Spaceballs (1987)

Planet Spaceballs' President Skroob sends Lord Dark Helmet to steal planet Druidia's abundant supply of air to replenish their own, and only Lone Starr can stop them.

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

After squandering the fresh air in the distant planet Spaceball, the good-for-nothing President Skroob orders the arch-villain henchman, Dark Helmet, to abduct the adjacent planet Druidia's Princess Vespa to strong-arm her father, King Roland, to provide them with the code to the planet'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 Hut 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 | winnebago | star wars spoof | rescue | sci fi spoof | 

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Taglines:

May The Farce Be With You.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

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:

$6,600,000, 28 June 1987

Gross USA:

$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

Every time Dark Helmet has his face covered, his voice is lower and more basal, similar to James Earl Jones, when he played Darth Vader. He also speaks with an African accent. In the DVD commentary, Mel Brooks says that the idea of Dark Helmet's voice changing whenever his face was covered was actually Rick Moranis' idea. Curiously, Moranis' Dark Helmet voice bears resemblance to actor/stuntman David Prowse's actual voice, who physically portrayed Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy.

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Goofs

Just after the Winnebago exits "hyper-active", the ship's engines lose power. Barf clearly points out on the fuel gauge that this is "because we're outta gas". When the camera cuts to a shot from behind the ship, the main engines appear to be running at full blast. They should be off or at least sputtering.

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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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Connections

Referenced in Escape from Planet Earth (2013)

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Soundtracks

Spaceballs
Written by Jeffrey Pescetto (as Jeff Pescetto), Clyde Lieberman and Mel Brooks
Performed by The Spinners
Produced by Jellybean Benítez (as Jellybean)

User Reviews

Yuks in "Space"...

Leave it to Mel Brooks; no one else could make a space movie with references to "The Wizard of Oz", "The Godfather", Mr. Coffee and flying Winnebagos.

"Spaceballs" is just about the best post-"History of the World Part I" film Mel has made and that's saying something, considering how many great jokes Mel and Company is able to pull off while within PG territory.

Easy enough to guess that this is Mel's take on "Star Wars", complete with his own versions of C-3P0 (Dot Matrix), Princess Leia (Princess Vespa), Chewbacca (Barf the Mawg) and a combination of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker (LoneStarr).

Oh, and let's not forget Dark Helmet! The very embodiment of evil (Mel Brooks-style) who not only wears a black cloak and headpiece but also a stylishly-wide black tie. And when he strikes...it's usually not above the belt.

The gags come fast and furious and, as is usually the case, all the regular faces show up (Graham, DeLuise, Van Patten) and Mel gives it all he's got. Lots of space sagas get equal ribbing (the "Star Wars" trilogy, "Alien", "Planet of the Apes") and there isn't a cliche that Mel fails to notice.

You can't blame Mel Brooks for thinking this genre needed a good skewering. He started it in "History of the World" with his "Jews in Space" coming attraction and continues it here. My only complaint: Mel, why did you have to wait so long??

Eight stars, plus a half star more for Pizza the Hutt; I loved it, especially when the pepperoni started running. Also for President Skroob's (Brooks') comment after being mis-transported ("Why didn't somebody tell me my a** was so big??").

Okay, nine stars. Mel Brooks strikes back!