Josh’s View | Why fans are arguing over new “Space Jam” sequel film stills

Lola Bunny looks a little different this time around. But she can still dunk.

Courtesy of Warner Bros and Rotten Tomatoes

Joshua LeBerte, Contributing Writer
March 7, 2021

Lace up your sneakers and get ready to shoot some free throws. The “Space Jam” franchise has released exclusive screencaps of its upcoming sequel film.

The shots, obtained exclusively by Entertainment Weekly, swept social media platforms on March 4 and featured basketball legend LeBron James along with Warner Bros’ favorite team of toons. 

Along with the screencaps came a magazine cover centered on James surrounded by working character models for all main protagonists.

The sequel, titled “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” takes the ragtag team of novice basketball players in allegiance with James in order to escape an accursed video game simulation. It is set to be released in theaters on July 16, nearly 25 years after the first “Space Jam” film.

But what has fans talking isn’t the polished aesthetic of the 3D anthropomorphic protagonists, nor the first look at James’ new fictional family. The hot topic isn’t even the perhaps-questionable judgment of director Malcolm D. Lee, who is also set to direct a movie about Hot Wheels. 

The discussion is instead on how revealing female lead Lola Bunny is, or rather, how unrevealing she appears to be in the upcoming sister film. 

Some users did not quite get the memo about the character design change. 

While others saw the change and were outwardly disappointed. 

 

One Spongebob meme appeared to surface on Twitter multiple times following the reveal, which appeared to both mock fan’s irritation and libidinous frustrations.

https://twitter.com/Molo_Lolo/status/1367538692328423427

https://twitter.com/jenkins_3000/status/1367543155520770048

 

American journalist Dana Schwartz was quick to note the polarized commentary on Bunny’s redesign with the same attached image.

Lola Bunny is Bugs Bunny’s girlfriend, and she made her first appearance as a Looney Tunes character in the original “Space Jam” film. Lola’s debut stood out. But it wasn’t because of her athletic prowess, though she did oftentimes aid in the destruction of the film’s antagonists, the Monstars. It was her sexualization. And it was the deliberate disparity of one female character in contrast to the heaps of male characters littered throughout the film. 

Lola Bunny received many facelifts throughout her two-and-a-half decade runtime, including in “The Looney Tunes Show,” which sees Lola as a well-established character with obvious drives, interests and humanity. And yet, many audience members didn’t object during this era. 

 

https://twitter.com/8wariorlittle/status/1367556341540216836

One facet of Lola’s character appears to be ignored by many who miss her more voluptuous figure: Lola Bunny is an animal. 

Yes, an animal with human-like features and a personified countenance. And yes, she is voiced by a real human voice actress, but Lola Bunny is still an animal. And this is a film series marketed for children and tweens, not a springboard for bunny-filled pillowtalk. 

Nevertheless, Lola Bunny trended higher than the “Space Jam” sequel hashtag did on Twitter. Five hours after Entertainment Weekly released the screencaps, Twitter had nearly 25,000 tweets related to Bunny herself. The hashtag held the top trending spot two hours later.

Film promotion for the film began as early as spring 2020, when Warner Bros. created the film’s own social media accounts. James shared the accounts’ first posts, such as this Instagram video from April 30. 

Brand deals also occurred for the film over 2020. In December, Warner Bros., Xbox and Microsoft announced a fan contest. Fans were to submit ideas on a game inspired by the film’s premise and two fans’ lucky ideas could be turned into arcade-style games for fans to enjoy on the upcoming Xbox Live Pass. Winners won signed James memorabilia along with their names featured in every gamepass. 

The first “Space Jam,” starring Michael Jordan, was released worldwide in November 1996. Despite plans for a sequel as early as 1997, plans fell short until 2014 when James was announced as the sequel star. It was off to the races five years later when filming began during the NBA offseason.

“Space Jam: A New Legacy” will premiere in theatres and on HBO Max in July.

Joshua LeBerte is a sophomore studying news media. His column, “Josh’s View,” covers national pop culture items and runs regularly.