feature-length adaptation of a commercial that is itself a highly commercialised product. There is not a single good idea to be found in it as a piece of art, but the reason why it remains watchable to this day is that everyone attached to it is having fun despite what they’ve been brought together to create. That, and the soundtrack is still fire after all these years.
