Space Jam 2 is filled with cameos and voice changes that range from hmm to ahh to huh? This isn’t to say I’m not absolutely hyped about a sequel to one of my favorite movies of all time, with Lola Bunny being a total boss. However, I have to echo what many across the internet are asking: Why are the droogs in this movie?
Well, “in this movie” is a bit of a stretch, but in the cameo world that is Space Jam 2, we see among the Warner Bros.-owned things are the droogs from the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange. Based on the novel with the same title, but with a notably different ending, the droogs are a gang of teenagers who go around fighting, murdering, and raping people. Most infamously in a scene where the leader, Alex (Malcolm McDowell), sexually assaults a woman while singing “Singin’ in the Rain.”
Now, considering all the other cameos we see, this shouldn’t be that much of a surprise, since the white outfits are iconic even if you don’t know the context. The issue is that the movie made a big to-do about removing Pepé Le Pew from the film due to his reputation of being a sex pest, despite filming a whole scene with model Greice Santo.
According to Deadline back in March:
Pepe was set to appear in a black-and-white Casablanca-like Rick’s Cafe sequence. Pepe, playing a bartender, starts hitting on a woman at the bar played by Santo. He begins kissing her arm, which she pulls back, then slamming Pepe into the chair next to hers. She then pours her drink on Pepe, and slaps him hard, sending him spinning in a stool, which is then stopped by LeBron James’ hand. James and Bugs Bunny are looking for Lola, and Pepe knows her whereabouts. Pepe then tells the guys that Penelope cat has filed a restraining order against him. James makes a remark in the script that Pepe can’t grab other Tunes without their consent.
[…]
A spokesperson for Santo tells Deadline today, “This was such a big deal for Greice to be in this movie. Even though Pepe is a cartoon character, if anyone was going to slap a sexual harasser like him, Greice wished it would be her. Now the scene is cut, and she doesn’t have that power to influence the world through younger generations who’ll be watching Space Jam 2, to let younger girls and younger boys know that Pepe’s behavior is unacceptable.”
As someone who grew up watching Looney Tunes, it was very quickly apparent that Pepe was a creep, but still, I get the good intention of this scene. It is the kind of corporate oversight choice, and it was probably axed because it was a clumsy fit in the narrative. Due to this being a movie targeted towards children, however, I’m not gonna be opposed to teaching them how consent works early on.
But if you are gonna be aware of Le Pew’s reputation and try to avoid issues … is including literal rapists in your children’s movie really the best look?
(mage: Warner Bros.)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
