Spaceballs (1987)

A rogue star pilot and his trusty sidekick must come to the rescue of a Princess and save the galaxy from a ruthless race of beings known as Spaceballs.

Director:

Mel Brooks

Writers:

Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan

Stars:

Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Brooks	...	President Skroob / Yogurt
John Candy	...	Barf
Rick Moranis	...	Dark Helmet
Bill Pullman	...	Lone Starr
Daphne Zuniga	...	Princess Vespa
Dick Van Patten	...	King Roland
George Wyner	...	Colonel Sandurz
Michael Winslow	...	Radar Technician
Joan Rivers	...	Dot Matrix (voice)
Lorene Yarnell Jansson	...	Dot Matrix (as Lorene Yarnell)
John Hurt	...	John Hurt
Sal Viscuso	...	Radio Operator
Ronny Graham	...	Minister
Jim J. Bullock	...	Prince Valium (as JM J. Bullock)
Leslie Bevis	...	Commanderette Zircon

Storyline

On the peaceful planet Druidia, King Roland attempts to marry his daughter Princess Vespa to Prince Valium, but Vespa and her loyal droid Dot Matrix escape during her wedding. After wasting the fresh air on the distant planet Spaceball, the good-for-nothing President Skroob orders the archvillain henchman Dark Helmet to kidnap Princess Vespa to force King Roland to provide them with the code to Druidia's atmosphere. Under those circumstances, the seasoned mercenary Lone Starr and his trusty half-human, half-canine sidekick Barf will attempt to save the Princess in distress, while at the same time, the ruthless loan-shark Pizza the Hutt is after them. But in the end, only he who can harness the mystical and mighty force known only as "The Schwartz" will be able to save the day.

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Plot Keywords:

parody | star wars spoof | human in outer space | sci fi spoof | winnebago | 

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Taglines:

Once upon a time warp in deep space, the struggle between the nice & the rotten goes on...

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 June 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Planet Moron

Filming Locations:

St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,613,837, 28 June 1987

Gross USA:

$38,119,483

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$38,119,483

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brooksfilms, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Of all of the jokes in this movie, writer, producer, and director Mel Brooks says that the two he is most proud of are the running gag about merchandising ("Spaceballs: the Breakfast Cereal", "Spaceballs: The T-Shirt", et cetera) and Colonel Sandurz's renting "Spaceballs" before it was finished.

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Goofs

In the cave, when Yogurt first appears, a door opens in the base of his statue, he walks out, and the door closes behind him. In the very next shot, the door is open again, Yogurt walks out again, and the door closes behind him again. (DVD version)

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Quotes

[first lines]
Radio Operator: Colonel Sandurz!
Colonel Sandurz: What is it, Sergeant Ricco?
Radio Operator: You told me to let you know the moment Planet Druidia was in sight, sir.
Colonel Sandurz: So?
Radio Operator: Planet Druidia's in sight, sir.
Colonel Sandurz: You're really a Spaceball. You know that, don't you?
Radio Operator: Thanks, sir.

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Crazy Credits

In the style of the "Star Wars" movies, there are no opening credits, only the title followed by a crawl.

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Alternate Versions

The American TV-version censored most of the sexual innuendo in the movie, including the infamous, "How many assholes we got on this ship, anyhow?" joke. Also gone was Dark Helmet's killer line, "I'll bet she gives great helmet!"

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Connections

Featured in Nostalgia Critic: Fant4stic (2017)

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Soundtracks

My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own
Written by Gloria Sklerov and Lenny Macaluso
Performed by Kim Carnes and Jeffrey Osborne
Produced by George Duke and Jeffrey Osborne

User Reviews

Very funny "Star Wars" spoof

"Spaceballs" is one of my favorite Mel Brooks comedies. Brooks has made some of the funniest movies of our time ("The Producers", "Brazing Saddles", "High Anxiety", etc.) and I think "Spaceballs" is up there in the same league. This film spoofs the "Star Wars" movies in general, but there's also references to "Star Trek", "Alien", and "Planet of the Apes" just to name a few. The actors are all very funny, with Brooks in two roles: President Skroob and Yogurt (his version of Yoda); the late John Candy as Barf the mawg (half man, half dog); Rick Moranis as the Darth Vader clone Dark Helmet; Bill Pullman as Lone Starr, the Luke Skywalker takeoff; Daphne Zuniga as Princess Vespa, similar to Princess Leia; and Dot Matrix, the robot with the voice of Joan Rivers who's obviously in the C-3P0 role. There's plenty of silly gags throughout "Spaceballs", and I laughed most of the time. Very funny, entertaining sci-fi comedy from one of the great comedic filmmakers of all time.

***1/2 (out of four)