The cast of Spaceballs continues to adventure in the sadly mostly unfunny Spaceballs: The Animated Series, now on DVD via MVD Rewind.
The Show
Yes. Mel Brooks’ 1987 Star Wars parody Spaceballs already had a sequel, before next year’s planned (and long-gestating) Spaceballs II. In 2008, Spaceballs: The Animated Series aired on the now-defunct video game-based cable network, G4. Mostly written by Thomas Meean, with a few other writers and a myriad of directors (TV, after all), it expanded the parody from Star Wars to a wider swatch of pop culture, and got most of the original cast to return as well. I don’t blame you if this is new to you. After the release on a niche network, Spaceballs received a five-episode DVD back in 2009. I recall seeing it exactly once in the store. Something being hard to find and know is not an indicator of quality, so how is Spaceballs?
Spaceballs: The Animated Series is a very mixed bag, leading toward the cringly unfunny more than it scores laughs. The animation is iffy, the voices are great though, and the scripts are very hit-or-miss.
Weirdly, the first two episodes are the movie on ludicrous speed, shortened to 45 animated minutes from the 96-minutes. While it adds some funny jokes that need animation to work, it is mostly just “hey, remember this,” but less funny since it’s rushed. However, in a smart move, most of the remaining 13 episodes move away from directly taking on Star Wars. Okay, the first regular episode is a backstory of Dark Helmet, paroding the Star Wars prequels. After that, plots of Jurassic Park, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, Outbreak, and others. It’s like they got the idea of “what if X existed in Spaceballs, then moved the characters in and out as needed, putting their attributes.” Sometimes it works well, getting solid laughs with a clever turn of phrase or juxtaposition. These are properties I love, parodied by people I also love (I honestly have Young Frankenstein memorized, heck, I once played Inspector Kemp in a Rocky Horror-like Shadowcast!), but it just as often feels surface. “Let’s get this in the can and go get drunk.” There are jokes to be had, though often lost in the middle school haze.
Let it be known, with the easy humor: this show is incredibly juvenile. Not in the “for kids” way, but so many boob, sex, and “aren’t we edgy?” jokes. This is from the same era as Drawn Together and the height of [adult swim], so I get it. I do love me [adult swim] but more in the aburdist end of things, but this reference is in pushing boundaries. Being loud and crude isn’t inherently funny; there has to be some backing to hold it up. And they are there, but for everyone that works, about cause a wince, inscluding variety of jokes based on outdated and “really?” ethnic stereotype jokes or more so misogyny.
Heck, even the animation chooses to continually shove and bounce animated boobs in our faces. It’s weird to keep Princess Vespa in a short version of the wedding outfit. More cleavage and bounce that way for the 13-year-olds. Is anyone actually titillated (heh) by (to use a phrase stolen from the internet and used by me in the Delinquent Schoolgirls review) animated breasts boobily down the stairs? Especially when real ones are found just as easily? Yes, Brook’s humor has had a raunchy edge, but it wasn’t the focus and more of an extra touch kids don’t get in the continual rerunning on TV (I can’t tell you the number of times I saw the movie on TV growing up).
Speaking of the animation, it’s awkward and stilted. I’m reminded of the flash animation akin to Newgrounds. That was homegrown; this is on network TV. The sort that looks like the same specific pieces of art, hastily and minimally animated. But Bob, you say, what about [Adult Swim] shows or South Park using the same? Yes, even in that, that’s part of the charm and methodology. This just looks cheap. I couldnt help but think it looked like a proto-Archer in the stylings. So maybe that will work for you.
Good work on the voice crew, though. They try really hard and give a real spark to the proceedings. Mel Brooks, never one to say no, voices Yogurt and President Scroob (they share many scenes, so watching him talk to himself is funny). Daphne Zuniga returns, as does Joan Rivers as Vespa and Dot Matrix. Zuniga sounds just like Katey Segal. I kept thinking it was her cheating on Leela. Speaking of crossign franchises, Dee Bradley Baker picks up the Dark Helmet role from Rick Moranis; he also voices so many, especially Clones, in Star Wars animated work. Tino Insana takes on Barf from John Candy; there are times he sounds exactly like him. Rino Ramano does swell as Lone Star. Cool to hear Dom DeLuise as Pizza the Hutt in the pilot, his last role before death
Spaceballs: The Animated Series didn’t work for me, with good jokes and pop culture references lost under childish humor attempts. But it might work for others; it’s all subjective. Tap into your inner mid-2000s 23-year-old and go nuts. May the Schwartz be with you.
The Package
MVD Rewind presents Spaceballs: The Animated Series over two DVDs. The pair, which uses the VHS printing, is impressed on the other side of the see-through case. The double-sided sleeve has the poster/show info on the outside and an episode listing on the reverse (facing inward to the discs). It has MVD Rewind spine number #71. A fold-out poster is within, and a slip cover outside.
The Presentation
You might say, “DVD only, really?” But it’s okay. It looks pretty good, clean lines, and it keeps hold for plenty of movement. Digital animation tends to look good no matter the format, and it does here. I doubt Blu-Ray for 4k would look that much better. The sound is 2.0 and sounds good. It’s a noisy show, a lot of overlapping voices, and they remain distinct and clear; the differentiation between President Scroob and Yogurt, even when in the same scene, highlights the separation and clarity.
The Features
As any Mel Brooks character would say: bumpkiss.
Well, not quite, as it has three trailers: Spaceballs (1987), Spaceballs II (2027), and Hardware Wars (1978). I’m iffy on this, but I highly recommend MVD Rewind’s edition of Hardware Wars. Hilarious and a loaded disc, continuing to parody in “special editions” and more.
FInal Thought
I can’t fully recommend Spaceballs: The Animated Series. It might work far more for you than me. I often found it too immature and wanna-be edgy for my tastes (and I can play to that level if the material is right). But it looks and sounds good. Not much to offer in extras, but 15 episodes of content is plenty.