Space Jammed!

Way back in 1996, a group of fledgling internet coders created a website to promote Warner Bros. upcoming opus Space Jam. The team, consisting of just five people, were allowed to do pretty much anything they wanted with the site, with little or no studio interference. That's likely because the studio execs had no idea what a website or the internet even was.

The Space Jam site wasn't the first movie tie-in on the internet— that honor went to Stargate, whose page debuted in October, 1994. But it was one of the most ambitious at the time. It stretched the bounds of 1996 technology, offering animated GIFs, QuickTime movies, Easter eggs and more. Despite its now horrifically gaudy design, it was truly ahead of its time.

Amazingly, the Space Jam site has somehow withstood the test of time, steadfastly resisting  change and becoming a time capsule of online design.

It's one of the oldest sites on the internet, as it's been quietly plugging away for a whopping TWENTY FIVE YEARS!

Until now.

Last week, after more than two decades, Warner Bros. quietly torpedoed the original Space Jam website. They replaced it with a brand new page promoting their upcoming sequel, Space Jam: A New Legacy.

Needless to say, this action did not go over well.

Fans of the original movie were incensed, as were aficionados of terrible, outdated graphic design. Naturally they took their outrage to Twitter and other social media sites, denouncing Warner Bros. and threatening to boycott the new film.

Realizing they had a PR disaster on their hands, Warner Bros. wisely sprang into action. They added a small button at the top right hand corner of the new homepage, which links back to the beloved original 1996 Space Jam website. 

Did you get that, everyone? It's still there! It didn't go away, it's just a little harder to find now. So crisis averted!