“May the Schwartz Be With You!” That’s a phrase I haven’t heard in ages. I can’t believe it’s been 25 years since I first saw Spaceballs in the theater as a kid.

Planet Spaceball has used up all of its air, and so the Spaceballs decide to steal all of Planet Druidia’s air. However, Druidia’s 10,000 year air supply is protected by a locked shield. President Skroob sends the evil Dark Helmet to kidnap Princess Vespa in order to ransom her for the combination of the airlock.

Meanwhile, on Planet Druidia, Princess Vespa is being forced to marry the only remaining prince, the boring Prince Valium. She pulls a runaway bride, fleeing the planet with her robot, Dot Matrix. Elsewhere, Captain Lone Starr and his mawg (half-man/half-dog) co-pilot/sidekick Barf are flying around in the their Winnebago when Pizza the Hutt calls and demands the money owed to him. So Lone Starr strikes a deal to rescue King Rowland ‘s daughter in exchange for one million space bucks.

Spaceballs is first and foremost an excellent parody of Star Wars. The amazing cast includes Rick Moranis in the Darth Vader (Dark Helmet) role, Bill Pullman in the Han Solo/Luke role (Lone Starr), Daphne Zuniga in the Princess Leia role (Princess Vespa), John Candy in the Chewbacca role (Barf), Mel Brooks in the Yoda role (Yogurt) and the voice of Joan Rivers in the C-3PO role (Dot Matrix). Keeping with the Star Wars theme, there’s also the Jawa-like Dinkese and the storm trooper like Spaceballs (who are all a bunch of “Assholes”). And, of course, what ’80s film could be complete with out a cameo by sound effects wizard Michael Winslow?!

The humor of the film also works on many levels. Spaceballs is a great mix of parody, slapstick and jokes. The film even breaks the 4th wall to add to the humor, from Yogurt talking about Spaceballs merchandising to Dark Helmet talking to the camera and even watching the film itself mid-movie! The film is also layered with lots of sight gags, such as Vespa’s Princess Leia bun headphones and a bumper sticker on the extra-long spaceship that opens the film. Spaceballs also references other classic sci-fi franchises, such as Star Trek‘s beaming technology and a cameo by John Hurt, reprising his chest-bursting Alien role.

What’s great about Spaceballs is that even though it is a great satire of Star Wars, it doesn’t rely on that for viewers to order to enjoy the film. The story-itself is well written and self contained and works as a funny sci-fi fairy tale. I was around 11 when I first saw this movie in the theater. While I had seen Star Wars, I was still too young to have seen Alien, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying that John Hurt cameo.

If there’s one thing that really surprised me watching this film after so many years was the amount of cursing in the film, especially for a PG rating. I would have guessed this would have got a PG-13 rating. However, that was still a relatively new addition to the rating system at the time, so perhaps that is why it’s only PG. However, even after 25 years, and countless times seeing this film, I still found myself laughing. Spaceballs is a classic that easily holds up over time, and continues to be hilarious, with so many quotable lines!

What’s Included:

Film (1:45:52):

• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English DD 2.0, Spanish DTS 5.1, French DTS 5.1
• English SDH, Spanish subtitles

Extras:

• Farce Yourself! Spaceballs and the Skroobing of Sci-Fi (16:43)
  Mel Brooks discusses his decision to take on spoofing the sci-fi genre, the cast improvisations, his own roles in the film and his own strategy on how to not get sued by Star Wars.
• Commentary by Mel Brooks (1:36:12)
  For the most part Mel Brooks’ commentary is interesting, but a lot of what he says is also repeated in the other featurettes. However, at some points Brooks gets so engrossed in watching the movie that he forgets to talk, or just laughs/repeats the jokes from the film.
• Magwese Mono Audio (:33)
  There is a humorous on-screen note explaining why this track is so short.
• Dinkese Mono Audio (:28)
  There is a humorous on-screen note explaining why this track is so short.
• Spaceballs: The Documentary (30:04)
  Retrospective with the cast and crew recalling what it was like making the film. Feels a bit dated, like the commentary (which Brooks mentions was being recorded for the letterboxed laserdisc!). Some of the same material is repeated in the new Farce Yourself! featurette.
• In Conversation: Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan (20:30)
  The writers of the film discuss their writing process.
• John Candy: Comic Spirit (10:02)
  A tribute to the John Candy. Candy’s biographer discusses Candy’s career, and his Spaceballs co-stars recall what it was like working with him on this film.
• Watch the Movie in Ludicrous Speed (00:29)
  Literally the entire movie in under 30 seconds!
• Still Galleries
  Production photos broken into three galleries:
  • Spaceballs: The Behind-the-Movie Photos (4:24)
  • Spaceballs: The Costume Gallery (1:16)
  • Spaceballs: The Art Gallery (1:40)
• Trailers
  Two trailers for the film: Exhibitor Trailer with Mel Brooks Introduction (2:12) and the Theatrical Trailer (2:30)
• Film Flubs
  Six clips that show mistakes in the film (it’s nice to see them embrace these mistakes rather than try to digitally fix things 25 years later!): Edge of the Mirror (:16), Grabs Himself Early (:13), The Magic Reappearing Ring (:25), More Than His Head (:27), No End in Sight (::14), Track Behind Dot (:19)
• Storyboard-to-Film Comparison (6:41)
  Side-by-side comparisons between the original storyboard art and the finished scenes for the Dinkese planet scenes.

Final Thoughts:

The picture was good for a film its age, but does show some grain, particularly in darker and exterior scenes. The audio is great and had no complaints. There are a large number of extra features which are entertaining, but get a bit repetitive after a while.

For folks who already own the existing blu-ray edition of Spaceballs, the only additional material on this release is the Farce Yourself! Mel Brooks featurette. While entertaining, it’s probably not enough to justify a double-dip, especially since most of what is said is covered in the commentary and other featurettes. However, for those who don’t already own this film or own it on an older format, this blu-ray is a definite must-have for any collection.