History Film / TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossThe8thDimension

* Creator/JamieLeeCurtis also appears as Buckaroo's mother in an opening sequence cut from the film, but has since been included in the film's more recent home video releases.

* FiveManBandConcert: The Hong Kong Cavaliers number greater than five, but there are five playing at Artie's Artery.

* SpiritualPredecessor: To the ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' "Death Busters" arc, due to both involving a plot of a mostly one-gender group of heroes (the Hong Kong Cavaliers being this to the Sailor Guardians) up against an evil alien force led by TheQuisling MadScientist (the Red Lectroids and Dr. Emilio Lizardo / Lord John Whorfin being this to the Death Busters and Professor Tomoe).
** The movie also apes the characters and style of the ''Literature/DocSavage'' pulp novels. The leader, Doc/Buckaroo, is a Renaissance man and a skilled brain surgeon, he surrounds himself with five men who are almost as talented but not quite, there is one female in the group (Pat/Penny), and they have global organizations that fight evil.

* WidgetSeries: When Creator/JeffGoldblum as a cowboy named New Jersey is only the tip of the weirdness iceberg, you're definitely a W(H)AT.

* {{Ambadassador}}: John Parker, the only surviving representative of the Black Lectroids on Earth, claims to be a diplomat (who failed flight school) and doesn't carry a weapon, but he manages to learn how to fly quickly and snaps a few Red Lectroid necks in battle.
** Buckaroo Banzai himself is an example, in addition to his many other roles. He's both Lectroid factions' main point of contact with Earth, in lieu of any appointed representative - which is probably a good thing, given that nearly all of the government officials in the film are incompetent buffoons.

** The ''Against the World Crime League'' novel suggests that Hanoi Xan shares an identity with Hulegu Khan, a descendent of Genghis Khan whose military campaigns extended into the Middle East (effectively ending the original Sunni Caliphate) and the Chinese cult leader/revolutionary Hong Xiquan (whose own campaigns were significant to the decline of late Imperial China).

** Averted with Buckaroo Banzai himself, who - in spite of his goofy name - maintains a calm, professorial image and demeanor even in the most absurd and dramatic of occasions. The President of the United States comments that even otherwise insane-sounding statements should probably be taken seriously when Dr. Banzai makes them.
* ButNotTooForeign: Buckaroo is half-Japanese, though he's played by a fully white man. His heritage is occasionally referenced through costuming, such as wearing a headband during his test flight and meditating in a samurai outfit.

* WrongGenreSavvy: New Jersey joins the Hong Kong Cavaliers in a ridiculous cowboy outfit.

** The movie also apes the characters and style of the ''Franchise/DocSavage'' pulp novels. The leader, Doc/Buckaroo, is a Renaissance man and a skilled brain surgeon, he surrounds himself with five men who are almost as talented but not quite, there is one female in the group (Pat/Penny), and they have global organizations that fight evil.

* Pepe Serna as Reno Nevada

* AndTheAdventureContinues: In ''Buckaroo Banzi Against the World Crime League''. [[AbortedArc Naturally, that never happened.]]

* AscendedFanboy: Buckaroo has a worldwide fan organization called the Blue Blazer Irregulars, who monitor the airwaves to answer the call from Buckaroo at a moment's notice. Casper Lindley and his son Scooter answer one such call and end up accompanying Team Banzai for the rest of the movie.

** The film practically defied classification when it was first released in 1984, but in hindsight, it can actually be seen as a DeconstructiveParody of the kinds of superhero franchises that would come to dominate Hollywood in the decades after its release. Part of the movie's gimmick is that it's a standalone film that's deliberately made to look like one installment in an expansive saga, complete with [[ContinuityLockout a complex backstory that's never fully explained]], references to [[TheGhost important characters who never appear]], and even a SequelHook for a sequel that was never made; many of the jokes are essentially {{Mythology Gag}}s for a mythology that doesn't exist. The movie was made decades before those very sorts of films--sprawling multi-part epics with LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, constant {{Mythology Gag}}s, and never-ending {{Sequel Hook}}s--actually became commonplace, but it manages to demonstrate how bizarre the average franchise film would look if it didn't have a franchise to go with it.

In 2016, Creator/KevinSmith, announced plans to produce a Buckaroo Banzai television series, a lead-in from his stint working with ''Series/TheFlash2014''. He would have rebooted the concept with the plot of the 1984 film functioning as the first season's story arc, leading to a projected second season based on the sequel-that-never-was, ''Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League''. Unfortunately, rights issues got in the way, as Rauch and Richter, the original creators, brought to attention that they may still retain the rights to Buckaroo Banzai, along with the TV rights, which lead to lawsuits between MGM and the two creators, and Kevin Smith decided to walk away.

A sequel to the novelization based on ''Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League'' was released in 2021, gaining mixed reviews from readers and critics.

* StockShoutOuts
** The makers of some of the later ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series liked making references to this film. The fact that a good chunk of the art department from ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Next Generation]]'' on through ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]'' previously worked on ''Buckaroo Banzai'' may have something to do with this.
** The film's iconic "Why is there a watermelon there" scene is homaged in a 2012 [[Creator/MarvelComics Kitty Pryde/Tony Stark A+X]] story.
** The mysterious Dr. B Banzai and his Banzai Institute are rather important minor characters in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''.
** The Canadian SynthPop artist Glass Apple Bonzai includes references to the film throughout his work, if the cover art on the first two albums wasn't a dead giveaway where much of the inspiration comes from.
** Yoyodyne was later listed as one the clients of the evil law firm Wolfram and Hart on ''Series/{{Angel}}''.
** "No Matter Where You Go, There You are" is quoted in the end titles of ''Film/BeyondTheBlackRainbow''.

* UnbuiltTrope

More recently, the rights to the property have found themselves in the hands of a certain Creator/KevinSmith, who has announced plans to produce a Buckaroo Banzai television series, a lead-in from his stint working with ''Series/TheFlash2014''. Kevin Smith has stated that he will reboot the concept with the plot of the 1984 film functioning as the first season's story arc, leading to a projected second season based on the sequel-that-never-was, ''Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League''.

-->[[spoiler:'''John Bigboote]]:''' [[spoiler:We've had our chance! Your overthruster's for shit! We're lost!]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Lord John Whorfin]]:''' [[spoiler:One more word out of you, Bigbooty...]]
-->[[spoiler:'''John Bigboote]]:''' [[spoiler:[screaming] [[ItsPronouncedTroPay BIG-BOO-]]''[[ItsPronouncedTroPay TAY!]]'' [[ItsPronouncedTroPay TAY! TAY!]]]]
-->[[spoiler:[Whorfin shoots him[=]=]]]

* Ellen Barkin as Penny Priddy

** The movie also apes the characters and style of the Doc Savage pulp novels. The leader, Doc/Buckaroo, is a Renaissance man and a skilled brain surgeon, he surrounds himself with five men who are almost as talented but not quite, there is one female in the group (Pat/Penny), and they have global organizations that fight evil.

* UnfortunateNames
** Buckaroo is his real first name, owing to his father's enamorment with cowboys.
** A significant number of the Red Lectroids had UnfortunateNames: John Yaya, John Smallberries, John Icicle Boy, John Bigbooté (whose name was [[RunningGag pronounced]] [[InsistentTerminology/LiveActionFilms Big Boo Tay]], thank you).

* ThemeTuneCameo: New Jersey plays part of the movie's main theme on the piano.

* CaliforniaDoubling: A literal example. All of the action that ostensibly takes place in Texas and New Jersey was filmed in (or not very far outside of) the Los Angeles Metropolitan area.

** "No Matter Where You Go, There You are" is quoted in the end titles of ''BeyondTheBlackRainbow''.

* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Quite literally. Throughout the film the main cast play a live show in a multi-instrument, multi-genre band, expose a conspiracy involving a shady aerospace corporation, negotiate with alien diplomats and raid an enemy compound to stop a plot to destroy Earth, travel through solid matter, prevent a nuclear catastrophe, and discover the eighth dimension. And much of that is just Buckaroo Banzai himself.