Jordan White - Space Jam 1996 25th Anniversary Panel with Animation Producer Jerry Rees

Space Jam 1996 is the first film Dad took me to see in a theater, before that it was Mom, and yes, it was kiddie fare she took me to.

Jerry Rees served as one of the animation producers of Space Jam, and while it's not the same as talking to the GOAT himself, Michael Jordan, Rees was able to provide spectacular insight into the animation process for such an oddball unique film from the 90s.

Jerry Rees (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0715916/) served as the director of The Brave Little Toaster, an animated feature that has over the years become a cult classic because a lot of future animation greats were involved in the production. He also serves as a computer graphics coordinator on one of the first movies to feature extensive CGI, Tron from 1982. Space Jam also features extensive CGI, and it was him that helped make the basketball court in the game be a CG creation. These days he currently works at Walt Disney Imagineering on some of their high tech theme park and cruise line experience projects. His first job was being an animator on the Disney animated features, including Pete's Dragon, which is a childhood favorite.

This interview was recorded a week ago, but it's still quite an experience. Not everyone thinks a lot about the people behind the scenes of a big project, they normally think about the actors. You can argue that Steve Jobs was an actor, playing a product pitchman on stage, but it was Steve Wozniak who helped engineer the Apple computers and some of their ingenious technology. Don't thank Steve Jobs for the iPhone, thank the engineers and the people behind the scenes for the iPhone.

Go watch the sequel, Space Jam: A New Legacy, now streaming on HBO Max.