The Space Jam is back, and so are the Looney Tunes who battled aliens last time for their own survival, with Michael Jordan’s help. In Space Jam 2: A new legacy, they go into battle for the second time, and the result is a sports comedy for all ages.

For all those who have grown up watching the Michael Jordan-Bugs Bunny starrer Space Jam (1996), the sequel released is equally entertaining. It has a similar plot, better graphics an all-time great of the sport, and, above all, a message.

The story begins in the year 1998, when a young LeBron James, the future superstar of basketball, decides to play the real game instead of wasting his talent on video games. The story then opens up in the present, where LeBron is seen persuading his sons, Dom and Darius, to follow in his footsteps. Darius, the elder one, listens to his legendary father, while Dom plans to become a video game developer.

On a visit to the Warner Bros Studios to discuss a film deal, LeBron and Dom had an argument, and the studio’s software traps them both in Warner Bros’ Serververse. You can imagine what happens next, with LeBron James trapped in the same universe as Bugs Bunny!

Unlike the previous Space Jam, where Michael Jordan helped Bugs Bunny and friends, here LeBron James and his son are pitted against each other. LeBron is given a timeframe to recruit a team, yet he gets one full of characters from the Looney Tunes.

On the other side, Dom’s team features avatars of basketball players, with him leading side. It’s a Toon Squad vs. Goon Squad match, but in case of the latter’s win, all Looney Tunes would be deleted and all the spectators (brought into the game via virtual reality), would be imprisoned forever. To find out who wins and who loses, watch Space Jam 2: A New Legacy and be the wiser.

Directed by Malcolm D Lee, the film has Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Lola Bunny, Road Runner, Coyote, Sylvester and many others, besides Bugs Bunny. Cedric Joe stars as the younger son of LeBron James, who himself is a fictionalised version of LeBron’s real son Bryce, while Don Cheadle of the Avengers fame plays the role of AI- G Rhythm, a self-aware artificial intelligence, who makes the arguing father and son take the battle on a different arena.

The kids who loved Michael Jordan’s Space Jam released 25 years back, have become fathers themselves. The movie evolves with time and shows the kids of 1996, how to act as fathers of 2021. It helps in bonding the parents with their kids and allows the yesteryear kids to gel with the kids of today. It may be easy to dictate a career path to your children, but realising their own potential should also be the first priority.

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 4th, 2021