Not only did George Lucas NOT sue Mel Brooks, George loved it and allowed his SFX company ILM work on it for Mel Brooks under the condition Brooks didn't make any merchandising deals. Edit: Not only ludicrous speed but the plaid version of the Tesla (notice the "They've gone to plaid" line) that has the ludicrous mode.
I absolutely LOVE the very first gag in the film...the absurdly long size of the ship. Had me cracking up as a kid. Spaceballs is such a gem of comedy.
The guy that had the Alien bust out of his chest in the diner... that was John Hunt from the original Alien film. Mel Brooks actually got him to reprise his role in a space comedy... absolutely bonkers and glorious 👏
Also, the part where the xenomorph starts singing was the highlight of the movie back in the day. That's because everyone was very familiar with the song, "Hello, My Baby" -- a staple of the frog from Looney Toons cartoons. The gag was that he was found by someone and start singing and dancing...but Only for that one person. He would never do it around others, so anytime the person who found the frog tried to tell people about the amazing talented frog, they'd just see a regular frog just sitting there. Funny cartoon. So, seeing the baby xenomorph break out in that song in spats, a top hat, and a dance stick exactly like the Looney Toons frog... the audience just lost it. haha
Another Mel Brooks classic. If you haven't seen it, Mel's The Producers, 1968 and 2005 (musical) versions, is terrific. You've probably seen Robin Hood: Men In Tights. It came out in the 90s. A lot of people say it's Mel Brooks' worst, but it was the first one of his that I saw, so I still go back to it. But what I love about Spaceballs is that when George Lucas discovered that Brooks was making a satire of Star Wars, he gave him full access to Lucasfilms, which meant that this has some of the best special effects for its time in 1987. No CGI.
To be fair, Men in Tights might be his worst...but that's not bad because the best is so high and it's still so much better than most crap that gets made. Love all his stuff
John Candy's costume tail was operated by an off-screen stagehand so that when "Barf" tells the waitress at the diner "It has a mind of its own" that was actually true. Also, if you look fast at the parking area outside the diner just before the cut to inside it, there's a small Millennium Falcon parked there.
The prince that Vespa was set up to marry keeps yawning because he's Prince Valium. Valium is a mild sedative, also called Diazepam or Benzo ; this is why the robot, Dot Matrix, says "We both know Prince Valium is a pill", as that's the form Valium was used in. The parody is of a serial strip that has been in publication over 70 years called Prince Valiant.
So first off, glad to see you watch this classic. After seeing it in high school, me and my best friend quoted this movie so many times, and also, George Lucas let this film get made with his blessing. The only thing he didn't allow was any Spaceballs merchandise, probably because kids might confuse them for the real thing.
Congratulations, you're the first reactor to get the chapter 11 joke about bankruptcy. Most people just say what happened to chapter's 1 thru 10. I've waited a long time for someone to reference bankruptcy.
Mel Brooks was always one of my favorites. History of the World Part 1 or Young Frankenstein are 2 other really, really good Brooks movies. He is a master of the silly comedy.
Him turning down the money came from the movie "It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable & Claudette Cobert in 1934. Clark Gable character turned down the reward when he returned the daughter & only asked for money to cover his expenses.
Given how much you enjoyed this, I would definitely recommend you watch Airplane! (1977?) with Leslie Nielsen. Also, Valium (now known as diazepam) is an anti-anxiety medication, the most common side effect of which is drowsiness, hence Prince Valium forever yawning.
Star Wars was one of the first movies to go all in on merchandising. When Lucas contracted with 20th Century Fox to make the movie they allowed him to retain all of the rights to any merchandising because they assumed it wouldn't amount to all that much. Needless to say, the studio regretted that decision. It ranks up there with IBM paying Microsoft to develop an operating system for their new PC computers and allowing Microsoft to retain the rights to DOS. MS has made billions off selling the OS for PCs and PC clones ever since, far more than IBM made off coming up with the original design for the PC.
Three recommendations: 1. Uncle Buck - John Candy, the guy who played Barf is the main character. 2. Police Academy - Michael Winslow, the guy with the sounds effects is in this as well and plays a larger part. 3. Blazing Saddles, Another Mel Brooks movie that could never be made today. All three are hilarious. Edit: Just saw you already watched Blazing Saddles.
Blazing saddles could not be made today, mainly cause it would make no sense. It was the immense popularity of spaghetti westerns in the 70s that gave it any relevance.
The 7 little guys on the desert planet are a combination of the jawas from " Star Wars" and the 7 dwarves from " Snow White". Many parodies in this movie. Where they meet Yougurt is from " The Wizard of Oz ". Mel Brooks always like to make cameos in his films.
2:50 shots like that were mostly done with models back in then. CGI could just barely accomplish that kind of thing when this came out but is was extremely time consuming and expensive. It was MUCH cheaper and frankly looked better to use models until a good 15 years later.
I don’t know if anyone has said this yet, but the guy who plays Dark Helmet is named Rick Moranis. He’s a canadian born actor who was very famous for the series of Honey I Shrunk The Kids movie and I think two others plus Honey I Blew Up The Baby. You might also remember him from Ghostbusters where he played the nerdy accountant.
The alien creature dancing in the diner was mimicking Michigan J. Frog, the name of the dancing and singing frog that stars in Warner Brothers Bugs Bunny cartoons.
Maybe you recognize Bill Pullman (the pilot with half dog) from Independence Day with Will Smith. He played the president in that movie.. Of course, he's been around for years & has been in many films. Also, the half dog is played by John Candy. Trains Planes & Automobiles was one of his well-known movies as well as Uncle Buck.
Mel Brook's movies all have this same humor. The lead was played by Bill Pullman who was also in the romantic comedy "while you were sleeping", Casper, Sleepless in Seatle and he played the President in Independence Day. Barf was played by the famous John Candy who played in Uncle Buck, Summer Rental, Cool Runnings, Trains planes and automobiles....and yes he was in Home Alone. I was so saddened the day he died, he was a classic.
George Lucas gave permission for Mel to back this, but they made a deal. I think it had something to do that Mel wouldn't do any merchandising for Spaceballs. Lonestar is supposed to be Han Solo. Barf is Chewbacca. Pizza the hut is supposed to be Java
It's a shame that Lucas didn't allow Brooks to do merchandising. I would've totally bought a few of those 6"-inch dolls to... um... display on my shelf.
It's not a shame, it's just business. Lucas knew a comedy movie called Spaceballs wasn't going to be confused with Star Wars, which came out a decade earlier. But he also knew that a little Yogurt doll _could_ be confused with little Yoda dolls, and might affect sales, and Lucas was having none of that.
@@Osprey850 Yes, I understand that, but it was also a fair trade. Lucas gave Brooks permission to use his licensed characters, had ILM do the special effects, and allowed use of the sound effects as well. In return, all Brooks gave up was merchandising rights.
Men In Tights! If you haven't seen that yet, you need to, it's another one from Mel Brooks. It parodies Robin Hood movies. Robin hood prince of thieves specifically, so if you haven't seen that, you will probably miss a lot of the things their making fun of
1) The references to "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" and "Alien" are recognizable to most viewers, but as an old movie buff, I like all the older references: "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "The Wizard of Oz" and "It Happened One Night" and "Planet of the Apes." 2) The guy who has the monster burst from his chest was played by the English actor John Hurt. He is best remembered for "Aliens" but he should as one of the greatest actors of all time. His performance as Caligula in "I, Claudius" is extraordinary.
John Hurt was also High Chancellor Sutler in V for Vendetta and played the "War Doctor" in the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special. He's had such a wide range of roles.
Actually, Mel Brooks got the blessing from George Lucas, but was asked to not make merchandise, since they would look so similar, which is why merchandising is such a big joke in the movie
Barf was indeed acted by John Candy RIP, that was in "Home Alone". He also was in "Brewster's Millions" with Richard Pryor, another great comedy. The sound affects guy is famous for his role in the "Police Academy" series, another must watch... in that series he has a much larger role. Lone-Star actor is Bill Pullman, watch out for his films...
This is tied as my all-time favorite movie! Mel Brooks is a genius! George Lucas loved this movie and gave his blessing! My grandmother’s maiden name was Schwartz so to say we fave quoted this movie is an understatement!
Mel Brooks made Robin Hood: Men In Tights that is HILARIOUS you need to check out as well and has your British feel to it 😉 also is one of Dave Chappelle’s first movies
Mel Brooks took silliness to high art. Like the slapstick comics of the past, Brooks understood that there is something intrinsically funny about a pie in the face, slipping on a banana peel, and a coconut to the, uh, coconut. Enjoyed the clip w/reactions!
George Lucas made a deal with Mel Brooks, to do the movie but no merchandise sales. So Mel put some in the movie instead. Dark Helmut playing with toys.
"why does he keep yawning?" Well, his name is Prince Valium. Valium is a sedative, and a strong one at that, so him being tired all the time is a nod to his name
Films in the 80s used physical models, usually built out of cannibalized plastic kits. Prince Valium (named for sleeping medicine) is a play on Prince Valiant, a medieval character in comic strips. That's why he's yawning. Dot Matrix is Vespa's droid. You thinking Barf is "half cat" reminds me of my issue with Chewie being based on a dog. He looks like Big Foot with a muzzle. Lucas actually signed off on this film on the condition it not be merchandized. Hence, the merchandizing jokes. The ring projector of the schwartz is based on: 1) the lens used by the Lensmen in E.E. "Doc" Smith's pulp scifi series; which in turn inspired 2) the power rings worn by members of the Green Lantern Corps in DC Comics.
ILM did some of the special effects. Mel Brooks made a deal with George Lucas that he wouldn't make any merchandise that would interfere with Star Wars merch, thus you get a lot of not-so-subtle nods of plastering the name on everything
Another great story is the Mr. Coffee bit. Mel Brooks specifically wrote that in and early in the movie because, in his words, so many times in movies he shot before this, scenes/takes would have to be redone because someone would leave a Styrofoam coffee cup lying around. This way, if it happened during the production of Spaceballs, they wouldn't have to reshoot a thing.
3:30 You might not know because of your age but the similar opening scene of star wars was much lauded at the time for being a wow moment of cinematic spectacle.
Barf is played by John Candy, Canadian, comic and actor, yes he was in Home Alone. You should see him with Steve Martin in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, in Uncle Buck, and The Great Outdoors with Dan Ackroyd all hilarious. R.I.P. John. Dark Helmet was played by Rick Moranis, another Canadian treasure ( Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, Honey I Shrunk the Kids movies. Lone Star was Bill Pullman ( Independence Day, Casper, Sleepless in Seattle.
3:42 - Mel Brooks had George Lucas look at the script and Lucas gave his blessing. Lucas' only condition was that Brooks couldn't make Spaceballs toys as they would appear too similar to Star Wars toys. This explains the extensive merchandising gag in the movie.
Another fact. The actress playing the nurse with the surgeon played thr Captain of the main ship in STARSHIP TROOPERS who got slammed in the door And if you go neck look in parking lot of Cafe at the end THE MILLINEUM FALCON fro Star Wars is in the lot
The guy doing the sound effects of the radar was none other than Michael Winslow. Should definitely check out Police Academy as he was well known on the Police Academy movies as Marvell Jones.
One of Mel Brooks funniest movies was his first. Please watch “The Producers” (1967 film) with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. It was remade into a musical in 2005.
I love this movie. It has so many funny jokes and is great at showing off merch. The whole reason they had so many merch jokes implanted in the movie was George Lucas allowed them to make the parody of the star wars elements but they could not make merchandise to go with the movie. This movie also had a funny adult cartoon made for a short time. It had somewhere between 5-13 episodes. It also gave yogurt a wife he always argued with. I must admit I always thought the pizza the hut joke was funny but it looked so gross I couldnt stand it on the screen for long either. Yogurt and the leader of the Spaceballs colony was played by Mel Brooks himself. This man is a legend as a director. Mel Brooks movies have so many 4th wall break jokes its great. He really knows how to make a good comedy. You were correct on Barfs actor (John Candy) btw. This is one of his last roles before he died. He died of a heart attack while casting roles in an old western tv show. He was a great actor too. Rick Moranis who plays Dark Helmet you might recognise too. He was in the 1st Ghostbusters and Honey I Shrunk the Kids. P.s: The things that follow Yogurt are based off of the Jawas from Tatooine in Starwars.
@@amyjordan195 you are correct. I even stated he was working on another production in my statement. I just meant it was fairly close. Movies typically take time to make and this movie was made in the late 1980s. I think 1986 but I could be wrong. So he definitely got more roles done inbetween this movie and his death. Thanks for the helpful thoughts though.
Fun fact: George Lucas loved the film so much, he had ILM give Brooks a model of the Millennium Falcon so it can make a cameo. You can see the Falcon at 27:50.
As others have mentioned George Lucas gave his permission for this film mainly because Mel Brooks asked him if he would be okay with it and sent him the script to read first before Mel started filming. As also mentioned the Spaceballs merchandising stipulation was George's only request leading to the bit in the movie about Spaceballs merchandising. John Candy(Barf) was an alumni of Saturday Night Live, he was in a lot of comedies during that time, "Uncle Buck", "Splash", "Trains, Planes and Automobiles" to name a few. Bill Pullman(Lonestar)was in a lot of films too. He played the President in "Independence Day" for one. And yes the Vulcan nerve pinch is from Star Trek. This film and Young Frankenstein are my favorite Mel Brooks films.
The prince's name is Prince Valium. Valium is a tranquilizer and sleep aid. That's why he keeps yawning; portrayed by 80's B-List celebrity Jim J. Bullock.
They do explain John Candy's character, you must have missed it. He's not half man half cat. He had the line, "I'm a mog. Half man, half dog. I'm my own best friend.".
George gave him his blessing with the condition zero merchandise was to be sold. There way no toys, lunch boxes, shirts, plushys there was nothing at all from this movie. That is why Mel added in the merchandising scene.
Yes, the Vulcan neck pinch is a thing. The actor for Spock came up with it because he thought knocking people out with his fists didn't fit with his character. You should watch the original Star Trek series sometime. It's a franchise that as far as I've seen doesn't get much attention from the reactor community. Also, there's a parody movie called Galaxy Quest that spoofs the show, and you don't have to know anything about the original to enjoy it.
This was a parody of Star Wars, like when Weird Al does a parody of another artist's song. Mel Brooks sent a copy of the script to George Lucas and, having seen his previous works, was a huge fan. He loved the idea, and he allowed him to do it, but also wanted it to look like a Star Wars film; so let him use his Special FX company to do all the space shots, models and other FX. Just like with the Star Wars films, the ships were made by cannibalizing lot's of model kits to make everything look "realistic". The joke in regards to having SPACEBALLS items for sale at Yogurt's place, and that pop up in other places, was because George wouldn't allow any merchandising for the film. George held onto the merchandising rights of Star Wars, because the movie company didn't see it being so successful, so George made the majority of his fortune; selling Star Wars "everything". With the similarities of SPACEBALLS, as it was a direct parody of Star Wars, George didn't want SPACEBALLS stuff; to be mistaken for his Star Wars merchandise. Mel was 100% fine with this, and it inspired a running joke that was absolutely genius, and still holds up to this day; even more than ever. Everything aligned perfectly and a parodic masterpiece was born...
So this is a spoof of both Star Wars and a movie from the 1930’s called It Happened One Night. That was the first movie to sweep the academy awards. It’s one of my favorite classic movies. Worth a watch for sure.
you flat out got to the point where you said what the fuck out loud...lmao! That was epic! Pretty sure a lot of people were thinking the same thing .. :D Glad you enjoyed the absurdity that we've been for decades! Thanks!
Not only did George Lucas NOT sue Mel Brooks, George loved it and allowed his SFX company ILM work on it for Mel Brooks under the condition Brooks didn't make any merchandising deals.
Edit: Not only ludicrous speed but the plaid version of the Tesla (notice the "They've gone to plaid" line) that has the ludicrous mode.
This actually inspired Mel Brooks to put all these "merchandising" jokes into the movie 😂
@@ZwiekszoneRyzyko True, that's what led to the merchandising gag in the movie.
he also required that the main character not look like Han Solo, and he doesn't, he looks like Indiana Jones
Also, from the boring company, the not a flamethrower based off the merchandise
Also the footage of the escape pods ejecting was unused footage from the original Star Wars movie that George gave Mel to use!
I absolutely LOVE the very first gag in the film...the absurdly long size of the ship. Had me cracking up as a kid. Spaceballs is such a gem of comedy.
The guy that had the Alien bust out of his chest in the diner... that was John Hunt from the original Alien film.
Mel Brooks actually got him to reprise his role in a space comedy... absolutely bonkers and glorious 👏
Also, the part where the xenomorph starts singing was the highlight of the movie back in the day. That's because everyone was very familiar with the song, "Hello, My Baby" -- a staple of the frog from Looney Toons cartoons.
The gag was that he was found by someone and start singing and dancing...but Only for that one person. He would never do it around others, so anytime the person who found the frog tried to tell people about the amazing talented frog, they'd just see a regular frog just sitting there.
Funny cartoon. So, seeing the baby xenomorph break out in that song in spats, a top hat, and a dance stick exactly like the Looney Toons frog... the audience just lost it. haha
Another Mel Brooks classic. If you haven't seen it, Mel's The Producers, 1968 and 2005 (musical) versions, is terrific. You've probably seen Robin Hood: Men In Tights. It came out in the 90s. A lot of people say it's Mel Brooks' worst, but it was the first one of his that I saw, so I still go back to it. But what I love about Spaceballs is that when George Lucas discovered that Brooks was making a satire of Star Wars, he gave him full access to Lucasfilms, which meant that this has some of the best special effects for its time in 1987. No CGI.
LOVE Robin Hood: Men in Tights!
To be fair, Men in Tights might be his worst...but that's not bad because the best is so high and it's still so much better than most crap that gets made. Love all his stuff
John Candy's costume tail was operated by an off-screen stagehand so that when "Barf" tells the waitress at the diner "It has a mind of its own" that was actually true. Also, if you look fast at the parking area outside the diner just before the cut to inside it, there's a small Millennium Falcon parked there.
“Even in the future nothing works!!!” Possibly the most true thing ever said in a movie!!
The prince that Vespa was set up to marry keeps yawning because he's Prince Valium. Valium is a mild sedative, also called Diazepam or Benzo ; this is why the robot, Dot Matrix, says "We both know Prince Valium is a pill", as that's the form Valium was used in. The parody is of a serial strip that has been in publication over 70 years called Prince Valiant.
He was given permission to make this on one condition. He didn't sell any merchandise tied to the film. Hence why they made fun of it.
So first off, glad to see you watch this classic. After seeing it in high school, me and my best friend quoted this movie so many times, and also, George Lucas let this film get made with his blessing. The only thing he didn't allow was any Spaceballs merchandise, probably because kids might confuse them for the real thing.
Not only was it made with George's blessing.. He let them use ILM so it wouldn't look cheap.
John Candy, who played Barf, the mog, half man, half dog, was also the Jamaicans’ coach in “Cool Runnings”
Cool runnings was a good movie but not a comedy.
No, George Lucas didn't sue Mel Brooks over this film. In fact he gave permission to have the Millenium Falcon in it.
Congratulations, you're the first reactor to get the chapter 11 joke about bankruptcy. Most people just say what happened to chapter's 1 thru 10. I've waited a long time for someone to reference bankruptcy.
Mel Brooks was always one of my favorites. History of the World Part 1 or Young Frankenstein are 2 other really, really good Brooks movies. He is a master of the silly comedy.
Him turning down the money came from the movie "It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable & Claudette Cobert in 1934. Clark Gable character turned down the reward when he returned the daughter & only asked for money to cover his expenses.
"We got the ending we wanted. We had to wait right until the end..."
Well, that's where we usually get endings.
Given how much you enjoyed this, I would definitely recommend you watch Airplane! (1977?) with Leslie Nielsen. Also, Valium (now known as diazepam) is an anti-anxiety medication, the most common side effect of which is drowsiness, hence Prince Valium forever yawning.
The “merchandising” line always gets me. It’s literally every movie has merchandise up the crazy. It’s how all of them make the budget back.
Star Wars was one of the first movies to go all in on merchandising. When Lucas contracted with 20th Century Fox to make the movie they allowed him to retain all of the rights to any merchandising because they assumed it wouldn't amount to all that much. Needless to say, the studio regretted that decision. It ranks up there with IBM paying Microsoft to develop an operating system for their new PC computers and allowing Microsoft to retain the rights to DOS. MS has made billions off selling the OS for PCs and PC clones ever since, far more than IBM made off coming up with the original design for the PC.
Three recommendations:
1. Uncle Buck - John Candy, the guy who played Barf is the main character.
2. Police Academy - Michael Winslow, the guy with the sounds effects is in this as well and plays a larger part.
3. Blazing Saddles, Another Mel Brooks movie that could never be made today.
All three are hilarious.
Edit: Just saw you already watched Blazing Saddles.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Blazing saddles could not be made today, mainly cause it would make no sense. It was the immense popularity of spaghetti westerns in the 70s that gave it any relevance.
The 7 little guys on the desert planet are a combination of the jawas from " Star Wars" and the 7 dwarves from " Snow White". Many parodies in this movie. Where they meet Yougurt is from " The Wizard of Oz ". Mel Brooks always like to make cameos in his films.
They were also a nod to Alec Guiness in Bridge on the River Kwai.
Theres 6 of them
2:50 shots like that were mostly done with models back in then. CGI could just barely accomplish that kind of thing when this came out but is was extremely time consuming and expensive. It was MUCH cheaper and frankly looked better to use models until a good 15 years later.
“Young Frankenstein” is another classic Mel Brooks movie definitely worth checking out 👍
This is such a movie of my childhood. I laughed so hard at your reaction of the massive space ship. So many classic spoofs in this film.
No such thing as CGI in the late 80s. This is from ILM which did the FX for Star Wars.
*seeing SpaceBalls for the first time:*
everyone in the world: a dog man..?
Kabir: that's a cat man.
I don’t know if anyone has said this yet, but the guy who plays Dark Helmet is named Rick Moranis. He’s a canadian born actor who was very famous for the series of Honey I Shrunk The Kids movie and I think two others plus Honey I Blew Up The Baby. You might also remember him from Ghostbusters where he played the nerdy accountant.
The alien creature dancing in the diner was mimicking Michigan J. Frog, the name of the dancing and singing frog that stars in Warner Brothers Bugs Bunny cartoons.
You should definitely watch Uncle Buck! It’s arguably John Candy’s (Barf) most popular movie where he’s the lead
Maybe you recognize Bill Pullman (the pilot with half dog) from Independence Day with Will Smith. He played the president in that movie.. Of course, he's been around for years & has been in many films. Also, the half dog is played by John Candy. Trains Planes & Automobiles was one of his well-known movies as well as Uncle Buck.
I first saw Bill Pullman in Ruthless People. He was so good at playing a dumb guy.
I liked him in Casper and While You Were Sleeping
@@kathyrutherford4485 While You Were Sleeping is one of my favorite movies.
Yes! Possibly the best parody film ever created.
I'd Have To Put It On The Same Level As ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS!!!
Mel Brook's movies all have this same humor. The lead was played by Bill Pullman who was also in the romantic comedy "while you were sleeping", Casper, Sleepless in Seatle and he played the President in Independence Day. Barf was played by the famous John Candy who played in Uncle Buck, Summer Rental, Cool Runnings, Trains planes and automobiles....and yes he was in Home Alone. I was so saddened the day he died, he was a classic.
I love the Jaws-esque music at the beginning. You can almost hear the conductor rolling his eyes each time he realizes the ship is still coming.
Michael Winslow (the radar operator) is amazing! I enjoy his stand up & absolutely loved him in all of the Police Academy films!
As a massive Star Wars fan I love this movie
George Lucas gave permission for Mel to back this, but they made a deal. I think it had something to do that Mel wouldn't do any merchandising for Spaceballs. Lonestar is supposed to be Han Solo. Barf is Chewbacca. Pizza the hut is supposed to be Java
The dancing alien at the cafe was a spoof of a 1940's cartoon that featured a frog singing that song.
33:04 _Star Wars_ is a movie quite similar to this. Some people like it.
George was always super cool with fan movies and parody and things like that. it was a golden era of star wars fandom.
It's a shame that Lucas didn't allow Brooks to do merchandising. I would've totally bought a few of those 6"-inch dolls to... um... display on my shelf.
It's not a shame, it's just business. Lucas knew a comedy movie called Spaceballs wasn't going to be confused with Star Wars, which came out a decade earlier. But he also knew that a little Yogurt doll _could_ be confused with little Yoda dolls, and might affect sales, and Lucas was having none of that.
@@ClayLoomis1958 It was a joke. ;)
@@Osprey850 Yes, I understand that, but it was also a fair trade. Lucas gave Brooks permission to use his licensed characters, had ILM do the special effects, and allowed use of the sound effects as well. In return, all Brooks gave up was merchandising rights.
Lucas gave them permission to make this movie but they could not make or sell any merchandise
You mentioning "Top Secret", reminded me that there's a movie called "Top Secret!" that would also make for a great reaction.
You would.probably like History of the World, Part 1 another classic that makes fun of history.
Men In Tights! If you haven't seen that yet, you need to, it's another one from Mel Brooks. It parodies Robin Hood movies. Robin hood prince of thieves specifically, so if you haven't seen that, you will probably miss a lot of the things their making fun of
The guy playing Barf is John Candy...a Canadian treasure...RIP.
1) The references to "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" and "Alien" are recognizable to most viewers, but as an old movie buff, I like all the older references: "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "The Wizard of Oz" and "It Happened One Night" and "Planet of the Apes."
2) The guy who has the monster burst from his chest was played by the English actor John Hurt. He is best remembered for "Aliens" but he should as one of the greatest actors of all time. His performance as Caligula in "I, Claudius" is extraordinary.
John Hurt was also High Chancellor Sutler in V for Vendetta and played the "War Doctor" in the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special. He's had such a wide range of roles.
Actually, Mel Brooks got the blessing from George Lucas, but was asked to not make merchandise, since they would look so similar, which is why merchandising is such a big joke in the movie
the scene where he plays with his dolls will always be hilarious 😂
Barf was indeed acted by John Candy RIP, that was in "Home Alone". He also was in "Brewster's Millions" with Richard Pryor, another great comedy. The sound affects guy is famous for his role in the "Police Academy" series, another must watch... in that series he has a much larger role. Lone-Star actor is Bill Pullman, watch out for his films...
Now you're talkin'! My favorite! So many tongue in cheek treasures! Behind every line is a goof in the making!
This is tied as my all-time favorite movie! Mel Brooks is a genius! George Lucas loved this movie and gave his blessing! My grandmother’s maiden name was Schwartz so to say we fave quoted this movie is an understatement!
Mel Brooks made Robin Hood: Men In Tights that is HILARIOUS you need to check out as well and has your British feel to it 😉 also is one of Dave Chappelle’s first movies
Mel Brooks took silliness to high art. Like the slapstick comics of the past, Brooks understood that there is something intrinsically funny about a pie in the face, slipping on a banana peel, and a coconut to the, uh, coconut. Enjoyed the clip w/reactions!
When they shot vespa hair she didn't have her industrial strengthhair dryer, so she handled it very well.
6:08 Obviously you've never seen the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton version of _The Taming of The Shrew._
George Lucas made a deal with Mel Brooks, to do the movie but no merchandise sales. So Mel put some in the movie instead. Dark Helmut playing with toys.
"why does he keep yawning?"
Well, his name is Prince Valium. Valium is a sedative, and a strong one at that, so him being tired all the time is a nod to his name
Films in the 80s used physical models, usually built out of cannibalized plastic kits.
Prince Valium (named for sleeping medicine) is a play on Prince Valiant, a medieval character in comic strips. That's why he's yawning.
Dot Matrix is Vespa's droid.
You thinking Barf is "half cat" reminds me of my issue with Chewie being based on a dog. He looks like Big Foot with a muzzle.
Lucas actually signed off on this film on the condition it not be merchandized. Hence, the merchandizing jokes.
The ring projector of the schwartz is based on: 1) the lens used by the Lensmen in E.E. "Doc" Smith's pulp scifi series; which in turn inspired 2) the power rings worn by members of the Green Lantern Corps in DC Comics.
Mel Brooks got permission from George Lucas
ILM did some of the special effects. Mel Brooks made a deal with George Lucas that he wouldn't make any merchandise that would interfere with Star Wars merch, thus you get a lot of not-so-subtle nods of plastering the name on everything
Another great story is the Mr. Coffee bit. Mel Brooks specifically wrote that in and early in the movie because, in his words, so many times in movies he shot before this, scenes/takes would have to be redone because someone would leave a Styrofoam coffee cup lying around. This way, if it happened during the production of Spaceballs, they wouldn't have to reshoot a thing.
3:30 You might not know because of your age but the similar opening scene of star wars was much lauded at the time for being a wow moment of cinematic spectacle.
Barf is played by John Candy, Canadian, comic and actor, yes he was in Home Alone. You should see him with Steve Martin in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, in Uncle Buck, and The Great Outdoors with Dan Ackroyd all hilarious. R.I.P. John. Dark Helmet was played by Rick Moranis, another Canadian treasure ( Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, Honey I Shrunk the Kids movies. Lone Star was Bill Pullman ( Independence Day, Casper, Sleepless in Seattle.
4:21 Force Choked His Spaceballs. 😂🤣😂🤣
3:42 - Mel Brooks had George Lucas look at the script and Lucas gave his blessing. Lucas' only condition was that Brooks couldn't make Spaceballs toys as they would appear too similar to Star Wars toys. This explains the extensive merchandising gag in the movie.
That Vader dude was in "Honey, I shrunk the kids"
Mel Brooks is a treasure! Great Star Wars parody!!
I think you would also like inner space with Dennis Quaid and meg Ryan.
Fun fact the black guy on the pick in the desert is same actor who played Tuvol on Star Trek Voyager
not only did Lucas give permission, he let Brooks park the millenium falcon park in the space port lot!!
Quite a few reactors always miss that one LOL!
Another fact. The actress playing the nurse with the surgeon played thr Captain of the main ship in STARSHIP TROOPERS who got slammed in the door
And if you go neck look in parking lot of Cafe at the end THE MILLINEUM FALCON fro Star Wars is in the lot
Was fun! Just love the silliness. Word play. Names.
"Why does he keep yawning?" Well he is prince Valium.
The guy doing the sound effects of the radar was none other than Michael Winslow. Should definitely check out Police Academy as he was well known on the Police Academy movies as Marvell Jones.
Shout out to MW the original old school human sound effects man LOL!
Man this is a damn-good Classic parody. You picked a good one to watch.
I saw this in the theater way back in the day, hilarious 😆
Barf was played by John Candy : a legend. He played in a lot of movies before he died. Uncle Buck is one of my favorites ❣️
One of Mel Brooks funniest movies was his first. Please watch “The Producers” (1967 film) with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. It was remade into a musical in 2005.
I love this movie. It has so many funny jokes and is great at showing off merch. The whole reason they had so many merch jokes implanted in the movie was George Lucas allowed them to make the parody of the star wars elements but they could not make merchandise to go with the movie. This movie also had a funny adult cartoon made for a short time. It had somewhere between 5-13 episodes. It also gave yogurt a wife he always argued with. I must admit I always thought the pizza the hut joke was funny but it looked so gross I couldnt stand it on the screen for long either. Yogurt and the leader of the Spaceballs colony was played by Mel Brooks himself. This man is a legend as a director. Mel Brooks movies have so many 4th wall break jokes its great. He really knows how to make a good comedy. You were correct on Barfs actor (John Candy) btw. This is one of his last roles before he died. He died of a heart attack while casting roles in an old western tv show. He was a great actor too. Rick Moranis who plays Dark Helmet you might recognise too. He was in the 1st Ghostbusters and Honey I Shrunk the Kids.
P.s:
The things that follow Yogurt are based off of the Jawas from Tatooine in Starwars.
John Candy died in the 90s. This was far from his last movie.
@@amyjordan195 you are correct. I even stated he was working on another production in my statement. I just meant it was fairly close. Movies typically take time to make and this movie was made in the late 1980s. I think 1986 but I could be wrong. So he definitely got more roles done inbetween this movie and his death. Thanks for the helpful thoughts though.
Fun fact: George Lucas loved the film so much, he had ILM give Brooks a model of the Millennium Falcon so it can make a cameo. You can see the Falcon at 27:50.
Barf’s actor is John Candy from The Great Outdoors and also Uncle Buck
Yes, the Vlucan neck pinch was made famous by Spock from the original Star Trek Series .
As others have mentioned George Lucas gave his permission for this film mainly because Mel Brooks asked him if he would be okay with it and sent him the script to read first before Mel started filming. As also mentioned the Spaceballs merchandising stipulation was George's only request leading to the bit in the movie about Spaceballs merchandising. John Candy(Barf) was an alumni of Saturday Night Live, he was in a lot of comedies during that time, "Uncle Buck", "Splash", "Trains, Planes and Automobiles" to name a few. Bill Pullman(Lonestar)was in a lot of films too. He played the President in "Independence Day" for one. And yes the Vulcan nerve pinch is from Star Trek. This film and Young Frankenstein are my favorite Mel Brooks films.
Candy wasn't on SNL.....JFC
If you like the guy that made sound effects you should watch Police Academy
Almost ALL of Mel Brooks' films are GREAT!!!
Do "Robinhood: Men in Tights" another Mel Brooks film.
The prince was Prince Valium. That's why he was so sleepy
I don’t Remember John Candy at home alone, but he was in a movie called uncle Buck
The prince's name is Prince Valium. Valium is a tranquilizer and sleep aid. That's why he keeps yawning; portrayed by 80's B-List celebrity Jim J. Bullock.
Barf is Chembacca. His friend is Han Solo. Prince Valium is always tired because Valium (a med) makes you sleepy. lol
They do explain John Candy's character, you must have missed it. He's not half man half cat. He had the line, "I'm a mog. Half man, half dog. I'm my own best friend.".
George gave him his blessing with the condition zero merchandise was to be sold. There way no toys, lunch boxes, shirts, plushys there was nothing at all from this movie. That is why Mel added in the merchandising scene.
2 words........YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN! That is the quintessential Mel Brooks film! 🤣
George Lucus didn't sue Mel Brooks he actually helped Mel Brooks create Spaceballs to make a perfect parody of Star wars
This is in fact my favorite movie of all time
When trying to remember who john candy is the polka king from home alone usually isn't the direct link, but you are right that's him.
Yes, the Vulcan neck pinch is a thing. The actor for Spock came up with it because he thought knocking people out with his fists didn't fit with his character.
You should watch the original Star Trek series sometime. It's a franchise that as far as I've seen doesn't get much attention from the reactor community. Also, there's a parody movie called Galaxy Quest that spoofs the show, and you don't have to know anything about the original to enjoy it.
Check out RolyPolyOllie. He recently did a lot of star trek.
This was a parody of Star Wars, like when Weird Al does a parody of another artist's song. Mel Brooks sent a copy of the script to George Lucas and, having seen his previous works, was a huge fan. He loved the idea, and he allowed him to do it, but also wanted it to look like a Star Wars film; so let him use his Special FX company to do all the space shots, models and other FX. Just like with the Star Wars films, the ships were made by cannibalizing lot's of model kits to make everything look "realistic". The joke in regards to having SPACEBALLS items for sale at Yogurt's place, and that pop up in other places, was because George wouldn't allow any merchandising for the film. George held onto the merchandising rights of Star Wars, because the movie company didn't see it being so successful, so George made the majority of his fortune; selling Star Wars "everything". With the similarities of SPACEBALLS, as it was a direct parody of Star Wars, George didn't want SPACEBALLS stuff; to be mistaken for his Star Wars merchandise. Mel was 100% fine with this, and it inspired a running joke that was absolutely genius, and still holds up to this day; even more than ever. Everything aligned perfectly and a parodic masterpiece was born...
Yes... It took several times watching to realize that President Skroob is Brooks spelled backwards!
Remember Chewbacca from Star Wars. John Candy played Barf which must be what Barf represents.
11:09 They Say Protect Yourselves For A Reason.
So this is a spoof of both Star Wars and a movie from the 1930’s called It Happened One Night. That was the first movie to sweep the academy awards. It’s one of my favorite classic movies. Worth a watch for sure.
you flat out got to the point where you said what the fuck out loud...lmao! That was epic! Pretty sure a lot of people were thinking the same thing .. :D Glad you enjoyed the absurdity that we've been for decades! Thanks!