Film

Space Jam: A New Legacy

Name: Space Jam: A New Legacy
Genre: Family, Comedy, Adventure, Science Fiction, Animation
Released: 2021
Cast: LeBron James, Don Cheadle, Cedric Joe, Jeff Bergman, Gabriel Iglesias

Action
Light-hearted

A live-action-animated hybrid where LeBron James and his son are trapped in a digital realm, forcing LeBron to coach Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes in a basketball game against an AI's digital team. It's maximalist, chaotic, stuffed with references and cameos, designed for families who don't mind sensory overload and kids who love cartoons more than coherent storytelling.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you grew up on Looney Tunes cartoons and still enjoy a loose, gag-packed family comedy where pop culture cameos and slapstick collide with a bit of sports-movie bravado.

Skip it if you want the animated sequel to feel like a fresh, tightly written story, since much of its energy goes into crossovers, product-era winking and the sheer noise of constant set pieces.

What it asks of you: It runs about two hours, moves at a brisk clip, and asks you to accept a lot of chaotic cartoon energy and playful digital-world mayhem without much quiet time.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Ready Player One2018

Spielberg's love letter to pop culture obsession, where a teenager must navigate a fully-realized digital world filled with nostalgic touchstones. Builds the same energy of 'everything and the kitchen sink' but with coherent world-building underneath.

But The relentless reference-dropping can feel exhausting, and the plot is thin scaffolding for the visual set-pieces. Two hours forty minutes of constant winking gets tiring.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit1988

The template for blending live action with animation seamlessly. It's funny, inventive, and respects both its cartoon and human characters equally. Bob Hoskins and Roger have genuine chemistry despite one being drawn.

But The 1940s noir tone and mystery plot require patience. If you're here for quips and action, the slower middle section will test you.

The Lego Movie2014

Packed with jokes for both kids and adults, rapid-fire visual gags, celebrity cameos, and a surprisingly sincere heart underneath the chaos. Animation that moves like a kid's imagination actually works.

But The constant barrage of pop-culture references and meta-humour can feel desperate for laughs. Some viewers find it exhausting rather than clever.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Space Jam: A New Legacy

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Mortal Kombat1995

Both films treat their source material (games/cartoons) as visual permission slips to abandon narrative logic in favour of spectacle and character cameos. Both understand that fidelity to the IP *is* the plot.

A video-game adaptation that embraces the camp and visual insanity of its source material. It doesn't apologize for being weird; it commits entirely. The fight choreography is inventive and the tone knows exactly what it is.

But Genuinely low-budget and rough around the edges. If you need polished filmmaking or a coherent plot, this will frustrate you. It's closer to a feature-length music video than cinema.

Wreck-It Ralph2012

A video-game world where characters from different arcade games interact, allowing for wildly different animation styles and visual playgrounds. The central friendship feels earned beneath the spectacle.

But The plot settles into predictable Disney story beats after a brilliant setup. The nostalgia is front-loaded; the middle sags.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle2017

Dwayne Johnson's charisma and the rock-solid cast elevate a video-game-world premise into something genuinely fun. Action, laughs, and an earnest care for the characters make it a family film that doesn't talk down.

But It's a fairly conventional action-comedy underneath the game-world conceit. If you want something stranger or less predictable, look elsewhere.

Looney Tunes: Back in Action2003

The closest comparison—live action mixed with Looney Tunes characters on an actual adventure. It's chaotic and overstuffed in similar ways, with Brendan Fraser and Steve Buscemi clearly having fun.

But Critically reviled on release and aging poorly in places. The tone whips between goofiness and earnest action-movie plotting in ways that don't quite land.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie2023

Another video-game character adaptation that leans hard into nostalgic IP with a celebrity voice cast. Bright, silly, designed to make fans smile at every recognizable element without demanding much else.

But Genuinely thin plot and character development. It's a feature-length highlight reel, which works if that's what you want, but leaves little to chew on.

Coming to America1988

Eddie Murphy in a star vehicle where he plays a prince entering an unfamiliar world—similar DNA to LeBron stepping into the cartoon realm. Murphy's charm and the ensemble energy make it rewatchable comfort food.

But Very much an '80s comedy with values that have aged. It's broad humour and slow by modern standards, which is part of its appeal and part of why it drags.

Osmosis Jones2001

Both use live action as an anchor to give weight to cartoon chaos. Both need their human lead to commit to the absurdity without winking—Bill Murray's grumpiness and LeBron's earnestness serve the same function.

Live-action Bill Murray paired with an animated world inside the human body. It's genuinely weird, funny in unexpected ways, and Bill Murray deadpanning through cartoon logic is a revelation. Animation detail that repays attention.

But Genuinely odd and sometimes gross. The science is nonsense, the tone is fractured, and it doesn't settle into anything recognizable. Kids found it confusing; adults found it alienating.

Singin' in the Rain1952

Space Jam believes—rightly—that extended sequences of athletic/physical performance can carry narrative weight. Both films trust their performers to make movement *meaningful*, not just fun to watch. Both build climax around a spectacular physical performance.

The ancestor of every film that mixes performance with narrative. Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor in extended musical-dance sequences that ARE the story, not breaks from it. Joyful in a way that feels almost historical.

But A musical from 1952 where the plot involves Hollywood infighting and romantic jealousy. If you're not already receptive to the form, the backstage drama is dated and slow.