Spaceballs

• 1. Parody And Satire Targets

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  In a galaxy very, very, very, very far away, the ruthless Spaceballs led by President Skroob squander their planet's atmosphere. Desperate for oxygen, Skroob hatches a plan to steal it from the neighboring planet Druidia. The film opens with Princess Vespa fleeing an arranged marriage to the narcoleptic Prince Valium on her home world. A mercenary named Lone Starr and his half-man, half-dog companion Barf are contacted by crime boss Pizza the Hutt. They demand repayment of a one-million space buck debt owed by the princess's father. King Roland of Druidia offers Starr the same amount to rescue Vespa and her droid servant Dot Matrix. The heroes board their Winnebago RV spaceship Eagle 5 just before being captured by the Spaceball ship Spaceball One. Colonel Sandurz and Skroob's enforcer Dark Helmet lead the pursuit. Dark Helmet wields the mystical power known as the Schwartz. The four wander through the scorching landscape of Vega desert moon after running out of fuel. They collapse from the heat but are rescued by the Dink-Dinks, a group of robed, diminutive aliens. These tiny beings take them to the hidden temple of Yogurt, a wise sage who breaks the fourth wall to shamelessly advertise Spaceballs merchandise.

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• 2. Plot And Character Dynamics

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  Yogurt guides Starr in using the Schwartz, using a ring to channel its power. He also deciphers Starr's medallion found with him as an abandoned baby but withholds its meaning. Unable to locate Vespa, Helmet and Sandurz watch a VHS copy of Spaceballs and skip forward in the film to find her. On the moon, Helmet uses the Schwartz to impersonate King Roland, tricking Vespa into revealing herself. She and Dot are captured and taken to Spaceball One. Starr and Barf give chase. Helmet extorts the shield code from Roland by threatening to reverse Vespa's plastic surgery and restore her large nose. Starr and Barf infiltrate the Planet Spaceball prison, rescue the captives leaving stunt doubles behind as a distraction, and escape in Eagle 5. With the shield code in hand, Spaceball One transforms into Mega-Maid, a giant robot maid. The robot begins vacuuming Druidia's atmosphere. Using the Schwartz, Starr reverses the vacuum from suck to blow, saving the planet. He pilots Eagle 5 into Mega-Maid's head, finds the self-destruct button, and battles Helmet in a Schwartz duel using ring-projected lightsaber-like beams. Helmet steals Starr's ring and drops it down a grate. Starr hears a telepathic message from Yogurt telling him: The Schwartz is in you. Starr wields the Schwartz to reflect Helmet's energy blast with a mirror, sending him flying into the self-destruct button. As Eagle 5 escapes, Mega-Maid explodes. Skroob, Helmet, and Sandurz are left behind when all the escape pods are taken.

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• 3. Production History And Development

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  The film was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on the 24th of June 1987. When Brooks developed Spaceballs, he wanted his parody to be as close to the original as possible. Even though the Yogurt character mentions merchandising in the film, Brooks's deal with George Lucas on parodying Star Wars was that no Spaceballs action figures be made. According to Brooks, Your action figures are going to look like mine. I said okay. However, this agreement inspired Brooks to write Yogurt's Merchandising scene and include multiple Spaceballs-branded products at other points in the film. No mass produced Spaceballs merchandise was ever created. Brooks had Lucas's company handle some post-production, saying, I was playing ball with the people who could have said no. Lucas later sent Brooks a note saying how much he loved the film, including its story structure, and that he was afraid he would bust something from laughing. The bulk of the film's visual effects were executed by Apogee Inc., which was founded by former Industrial Light & Magic employee John Dykstra. Rick Moranis recalled that in the original script, the description of Dark Helmet was that the whole costume was one gigantic helmet. Then it got scaled back to just an exaggerated version of the Darth Vader helmet.

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• 4. Cast And Performance Choices

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  Bill Pullman got the part of Lone Starr when Brooks and his wife Anne Bancroft saw him in a play. Pullman had not seen Star Wars prior to filming Spaceballs. Brooks had been unsuccessfully trying to sign on big-name actors such as Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks for the film. Daphne Zuniga initially found Brooks' film parodies too crass and not too funny but, after working with Brooks, she said: I have this image of Mel as totally wacko and out to lunch. And he is. But he's also really perceptive, real sensitive in ways that make actors respond. Dom DeLuise provided the voice of Pizza the Hutt, a crime boss described as being half-man and half-pizza. His name is a reference to Pizza Hut. Richard Karron performed original takes and Rick Lazzarini handled reshoots and final takes for Pizza's on-screen presence. Lazzarini spoke Pizza's lines for the character's on-camera scenes with DeLuise's voice dubbed in later. John Hurt made a cameo appearance as a parody of his character Gilbert Kane in the film Alien 1979. In the same scene archival recordings of William Bill Roberts' performance of Hello! Ma Baby were used as the Xenomorph bursts out of Kane's chest and suddenly breaks into song and dance.

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• 5. Critical Reception And Box Office

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  The film had an estimated twenty-five point five million dollar budget, and ultimately grossed forty million three hundred six thousand four hundred eighty-three dollars during its run in the United States. It took in six million six hundred thirteen thousand eight hundred thirty-seven dollars on its opening weekend, finishing behind Dragnet. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of B minus on an A plus to F scale. At the time of the film's release, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two and a half stars out of four. He remarked I enjoyed a lot of the movie, but I kept thinking I was at a revival. It should have been made several years ago, before our appetite for Star Wars satires had been completely exhausted. Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three out of four stars, saying that there were just enough funny visual gags to recommend this wildly uneven film. Variety said that the film was a misguided parody and not very funny. The film won Worst Picture at the 1987 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards.

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• 6. Cultural Impact And Legacy

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  The film gained a cult following in the following years. Tesla has used the film's starship speeds Light Speed, Ridiculous Speed, Ludicrous Speed, Plaid Speed as inspiration for naming their acceleration modes. In homage to Spaceballs a Tesla has Ludicrous Mode for acceleration beyond its Insane Mode, and Plaid Mode, overtop Ludicrous. A clip from the film, alongside clips of other Star Wars parody works, was used in a special look internet video used to promote Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. This demonstrated the cultural impact of Star Wars parodies on modern cinema. An official soundtrack was released on Atlantic Records on LP, CD, and cassette, featuring many of the songs heard in the film. Raise Your Hands by Bon Jovi is also used prominently in the film. My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own was made into a hit in 1990 by Sally Moore reaching number forty-two on the U.S. AC chart. In 2006, La-La Land Records released Spaceballs , The 19th Anniversary Edition CD of the film's score with bonus tracks of alternate takes and tracks not used in the film.

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• 7. Home Media And Sequel Plans

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  Spaceballs was released on VHS and LaserDisc in February 1988. The VHS edition was issued twice, first in a four-to-three aspect ratio and the 1996 edition was presented in widescreen. The 1996 LaserDisc reissue includes a commentary track with Brooks, which was also included on the DVD and Blu-ray releases. The film was released on DVD on the 25th of April 2000. This version includes a making of documentary and booklet. A collectors edition DVD was released on the 3rd of May 2005, with more extras including a video conversation about the making of the film with Brooks and Thomas Meehan. On the 7th of August 2012, a twenty-fifth anniversary edition Blu-ray was released containing many of the same bonus features as the 2005 DVD with the addition of a new featurette. The film was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray and a remastered Blu-ray on the 12th of April 2021, by Kino Lorber. In June 2025, Amazon MGM Studios announced that a Spaceballs sequel will be released theatrically by MGM in 2027. Imagine Entertainment will produce the sequel, with Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Jeb Brody as co-producers. The film will star Lewis Pullman as Starburst, the son of Lone Starr and Vespa; and Keke Palmer as a character named Destiny, as well as Gad.

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