In 1996, Warner Bros. created a precedent by partnering with a sports hero and adapting the real-life athlete into a world of semi-animated cinema. Space Jam told the fictional account of what happened to Bull’s player Michael Jordan in his brief retirement.
The film was a fresh take on the live-action/animated style of cinema popularized by 1988’s Who Frame Roger Rabbit and capitalized on the huge popularity of Michael Jordan to create a sports crossover for all...