Redeem now - Malcolm Lee has defended the redesign of Lola Bunny for the "Space Jam" sequel.
- The "Space Jam: A New Legacy" director thought her original design was oversexualized.
- In a new interview he said he was surprised people cared about a cartoon bunny "not having boobs."
The director of "Space Jam: A New Legacy" says he did not expect the redesign of Lola Bunny to receive a backlash.
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in.Lola Bunny was introduced in the first "Space Jam" (1996) movie as a romantic interest for the "Looney Tunes" character Bugs Bunny. After the release of the first look of Lola in the "Space Jam" sequel in March, some critics on social media complained about the change.
Malcolm Lee, the director of the sequel, told Entertainment Weekly that he did not think the new look would start a "super weird" discussion about the character's body.
"I had no idea that people would be that up in arms about a bunny not having boobs," he said. "Listen, I understand people don't want things to change, but I think we needed some evolution with her, not by objectifying her but by making her strong and still feminine."
Among the many commentators were women such as the former pro golfer Paige Spinarac, who told The Sun that the redesign implied women couldn't be both sexy and strong. To this, Lee said: "And, yes, we had all these other women who were like, 'Oh, you can't be strong and have big boobs?!' Sure you can, but we're talking about a cartoon bunny, not women!"
The 51-year-old director also praised Zendaya, who voices Lola Bunny in the coming sequel. "Zendaya's having a great moment right now," he said. "She's taking ownership of her image, her brand, her business. She's really the embodiment of Lola, to tell you the truth. That's the kind of projection of Lola that we wanted to have."
Zendaya also seemed surprised by the response to the new look, telling Entertainment Weekly: "I didn't know that was going to happen either! I definitely know we love her, but I didn't know it was going to be as much of a focus as it was. But I understand, because she's a lovable character. She's very important, so I get it."
In March, Lee told Entertainment Weekly that he felt that the character was oversexualized and so wanted to redesign Lola for the sequel to be "feminine without being objectified."
"Lola was not politically correct," he said, adding: "This is a kids' movie, why is she in a crop top? It just felt unnecessary, but at the same time, there's a long history of that in cartoons.
"For us, it was, let's ground her athletic prowess, her leadership skills, and make her as full a character as the others."
There have also been questions raised about other "Looney Tunes" characters. Pepé Le Pew, who the New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow and others have accused of normalizing rape culture, had his scene from the coming film removed despite some saying the scene would be educational to young boys. At the same time, criticisms about the harmful stereotypes portrayed by Speedy Gonzales have not stopped the character's appearance in the "Space Jam" sequel.
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