Spaceballs

This article is about the film. For the TV series, see Spaceballs: The Animated Series. For other uses, see Spaceball (disambiguation).

Spaceballs
Theatrical release poster by John Alvin
Directed byMel Brooks
Written by
Produced byMel Brooks
Starring
CinematographyNick McLean
Edited byConrad Buff IV
Music byJohn Morris
Production
companies
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • June 24, 1987 (1987-06-24)
Running time
96 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$22.7 million[2]
Box office$38.1 million[3]

Spaceballs is a 1987 American satirical space opera comedy film co-written, produced and directed by Mel Brooks. It is a parody primarily of the original Star Wars trilogy, but also of other popular franchises such as Star Trek, Alien, The Wizard of Oz, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Planet of the Apes, and Transformers. The film stars Bill Pullman, John Candy, and Rick Moranis, with the supporting cast including Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, George Wyner, Lorene Yarnell, and the voice of Joan Rivers. In addition to Brooks playing a dual role, the film also features Brooks regulars Dom DeLuise and Rudy De Luca in cameo appearances.

In Spaceballs, heroic mercenary Lone Starr (Pullman) and his alien sidekick Barf (Candy) rescue Princess Vespa (Zuniga) of Druidia and her droid, Dot Matrix (Yarnell, voiced by Rivers), from being captured by the Spaceballs, led by President Skroob (Brooks), who wants to use Vespa as ransom to obtain Druidia's air for their own planet. However, the heroes get stranded on a desert moon, where they encounter the wise Yogurt (also Brooks), who teaches Starr about the metaphysical power known as "the Schwartz". Meanwhile, Spaceball commanders Dark Helmet (Moranis) and Colonel Sandurz (Wyner) lead the search for them but are hindered by their own incompetence.

The film was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) on June 24, 1987. A sequel is in the early stages of development as of June 2024.

  1. ^ "Spaceballs (PG) (CUT)". British Board of Film Classification. July 14, 1987. Archived from the original on February 23, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  2. ^ "Spaceballs (1987) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  3. ^ "Spaceballs (1987)". Box Office Mojo. August 18, 1987. Archived from the original on July 14, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2022.