Space Jam 2's strange Bugs Bunny Game Boy cameo explained

Very early in the events of Space Jam: A New Legacy, a young LeBron James is at a low point in his beginning basketball career: playing Bugs Bunny’s crazy castle on an original Game Boy in 1998. Young LeBron, distracted by the mediocre platform of a Bugs Bunny game, rolls a winning shot and learns a tough life lesson.

It’s a lovely cameo for the Game Boy, one who appears to be his Retro gaming authenticity misinterpreted by more than a few people. Spectators are cry lazy that the Game Boy played here is unable to produce full color graphics

even if the film doesn’t pretend it is. (The Game Boy doesn’t seem to be switched on in some settings either, which is definitely a Flub.)

That being said, this is a great opportunity to learn about the wild history of the Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle video game series which, if you don’t know, involves a twisted knot of animated IP that can rival the second Space Jam in terms of crossovers and complexity.

But let’s dive into the scene and why some people seem confused.

The teammate and friend of the young LeBron, Malik, gives him an original Game Boy as a present. Malik got an upgrade – “the new color,” which could mean a Game Boy color that was new at the time – so LeBron gets its outdated technology. Despite the monochrome black and green screen, the little LeBron is so fascinated that the ancient graphics of Bugs Bunny’s crazy castle be expressed more colorfully, in more detail and more precisely in his head.

A recording of a Game Boy playing Bugs Bunny from Space Jam: A New Legacy — An accurate representation of the clarity of the original Game Boy screen

Bugs Bunny gets inside LeBron’s head in a way that destroys the child’s focus, so bad that Coach C (The cable‘s Wood Harris), Young LeBron is basically saying that if he is to excel in basketball, he has to drop the video games. The Game Boy ends up in the trash, which seems like an extreme measure. What happened to the onward payment, LeBron?

Accuracy concerns aside – yes, the film shows full color graphics going through LeBron’s head, and no, that doesn’t seem like real Bugs Bunny’s crazy castle Cartridge in slot – Space Jam: A New LegacyNintendo’s cameo is a starting point to learn more about the Crazy Castle series. That’s what the rest of this story is about.

The game shown in the movie is the Game Boy versi on of an NES / Famicom title with the same name: Bugs Bunny’s crazy castle

. Yes, the game’s splash screen simply says “Bugs Bunny”, but the game’s boxed art shows the full title, including the completely unnecessary “The”.

A Game Boy in the trash from Space Jam: A New Legacy — Not a Game Boy *in the* the garbage, however *above* the garbage that floats like an angel.

The original Bugs Bunny’s crazy castle for NES is a revised version of a Who Framed Roger Rabbit? licensed game (entitled Roger rabbit) from Japan, developed by Kemco. In a twist, however, the Game Boy version of this game is based on a Japanese game called Mickey Mouse Mickey mouse.

The continuation, The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2 for Game Boy, also based on Japan Mickey mouse 2. In Europe, however Mickey mouse 2 was based on as a game. revised the Danish interactive TV program Hugoto which I have been exposed to zero to this day.

Then the Crazy Castle licensing saga gets weird. Kemco’s Japanese Famicom publication Mickey mouse 3 becomes Kid Klown in Night Mayor World when it hits NES in North America. Mickey mouse 4 then becomes a real Ghostbusters game for the Game Boy and also in North America Garfield maze – yes, with the lazy, lasagna loving cartoon cat – in Europe. Mickey mouse 5, however, is a Mickey Mouse game all over the world!

Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 3 (this time no “The”) is again based on Sorejuke !! Child: go! Walk! child, a continuation of Kid Klown in Night Mayor World. Sorejuke !! Child: go! Walk! child (and Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 3) were exclusive to the Game Boy, but the folks at Kemco republished it for Game Boy Color. In a big fulcrum Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 4 was just Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 4 all over.

In one final enigmatic twist, Woody Woodpecker (!) Starred in the fifth Crazy Castle game when Kemco captured the licensing rights to the properties of Universal Studios.

Only got the first three minutes of. seen Space Jam: A New Legacy, that’s all I can tell you about the movie’s retro video game connections. The Space Jam Sequel is now in theaters and streamed on HBO Max, and I’ve been told it’s the future of entertainment.