Spaceballs is a farcical comedy film directed by Mel Brooks which does for Science Fiction — especially Star Wars — what Blazing Saddles did for The Western.Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) — the bold, bossy and beautiful heir to the throne of planet Druidia — runs out on her wedding before she is officially married to the painfully dullPrince Valium (Jim J. Bullock), the only eligible bachelor prince in her region of space. Once she's in space, however, Vespa and her robot servant Dot (Joan Rivers) soon become the target of the Spaceballs, a group of evildoers — led by Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) and President Skroob (Mel Brooks) — who plan to ransom her off for access to Druidia's atmosphere (in order drain it away and use it to replenish their homeworld's own thinning atmosphere).Vespa's only hope lies with two mercenaries-for-hire: Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and Barf the Mawg (John Candy), who hope to use the substantial reward offered by Vespa's father for her safe return to pay off debts owed to crime boss Pizza the Hutt (Dom DeLuise). With a little help from wise-cracking mystic Master Yogurt (also Mel Brooks), Lone Starr fights to save Planet Druidia, defeat the Spaceballs, and (maybe) get the girl, too.In reality, the plot's a big excuse which gives Mel Brooks a large enough canvas to poke fun at tons of sci-fi tropes.An Animated Adaptation based on this film — Spaceballs: The Animated Series — was developed a couple of decades later; it languished in Development Hell for so long, only thirteen episodes were made. G4 eventually gained the rights, but due to said Development Hell, it ended up promoting the show before it was ready. The series didn't air until a year later, and by that point, production had been axed before the first episode ever aired.
Spaceballs: The Tropes!
Abandon Ship: Played for Laughs. Everybody is shown running for the escape pods in the film's climax — the orchestra, a variety of circus freaks, and even a bear — but leaving behind Colonel Sandurz, President Skroob, and Dark Helmet. Many of these are part of the capper of a Brick Joke initiated when Colonel Sandurz orders the cancellation of a three-ring circus and the closing of the zoo aboard Spaceball One as part of the preparations for Ludicrous Speed.
Acting for Two: Mel Brooks himself, playing both Yogurt and President Skroob.
Blowing A Raspberry: Parodied. The Villain exclaims "There is only one man, who would dare give me the Raspberry! Lone Starr!" after the hero has jammed the villain's spaceship's radar with... jam... Raspberry-flavored jam.
Breaking the Fourth Wall: Over and over again. At one point, the villains believe they've captured Lone Starr, Barf, Vespa, and Dot, only to learn they've mistakenly captured their stunt doubles.
After Colonel Sandurz takes a brief turn as Mr. Exposition, Dark Helmet lampshades it by turning towards the camera to ask, "Everybody got that?"
When on the desert planet, at one point there's a transition from Barf and Lone Starr to the sun beating down on the desert, with it shining through behind them in a dissolve effect. Halfway through, Barf comments "Niiiice dissolve!"
During the duel between Lone Star and Dark Helmet, one of the camera crew gets killed by a wayward strike.
A camera collides with Dark Helmet during a zoom-in shot.
Dark Helmet and Colonel Sandurz watch the movie on video to find out where the heroes are at that moment.
As President Skroob comes running into the bridge of Spaceball One:
Skroob: (panting) The ship is too long. If I walk, the movie'll be over.
Pretty much half of Yogurt's lines are breaking the fourth wall, with him hocking merchandise for the movie in the middle of the movie!
"Here's where the real money from the movie is made!"
Even his last line spoken in person gets it:
Lone Starr: Will we ever meet again? Yogurt: Who knows? God willing we'll all meet again in Spaceballs Two: The Search For More Money.
Brick Joke: The self-destruct button tells you to not push unless you really, REALLY mean it. As it turns out, the cancellation button is Out Of Order.
Earlier, the Emergency Stop lever says Never Use.
While preparing for Ludicrous Speed, Sandurz mentions cancelling the three-ring circus and closing the zoo. When it comes time to abandon ship, the crowd includes several circus freaks and a bear.
Butt Monkey: For an evil warrior feared the universe over, Lord Dark Helmet seems to have very unfortunate things happen to him on a near-hourly basis.
Just for funsies, here are some examples — he burns his mouth with coffee in his introductory scene, gets hit in the head with the door of Vespa's car, is sent flying at possibly thousands of miles per hour in G-forces into the front control panel of Spaceball-One, is found role-playing a liaison between himself and Vespa with dolls, and can't keep his helmet visor up to save his life. And that's before the climax of the movie.
Butter Face: Princess Vespa's stunt double. Because it's a guy.
Camera Abuse: The camera hits Dark Helmet in the face during a close-up. Later, a cameraman gets slashed during the climactic battle sequence between Lone Starr and Dark Helmet.
Dark Helmet: Um, he did it! Lone Starr: What?!
Camp Gay: The "You've captured their stunt doubles" Spaceball guy.
Child Marriage Veto: King Roland never has to back off from his demand that his daughter shall marry a prince. Sure the horribly boring Prince Valium was the only prince left in the galaxy, but it turns out that the hero is actually also a prince. Problem solved.
Conveniently Close Planet: Lone Star's Winnebago comes out of Hyperspeed and promptly runs out of gas. Cue nearby desert planet to land on.
Cool and Unusual Punishment: The Spaceballs threaten to undo Princess Vespa's nose-job and return her nose to its original grotesque size unless the King hands over the access codes to Druidia's planetary defenses. It works.
Composite Character: Lonestar is a combination of Luke Skywalker (training in the resident magic source and rivalry with the lead villain) and Han Solo (criminal ties and relationship with furry alien), with the costume design of Indiana Jones. Yogurt is Yoda (name and appearance) and Obi-Wan (training style). Colonel Sandurz represents the various imperial officers that appeared through the movies.
Lone Starr and Dark Helmet square off with their "Schwartz" lightsabers suggestively held at crotch height. Dark Helmet remarks "Hmm... I see your Schwartz is as big as mine. Now let's see how well you...handle it!" Made even better when they both glance down to check.
Also, this line:
Sandurz: It's the Mega-Maid, sir. She's gone from "suck" to "blow"!
"Oh, yes, sir. Snotty beamed me twice last night. It was wonderful."
Dramatic Timpani: Provided by an actual timpanist, who reappears during the evacuation sequence.
The Empire: The Spaceballs, though apparently technically a republic, being led by a President and not a monarch.
Entitled Bastard: The princess start out this way. She gets over it pretty quickly, however... She kinda lost the attitude along with the matched luggage.
Fake Static: Barf uses this ploy to make King Roland promise a million space bucks to rescue Princess Vespa.
Note that he wasn't pretending to lose picture to get away from the conversation as is standard of this trope but rather as a way of saying "I'm losing interest in this deal."
Fanfare: Can't be a parody of Star Wars without one.
Faster-than-Light Travel: Light Speed < Ridiculous Speed < Ludicrous Speed. Somewhere in there is presumably "Hyperactive", courtesy of Eagle 5's Hyper-Jets.
Fast Forward Gag: This trope leads to another gag involving the villains watching themselves.
Foe Yay/Ho Yay: Lord Helmet playing with a Princess Vespa doll says to the Lord Helmet doll, "Oh, your helmet is SO big!" Later, he and Lonestar are comparing the size of their... um... schwartzes.
Glasses Pull: Of a kind. Dark Helmet pulls the mask down over his face whenever he wants to be scary and dramatic, and pops it up when he starts expressing exasperation or confusion. Or when he realizes he can't breathe in that thing.
Groin Attack: Dark Helmet's preferred use of his Schwartz powers is to force-choke the nads of subordinates who fail him. Or annoy him. ("You went over my helmet?") After the first time, they start covering themselves immediately when he gets angry.
Colonel Sandurz: No, sir! I didn't see you playing with your dolls again!
Incredibly Lame Pun: It's a Mel Brooks film. It's the standard humor. When you say you're going to comb the desert, out come the oversized prop combs.
"Well, just what we need.....a Druish princess!" "Funny, she doesn't look Druish." (Mel Brooks has said that the only reason he named the planet Druidia was so he could make that one joke.)
"What's the matter, Colonel Sandurz, CHICKEN?"
"PIZZA THE HUTT!"
"Yogurt! I HATE YOGURT! Even with strawberries!"
"Radar...about to be...jammed!"
"There's only one man who would dare give me the raspberry!"
Barf: Wow! Not only is it a spaceship, it's a Transformer!
Kicking Ass In All Her Finery: Vespa, while still in her dress, is handed a gun. She refuses to use it until her hair is singed. Then she goes "good enough for Rambo" by mowing down a line of Spaceballs.
Let Us Never Speak of This Again: After watching the painful footage of being catapulted into the bulkhead of Spaceball-1, Dark Helmet says "No, no. Go past this part. In fact never play this part again."
Lightning Bruiser: Spaceball One is (of the three we see to any degree) not only the most heavily armed, but also the fastest, if Ludicrous Speed counts for anything.
Love Makes You Crazy: "Now listen: on this ship, you are to refer to me as 'Idiot', not 'You captain!' I mean, you know what I mean." So much for Lone Starr always being right.
Dark Helmet: I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's FORMER ROOMMATE! Lone Starr: ...What's that make us?! Dark Helmet: Absolutely nothing. Which is what YOU are about to become.
Taken one step further by some of it clearly being Transformers merchandise with Spaceballs stickers on them. The Merch helps the baddies find Lone Starr and company, and it's everywhereif you look for it.
Sadly there was no real life Merch for Spaceballs, because of an agreement between Mel Brooks and George Lucas.
Nerd in Evil's Helmet: Dark Helmet. The surprise came to the audience only, since his staff already knew him (and was used to pretending they don't know he's playing with dolls).
No Fourth Wall: Among other things (see Camera Abuse and As You Know above), the bad guys manage to track down the good guys by watching Spaceballs: The Movie on VHS.
Non-Sequitur Thud: After Spaceball One comes out of Ludicrous Speed and Dark Helmet takes a header into computer terminal and smashes the terminal, his head, and his helmet:
Dark Helmet: Why don't we take a five-minute break? Smoke if you got 'em! (thud)
Barf does it on the desert planet: "Oh waiter...Check Please!" (thud)
The Obi-Wan: Yogurt, who is pretty much Yoda as a crusty-but-lovable Yiddish guy.
Lone Starr: *sneaks up behind a guard and grabs his neck* Guard: *pause* What the hell are you doing? Lone Starr: ...the Vulcan neck pinch? Guard: No, no, stupid. You've got it much too high, it's more down here where the shoulder meets the neck! Lone Starr: Like this? Guard: Yeah! *collapses* Lone Starr: Thanks.
Product Placement: Parodied. After issuing a denial regarding his planet's air crisis, President Skroob surreptitiously reaches into his desk drawer for a can of refreshing Perri-air.
Put Off Their Food: At the end of the movie, when a diner patron who ate the Alien Surprise starts moaning in pain, another character who ordered the same thing quickly changes his order.
Rage Helm: Dark Helmet, in an over-the-top parody of Vader.
Reality Ensues: When Spaceball One comes out of Ludicrous Speed, Dark Helmet follows Newton's First Law and smashes into the wall in front of him.
Reality Writing Book: An example of a video rather than a book. The evil characters discover the video of the movie they are starring in — at one point their actions both in the film universe and the video are perfectly synched up, to the characters' bemusement.
Recycled In SPACE: Parodied relentlessly, with the Millennium Falcon equivalent being a literal Winnebago with wings — lampshaded when Spaceball guards call it exactly that — and the currency being "space bucks", among other examples.
Especially funny near the end, with the actual Millennium Falcon and the Winnebago both stopping for gas, IN SPACE!
Sequel Snark: Yogurt jokes that he and Lone Starr will meet again in Spaceballs 2: the Search for More Money, as part of the movie's Running Gag about merchandising. No sequel has been made, though an animated series had a short run in the mid 2000s
Dark Helmet: I always have coffee before watching radar. You know that! Colonel Sandurz: Yes, sir! Dark Helmet:(to crew) Everybody knows that! Crew:(in unison, covering their crotches) Of course we do, sir!
If you pay attention to this exchange you can see the Space ball behind Dark Helmet anticipate the line and move his hands early.
A specific mention is probably deserved by the wonderfully insane combined reference to Alien (complete with John Hurt and Sigourney Weaver) and One Froggy Evening.
Space Trucker: Lone Star driving a Winnebago through space.
Spit Take: The Mr. Coffee scene. "Hot... too hot!"
Spontaneous Weapon Creation: It's possible that this is how Schwartz weapons work. Yogurt claims that the rings from which they appear to come are really a Magic Feather.
Suddenly Suitable Suitor: Lone Starr discovers that his pendant is actually a birth certificate proving he's a Prince - making a marriage between himself and Vespa suddenly fine.
Surprisingly Sudden Death: Parodied with the restaurant scene when Kane starts coughing and goes into convulsions, followed by a chestburster... which dons a top hat and cane and sings "Hello My Baby" in the voice of Michigan J. Frog. John Hurtreprises his role from the original Alien, lampshaded by his muttered, "Oh no, not again!"
Throw It In: The aforementioned moment with Dark Helmet's dolls. Rick Moranis was handed the figures a few moments before the cameras rolled and told to do something funny.
Rick Moranis also came up with the idea to deepen his voice James Earl Jones-style every time he closed his helmet.
John Candy actually forgot to unbuckle his seatbelt leading to the 'Oh, that's going to leave a mark.' joke being the actor's comment...
Not to mention his cousin, Major Asshole, who got him the job.
Dark Helmet: How many Assholes we got on this ship, anyhow? Entire crew:YO! Dark Helmet:I Knew It! I'm surrounded by Assholes! (beat) Dark Helmet: (pulls helmet mask down) Keep firing, Assholes!
Used Future: Lone Starr's Winnebago has seen better days. And then there's the issue of that nonfunctional self-destruct cancellation on Spaceball One...
Colonel Sandurz: Sir, are you sure we aren't being too literal? Dark Helmet: No, you idiot! The president told us to comb the desert, so we're combing it.
Plus when Lone Starr calls for Barf for the first time. By the way Lone Starr speaks and rocks, he looks like he really is going to vomit.
Your Spacecraft's Size May Vary: Mega-Maid, who at first starts off as big enough for a starship to enter its "ear canal," then shrinks, but still big enough for a Spaceball to slide out its nostril.
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