Age Inappropriate characters in the new Space Jam film..

[Thorilicious]

Genuinely not sure if I'm over reacting. I won't be sending a complaint or anything, but took my DC's to see the new Space Jam film. It's a certificate U.

They have loads of Warner Brothers characters watching a basketball game in the background.
Baring in mind, this is a kids film, I was a bit surprised to see Penny-wise and characters from A Clockwork Orange. Knowing that those films are about, AIBU to think they shouldn't be featured in a kids film?

@MythsandSparkles

I haven’t seen either film so wouldn’t get the references. I haven’t seen IT either but would recognise the clown reference.

But having read the extracts a PP posted - why has anyone seen them? They don’t sound like entertainment? And I doubt from everyone’s reactions they’ve covered the content in a way that might actually educate people…so why would you watch it?

Not meaning to be goady, is there something I’m missing that means I should have watched these films? Some cultural back story I’m not aware of?

A Clockwork Orange is one of my favourite movies. Its a fabulous story, and a visual masterpiece.
Proof is, we're still talking about it now.

I haven't seen The Devils but I have A Clockwork Orange on DVD. It was unavailable for years because the director suppressed it when it inspired copycat violence, so back in the 90s there was excitement when it was released on DVD and lots of us rushed out to buy it.

It's very violent - there's a protracted scene where a woman is terrorised and raped, for instance. It's a compelling film - just not one for children.

The book is excellent too.

Rugrats in Paris referenced "The Godfather" nearly 20 years ago.

A Clockwork Orange is intended to be an indictment of violence, not an endorsement of it. Anthony Burgess wrote it as a critical response to a violent break in at his home.

But agreed, an odd choice for a kids' film.

"things like Hannibal lecture"

Sorry, this made me laugh. Instead of eating his victims he lectures them to death 😂

This is so bizarre

Someone bought me a copy of A Clockwork Orange on DVD which I still have. I’ve watched it ONCE. It’s one of those “one watch only, not sure I could sit through that again” types of films. To include it in any shape or form in a kids film is just bizarre. I don’t even see how or why it could be considered as a “joke”

I should add, I have never seen A Clockwork Orange, but know these characters and what they did. As someone said above, it wasn't a nice connection to have, when I was enjoying a kids film with my DC's.

It’s an in joke for the parents, all kids films have jokes for the adults.

@MorganKitten

It’s an in joke for the parents, all kids films have jokes for the adults.

Rape isn't a joke.

And who the fuck puts a killer clown in a young children's film? Even if they don't get the reference they'll be scared half to death.

Anyway I've found that in general these days the majority of "children's films" contain inappropriate content.

I agree. In my conspiracy theory moments, I wonder is there something more sinister going on..

Thanks for the heads up, will be giving that film a miss. Theres no way putting those characters/references in was in jest or for adult humour. Using kids films for their own agendas. No thanks. Problem is they will still make money as simply not enough people will be aware of the content in a cert U film or would find out too late/loose money to boycott it.

Droogs and Pennywise are pop culture icons for adults I guess.
Space Jam is quite a treat for adults, the original was cult in its time.

To decide not to watch a movie because of cameos that most kids wouldn't even notice is pretty radical.

Overall, I find it very concerning that some of you seem to think that A Clockwork Orange is an apology of rape, or at least considers rape as a joke.
Is The Goodfellas an apology of organised crime?
Is Platoon an apology of war?
These stories are extreme and violent but have depth. Violence serves a narrative here. A Clockwork Orange with the droogs being shoplifters, flytippers and drilling in walls after 10pm regardless of their neighbours wouldn't exactly have the same impactful message.

The Beagles Boys are not good guys in Disney cartoons. Neither is Scrooge McDuck.
Pepe Lepew was inappropriate because he wasn't pictured as a bad guy, just neutral and amusing. Neither other characters nor narrative challenge his behaviour.

Can we use a bit of critical thinking sometimes?

The book - A Clockwork Orange is fantastic. The film is decent but not as good as the book. It was written to show a lawless sector of society, completely unaffected by social norms and mores.
The space jam film I will not be watching, not my cup of tea at all. Looks terrible.

makes it bearable for adults to watch too. jokes like that will go over children’s heads.

@FastFood
Pepe Lepew was inappropriate because he wasn't pictured as a bad guy, just neutral and amusing. Neither other characters nor narrative challenge his behaviour.

Can we use a bit of critical thinking sometimes?

Apparently, the scene that was cut involving Pepe LePew involved Lebron James lecturing him about consent after he tried to kiss Lola Bunny. So in this film at least, his behaviour was challenged (well, before it was cut). The character was cut after a journalist said it encouraged rape culture. So it makes zero sense to include characters from an adult film, known for its brutality and controversy, characters who, in the films most memorable scene, gang rape a woman.

So yes, the studio should have used critical thinking, I agree.

Thinking about it, maybe including them was a “fuck you” from them after the backlash of LePew, who knows?

It's definitely down to how it's done. I think some of these filmmakers try far too hard and really miss the mark, just random clumsy insertion of unrelated characters, as clearly demonstrated by Space Jam 2. Honestly, Rick and Morty?! It just plants the seed in kids minds to seek this stuff out (I love Rick and Morty, but it's not for kids). Can't see any if them seeking out A Clockwork Orange at least, blimey, I watched that once and that was enough for me.

An great example of the inclusion of subtle adult references is Hey Duggee, they're completely seamless, they always make sense to the plot and they're clever. This morning Duggee had a Watchmen-style poster on his wall in his comic book nook

A Clockwork Orange is a study of state enforced violence, of how wrong it is to force "good" and how society should take responsability of its violence.

Its about free will. Alex and gis droogs are caricatures, here to illustrate that even in the context of ultra violence, free will is preferable to brain washing.
And also that violence doesn't happen in a vacuum.
The whole dystopian world they live in is mechanical, clinical and cold. He's most likely molested by his probation officer, his parents consider him as a repleacable item, society wants to make him a good productive citizen (a clockwork orange is exactly that, a mechanical organism).
All these people around him mistreating him are deemed "good" people, but they're not.

In this society, Alex is brain washed into a "good" person, but he's now miserable, and he becomes the recipient of "good" people's violence. At the end of the film, he breaks the spell and is back to his normal jolly ultra-violent self, and the whole brain washing program is abandonned after this fiasco.

The film is a mirror, literally and figuratively. Everything that Alex does somehow comes back at him. The homeless guy he mistreated mistreats him. The Droogs he humiliated humiliate him. The man whose life has been ruined by Alex now intends to ruin Alex's life.
Except that they're deemed good people. The people society want s Alex to turn into.

You can dissect it as mechanically and methodically as you want but it still doesn’t answer the question as to why these violent rapist characters have a cameo in a children’s film.

I saw this recently. DS surprised me knowing who pennywise was!! I haven't seen any of the other films so didn't get the reference but also don't get why they'd put them in!

"A Clockwork Orange" is a masterpiece - it also invented it's own slang, Nadsat.

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:A_Clockwork_Orange

Whatever happened to the stage adaptation with music by The Edge and Bono ?

The context of the appearance of these characters is that we're in Warner Bros universe, watching the basketball game. Characters from the WB universe come to watch including a (de-scarified) Pennywise and the Droogs along with indeterminate Hogwarts pupils, the Mask etc.

I guess it's an in-joke for the adults to spot all the WB characters, I did raise an eyebrow at the Clockwork Orange characters but the kids were oblivious. Rick and Morty appear in Fortnite so are pretty well known. It did keep me occupied trying to work out who was who. Not sure I would have put them on the front row, but there was nothing age inappropriate visually. So just a bit weird really.

Felt like they really tried to big up Warner Bros heritage in this abd other scenes in the absence of a real plot.

Terrible film!

Agree with a pp who mentioned the low rent fancy dress of the spectators - it looked like the local am-dram costume department had been raided. Their generic 'cheering at nothing' in particular was hilarious. I watched the audience more than the game as it was so badly done!

YABU to not start with how dreadful the film was

I took my 4 year old, I’ve never seen a clockwork Orange so didn’t notice, did notice Pennywise and a zombie but he didn’t bat an eyelid. His favourite film has been Nightmare Before Christmas since he was 2 though 🤷🏼‍♀️