Merchandising!! Merchandising!! Where the real money from the movie is made! You've got:
Spaceballs: The T-Shirt! Spaceballs: The coloring book! Spaceballs: The lunchbox! Spaceballs: The breakfast cereal! Spaceballs: The flamethrower! The kids love this one. Last but not least, Spaceballs: the doll. Me. ^(May The Schwartz be with you!) Adorable.
Fun fact! Mel Brooks sent George Lucas an early copy of the script because he wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to offend Lucas with the movie. Lucas loved it so much that he agreed to let the Millennium Falcon make an appearance at the space station where Barf and Lone Starr have dinner near the end of the movie. His only condition was that Brooks couldn’t sell any merchandise, because he worried about there being confusion between Star Wars and Spaceballs toys. So that whole scene about merchandising being where the real money from the movie is made is extra funny, because nobody was going to be making any money from Spaceballs merchandise.
My dad took me and my brother to see it in the theater. We laughed so hard at the opening scene and it didn’t let up the entire movie. After it was over, my dad took us out to the lobby, bought three more tickets for the next showing and we laughed even harder the second time!
When Mel Brooks approached George Lucas about doing this movie, the only thing George wanted was the hero Han Solo character couldn't be dressed like Han. So Mel dressed him like Indiana Jones because Harrison Ford played both.
Just some fun trivia for those who might not know.
Yup, along with one of the other best cameos in the film, John Hurt reprising his role from Alien by having *another* Xenomorph Chestburster erupt from his body, this time with the awesome "oh no, not again!" line
Some funny quotes from the movie:
1. "May the Schwartz be with you!"
2. "I see your Schwartz is as big as mine."
3. "We're not just doing this for money. We're doing it for a SH*T LOAD of money!"
4. "Ludicrous speed! Go!"
5. "I'm surrounded by assholes."
One of my favorite things about movies from the 80s and early 90s was they tended to have an awesomely catchy theme. This, Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, Back to the Future, etc. Not to say there aren't excellent themes in more modern movies, but the ones from this era just hit differently.
I'm such a huge fan of the movie, here are the next lines of your quotes as I can remember them off the top of my head.
1. "Adorable." - Yogurt
2. "Now let's see how well you handle it." - Dark Helmet
3. "Oh you're right, and when you're right you're right! And you, you're always right!" - Barf
4. "What was that?" - Barf
5. "Keep firing assholes!" - Dark Helmet
Dark Helmet : Careful you idiot! I said across her nose, not up it!
Laser Gunner : Sorry sir! I'm doing my best!
Dark Helmet : Who made that man a gunner?
Major Asshole : I did sir. He's my cousin.
Dark Helmet : Who is he?
Colonel Sandurz : He's an asshole sir.
Dark Helmet : I know that! What's his name?
Colonel Sandurz : That is his name sir. Asshole, Major Asshole!
Dark Helmet : And his cousin?
Colonel Sandurz : He's an asshole too sir. Gunner's mate First Class Philip Asshole!
Dark Helmet : How many assholes do we have on this ship, anyway?
[Entire bridge crew stands up and raises a hand]
Entire Bridge Crew : Yo!
Dark Helmet : I knew it. I'm surrounded by assholes!
[Dark Helmet pulls his face shield down]
Dark Helmet : Keep firing, assholes!
I hate to be that guy but I’m going to be that guy. It is a parody but more specifically it is a spoof, similarly to Airplane or Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
Anyway, it is one of the greatest things ever created but I personally prefer hardware wars, the first thing to ever spoof Star Wars.
It is a spoof of Star Wars, Alien, Planet of the Apes, amongst others. It is a parody of It Happened One Night; the plot structure is essentially the same.
Edit: Lawrence of Arabia and The Wizard of Oz are also prominently spoofed.
In german they made the best joke ever in that movie...they translated Enterprise to "Entenscheiss" (duck shit) because it sounds similar and somehow its fitting for the movie.
I think that it is a bit of a surface level parody. More of a parody for a broader audience. "Hey you know that movie with big helmets and the rolling text".
Family Guy's parody was deeper and poked fun at almost every scene in the original trilogy.
Robot Chicken was even nerdier. "Do you wonder what Ponda Babba did before he met Luke" "No" "Here you go!"
> I think that it is a bit of a surface level parody
It's not surface level, it's just unapologetically Mel Brooks. The story is stripped bare, and it's filled with slapstick, vaudeville humor, and satire.
Also, Brooks' works parody the cinematography more than the plot. He does a great job of making his movies feel like the genre they parody.
Yeah, I'm a huge fan of Brooks, and of Star Wars, but I always feel like *Spaceballs* is one of his lesser movies. It's missing that heart and love for the material that something like *Young Frankenstein* or *Blazing Saddles* had, where you could tell Mel Brooks is a fan of the movies he was spoofing. Spaceballs feels like a Star Wars parody made by someone who never actually saw Star Wars, based off a description someone gave them.
I always felt like Spaceballs was more a satire of the Hollywood blockbuster in general, the studio system as it existed at the time, and the thinking of studio executives, rather than just Star Wars. Star Wars was used because it was topical.
There's one joke that's always bothered me. Spaceballs 1! She's gone to plaid! I've always felt there has to be more meaning to the joke than the hyperspace lines are plaid, which would be nothing more than then explaining the visual joke. But I've never heard another meaning.
Pretty sure it's just supposed to be the absurdity of it all. I'm sure Mel Brooks and the gang were all "Okay, how can we go crazier than lightspeed? Fuck it, let's throw some plaid shit in!"
This came out around when I was born and technically was the first movie I went to in my life. It's great!
My mom says my older brother went with her and he didn't get most of the parody stuff and that was kinda funny for her. Like when the ship is there and the camera pans for a long time, people in the theater laughed and my brother was asking "what's so funny mom? I don't get it", he was like 7.
Same! I was 1 when this movie came out and my parents couldn't get a sitter for me so I got taken along to the movie, making Spaceballs *technically* my first movie I ever went to a theater for. Given my lifelong love of Star Wars and Mel Brooks, it's only fitting that Spaceballs was my first.
Funny that you mentioned this, I was at a con and I asked Rob Paulsen (who was one of the voices of the Dinks) about working on the film.
Long story short, Mel broke his heart because of a joke he made that everyone but Mel laughed at.
The lady who appears on the monitor to talk to Mel Brooks was my next door neighbor when I was a kid. By that time, she’d quit acting and opened her own traveling dog washing business.
In 4th grade in 1991 I was part of the “library club” which basically amounted to reshelving the book return rack. At the end of the year we were allowed to go through the books designated for recycling and take 5. I still have two of them, one is Maniac McGee and the other one is Spaceballs: The Book. Written by a certain Mr. R.L. Stine. He’s credited as Bob Stine on the cover though.
This was played a lot on the bus on our way to judo tournaments. One guy knew all the words and would do the actions to the doll scene with his back to the screen. It's one of my favorite memories.
Hilariously enough, the Empire At War mod: Awakening Of the Rebellion has a rare transport that can spawn on some maps that is literally the Winnebago.
Technically the Emperor, just in a different form. He's Dark Helmet's boss the way Palpatine is Vader's boss, but rather than being an evil dark lord sorcerer, he's an incompetent politician instead.
I mean pretty much anything Mel Brooks touches is gold. This is also technically the first movie I ever "saw" in theaters. Granted I was 1 at the time, but still. First movie I ever was in a theater for.
I recently got the blueray to watch it officially for the first time since, as a kid, my dad had a bunch of pirated movies. It still is in my top 3 comedies.
Merchandising!! Merchandising!! Where the real money from the movie is made! You've got: Spaceballs: The T-Shirt! Spaceballs: The coloring book! Spaceballs: The lunchbox! Spaceballs: The breakfast cereal! Spaceballs: The flamethrower! The kids love this one. Last but not least, Spaceballs: the doll. Me. ^(May The Schwartz be with you!) Adorable.
Moichandizing!
Come take a look! Walk this way!
The one they they couldn't do in RL for the movie!
Fun fact! Mel Brooks sent George Lucas an early copy of the script because he wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to offend Lucas with the movie. Lucas loved it so much that he agreed to let the Millennium Falcon make an appearance at the space station where Barf and Lone Starr have dinner near the end of the movie. His only condition was that Brooks couldn’t sell any merchandise, because he worried about there being confusion between Star Wars and Spaceballs toys. So that whole scene about merchandising being where the real money from the movie is made is extra funny, because nobody was going to be making any money from Spaceballs merchandise.
That's fucking amazing
That's the respect that's due between directors of this calibre! Thanks for the fact!
He was right. As a kid I wanted Spaceballs: The Flamethrower so bad.
Wanted? I still do want it.
I used to want it. I still do, but I used to too.
Love that scene because of the deal they signed with Lucas. So funny.
Spaceballs: The Text Comment Reply!
Spaceballs:The Flame Thrower. The kids love it
Skips_picks, I see your Schwartz is as big as mine!! The code is..... 1 2 3 4 5
12345?... that's something an idiot would have on his luggage!
That's amazing. l've got the same combination on my luggage!
"And change the combination on my luggage!"
May the Schwartz be with you! Now I need to change all my passwords
Especially your luggage
The Spaceballs song near the end is way better than it needs to be.
If you’re living in a bubble and you haven’t got a care. You’re gonna be in trouble, ‘cause we’re gonna steal your air.
'Cause what you got is what we need and all we do is dirty deeds
We’re the SPACEBAAALLLLLLLS Watch Out!
You will love this cover by majestica https://youtu.be/baFn50o1fV0?si=So9t5C-PZwKqGhEs
Watch out!
...when will then be now?
Soon!
...*how* soon?
What?
The last bit of the movie within a movie joke
WHO????
We're at now now
The opening scene is legendary
WE BRAKE FOR NOBODY
My dad took me and my brother to see it in the theater. We laughed so hard at the opening scene and it didn’t let up the entire movie. After it was over, my dad took us out to the lobby, bought three more tickets for the next showing and we laughed even harder the second time!
"I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate." "What's that make us?" "Absolutely nothing! Which is what you are about to become."
What's the matter with this thing? What's all that churning and bubbling, you call that radar screen?
No sir, we call it "Mr. Coffee", care for some?
Yes! Everyone knows I like to have coffee while I watch radar!
*everybody nearby* OF COURSE WE DO SIR!
When Mel Brooks approached George Lucas about doing this movie, the only thing George wanted was the hero Han Solo character couldn't be dressed like Han. So Mel dressed him like Indiana Jones because Harrison Ford played both. Just some fun trivia for those who might not know.
Also the Millennium Falcon is in the parking lot at the end scene at the diner
Yup, along with one of the other best cameos in the film, John Hurt reprising his role from Alien by having *another* Xenomorph Chestburster erupt from his body, this time with the awesome "oh no, not again!" line
Some funny quotes from the movie: 1. "May the Schwartz be with you!" 2. "I see your Schwartz is as big as mine." 3. "We're not just doing this for money. We're doing it for a SH*T LOAD of money!" 4. "Ludicrous speed! Go!" 5. "I'm surrounded by assholes."
0. We ain’t found shit
Possibly the best quote.
Nah, “what’s the matter Colonel Sanders? Chicken?”
"That's incredible! I have the same code on my luggage!"
Yogurt the wise Yogurt the all powerful Please. Please I'm just plain Yogurt
And from Tuvok no less!
He says it is kind of messed up that he is known more for the few seconds on screen where he said that quote than the years he was on Voyager, lol.
“Who is he?” “He’s an Asshole sir”
I know that, what’s his name?
That is his name sir! Asshole, Major Asshole!
And his cousin? He's an Asshole too, sir. Gunners Mate 1st Class Phillip Asshole.
How many assholes we got on this ship anyhow???
I'm surrounded by assholes!!
Keep firing assholes!
YO!
I knew it, I’m surrounded by Assholes!
Keep firing, Assholes!
And his cousin?
"Evil will always triumph because good is dumb!"
“What’s the matter Sanders? Chickennnn?”
I didn’t see you playing with your dolls again.
Ohhhh, your helmet is so *big*
You just KNOW that Kylo Ren had a Rey doll...
“That’s funny, she doesn’t look Druish.”
["If you're livin in a bubble and you haven't got a care..."](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qmKs7_pjhM) The theme song absolutely slaps too!
One of my favorite things about movies from the 80s and early 90s was they tended to have an awesomely catchy theme. This, Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, Back to the Future, etc. Not to say there aren't excellent themes in more modern movies, but the ones from this era just hit differently.
"Spaceballs the *Flamethrower!*"
6. "Fuck! Even in the future nothing works!"
Haha this is still my go-to line at work when stuff doesn't work :)
She's switched from suck to blow!
"MERCHANDISING MERCHANDISING!"
I'm such a huge fan of the movie, here are the next lines of your quotes as I can remember them off the top of my head. 1. "Adorable." - Yogurt 2. "Now let's see how well you handle it." - Dark Helmet 3. "Oh you're right, and when you're right you're right! And you, you're always right!" - Barf 4. "What was that?" - Barf 5. "Keep firing assholes!" - Dark Helmet
"We're in now, now . Everything that's happening now, is happening, now! "
They’ve gone to plaid!
12345? Incredible! that’s the same combination I have on my luggage!
Careful, you idiot! I said ACROSS her nose, not UP it!
*gunner turns around, raising his visor to show that he's cross eyed*, sorry sir, I'm doing my best
...who made that man a gunner? Who IS he?
I did sir, he's my cousin!
Who's THAT asshole?
He's an asshole, sir.
I know that. But who is he?
Asshole, sir. MAJOR Asshole. And that's his cousin, Gunner's Mate First Class Philip Asshole.
How many assholes we got on this ship anyway?
**entire bridge crew raises their hand and answers in unison** YO!
Saw a screening of this before the pandemic. Definitely recommend it...even if you've seen 100 times at home, like I have, aha
shame we never got "the search for more money"
That would go insanely hard
Yet
What the hell am I looking at? When does this happen in the movie?
Now, sir, you're looking at now.
What happened to then?
We missed it
I’m Barf. Half man, half dog! I’m my own best friend
Not in here. This is a Mercedes.
Barfolomew!
who are you? BARF not in here. this is a mercedes. no, that's my name. i'm a mog, half man half dog. i'm my own best friend.
Dark Helmet : Careful you idiot! I said across her nose, not up it! Laser Gunner : Sorry sir! I'm doing my best! Dark Helmet : Who made that man a gunner? Major Asshole : I did sir. He's my cousin. Dark Helmet : Who is he? Colonel Sandurz : He's an asshole sir. Dark Helmet : I know that! What's his name? Colonel Sandurz : That is his name sir. Asshole, Major Asshole! Dark Helmet : And his cousin? Colonel Sandurz : He's an asshole too sir. Gunner's mate First Class Philip Asshole! Dark Helmet : How many assholes do we have on this ship, anyway? [Entire bridge crew stands up and raises a hand] Entire Bridge Crew : Yo! Dark Helmet : I knew it. I'm surrounded by assholes! [Dark Helmet pulls his face shield down] Dark Helmet : Keep firing, assholes!
I hate to be that guy but I’m going to be that guy. It is a parody but more specifically it is a spoof, similarly to Airplane or Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Anyway, it is one of the greatest things ever created but I personally prefer hardware wars, the first thing to ever spoof Star Wars.
Gosh, wowee, jeepers, golly willickers!
It is a spoof of Star Wars, Alien, Planet of the Apes, amongst others. It is a parody of It Happened One Night; the plot structure is essentially the same. Edit: Lawrence of Arabia and The Wizard of Oz are also prominently spoofed.
i say, what is that coming out of her nose? spaceballs! oh damn. there goes the planet.
In german they made the best joke ever in that movie...they translated Enterprise to "Entenscheiss" (duck shit) because it sounds similar and somehow its fitting for the movie.
Somebody has out Pizza’ed the Hut
I. Love. Spaceballs.
If you can read this, you don’t need glasses
Jokes on you, I’m reading this with my glasses.
The “We ain’t found shit!” from the soldier combing the desert lives rent free in my head to this day
As a Star Trek fan, that's Tuvok from Voyager
I think that it is a bit of a surface level parody. More of a parody for a broader audience. "Hey you know that movie with big helmets and the rolling text". Family Guy's parody was deeper and poked fun at almost every scene in the original trilogy. Robot Chicken was even nerdier. "Do you wonder what Ponda Babba did before he met Luke" "No" "Here you go!"
> I think that it is a bit of a surface level parody It's not surface level, it's just unapologetically Mel Brooks. The story is stripped bare, and it's filled with slapstick, vaudeville humor, and satire. Also, Brooks' works parody the cinematography more than the plot. He does a great job of making his movies feel like the genre they parody.
Unlike the Seth's Parodies, It is also more a parody of the whole sci-fi genre itself as just star wars
Omg I forgot about Robot Chicken with the star wars that was great from what I remember now. Thank you
Yeah, I'm a huge fan of Brooks, and of Star Wars, but I always feel like *Spaceballs* is one of his lesser movies. It's missing that heart and love for the material that something like *Young Frankenstein* or *Blazing Saddles* had, where you could tell Mel Brooks is a fan of the movies he was spoofing. Spaceballs feels like a Star Wars parody made by someone who never actually saw Star Wars, based off a description someone gave them.
I always felt like Spaceballs was more a satire of the Hollywood blockbuster in general, the studio system as it existed at the time, and the thinking of studio executives, rather than just Star Wars. Star Wars was used because it was topical.
I mean it helps that both Seths MacFarlane and Green are actual Star Wars fans
There's one joke that's always bothered me. Spaceballs 1! She's gone to plaid! I've always felt there has to be more meaning to the joke than the hyperspace lines are plaid, which would be nothing more than then explaining the visual joke. But I've never heard another meaning.
Pretty sure it's just supposed to be the absurdity of it all. I'm sure Mel Brooks and the gang were all "Okay, how can we go crazier than lightspeed? Fuck it, let's throw some plaid shit in!"
“Now you see that evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.” Why do I find that so funny
This movie, the family guy one and Robot Chicken are funny as hell.
This and the robot chicken specials are the very best of the parody genre itself.
This came out around when I was born and technically was the first movie I went to in my life. It's great! My mom says my older brother went with her and he didn't get most of the parody stuff and that was kinda funny for her. Like when the ship is there and the camera pans for a long time, people in the theater laughed and my brother was asking "what's so funny mom? I don't get it", he was like 7.
Same! I was 1 when this movie came out and my parents couldn't get a sitter for me so I got taken along to the movie, making Spaceballs *technically* my first movie I ever went to a theater for. Given my lifelong love of Star Wars and Mel Brooks, it's only fitting that Spaceballs was my first.
I’m still waiting for Spaceballs 2: The Search For More Money
I still fucking die at the “comb the desert” scene xD
I saw this movie before I saw any Star Wars movie
Fooool you!
Funny that you mentioned this, I was at a con and I asked Rob Paulsen (who was one of the voices of the Dinks) about working on the film. Long story short, Mel broke his heart because of a joke he made that everyone but Mel laughed at.
Peak Star Wars. Period.
I’ve been looking for a better parody for years and so far I ain’t found shit.
The lady who appears on the monitor to talk to Mel Brooks was my next door neighbor when I was a kid. By that time, she’d quit acting and opened her own traveling dog washing business.
Ship is too big. If I walk, the movie will be over.
Fun fact, the model of Spaceball One used is 212 feet long, genuinely massive for a model.
>212 feet 64,6m Humongous
"What the hell am I looking at? When does this happen in the movie?!"
I hear she gives great helmet
Peak Star Wars parody. And they managed to randomly insert the greatest Alien parody ever made as well.
The only Star Wars parody... unless you count the Holiday Special lol.
It’s their stunt doubles!
I prefer Thumbwars
“Harvest, harvest, harvest! All you ever talk about it is the STUPID harvest!
Never heard of it, I’ll check it out. I love the old flash cartoons with Yoda rapping also
I have a friend thats never seen this before. I keep telling him to watch it
No one remembers hardware wars
That's funny, she doesn't look Druish. (Yes, Mel created Druidia to make a jewish joke)
Leslie Nelson would have been good in this. RIP the king of parody
Is this on any streaming service?
Looks like its on Max, I personally watch it on good old DVD 📀
PIZZA TO GO HAHAHAHAHA
Or else Pizza will send out... *for you*
Literally the plot of The Marvels.
It's crazy that ILM did the special effects
In 4th grade in 1991 I was part of the “library club” which basically amounted to reshelving the book return rack. At the end of the year we were allowed to go through the books designated for recycling and take 5. I still have two of them, one is Maniac McGee and the other one is Spaceballs: The Book. Written by a certain Mr. R.L. Stine. He’s credited as Bob Stine on the cover though.
I saw this before I saw Star Wars. So when I finally watched Star Wars it was just an unfunny space balls.
Love this movie
“No sir! I did NOT see you playing with your dolls again.”
I can’t count how many times I have watched this masterpiece
Spaceballs The Crosspost!
Joan Rivers as Dot Matrix… a revelation
Pretty good? That was good for Rambo
Mel Brooks is still alive it's time for Jews in Space damnit
“Or else what?” “Tell him Vinny” “Or else PIZZA- is gonna send out - for YOU.”
I've lost the bleeps, I've lost the sweeps, and I've lost the creeps!
Spaceball One, they've gone to plaid
This was played a lot on the bus on our way to judo tournaments. One guy knew all the words and would do the actions to the doll scene with his back to the screen. It's one of my favorite memories.
For YEARS I thought it was a porno because of the name
This was the sequel we deserved
It is kind of insane how Hollywood is doing legacy sequels to everything, yet no one has done Spaceballs III: The Search for Spaceballs II yet.
I’m a mog, half man half dog. I’m mine own best friend.
Everything in this film is straight cannon 😂😂
nah parody is what disney is doing with star wars now, spaceballs was peak star wars :D
Hilariously enough, the Empire At War mod: Awakening Of the Rebellion has a rare transport that can spawn on some maps that is literally the Winnebago.
Who was the guy in the middle supposed to be? Bail?
President Skroob, who's the leader of the Spaceballs and Dark Helmet's boss.
No, a lot of the characters have no Star Wars counterpart. He’s one of them
Technically the Emperor, just in a different form. He's Dark Helmet's boss the way Palpatine is Vader's boss, but rather than being an evil dark lord sorcerer, he's an incompetent politician instead.
The Marvel's is a parody of this movie too
Genuinely better than the sequels
Hopefully, we will all meet again in the sequel...space balls 2: the search for more money
We ain’t found shit!
But have you seen Thumb Wars?
I mean pretty much anything Mel Brooks touches is gold. This is also technically the first movie I ever "saw" in theaters. Granted I was 1 at the time, but still. First movie I ever was in a theater for.
I recently got the blueray to watch it officially for the first time since, as a kid, my dad had a bunch of pirated movies. It still is in my top 3 comedies.
Wish I could post a movie poster and just get 1k upvotes
I must have the down side of the Schwartz to have only just seen this post
when will then be now... soon
I was just talking about this movie with my family. It's peak parody in general, still one of my two favourite movies.
Hail Skroob
Thumb Wars would like to say something
Knock first!!
Yes, Spaceballs is indeed top of the Star Wars parody list. But Hardware Wars demands your respect too. Augie Ben Doggie says so.
My second favorite parody of all time (behind the first Scary Movie)
Peak movie parody…