 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Spaceballs
- Review Date: October 16, 2005
- PG
- Genre: Comedy
- 1987
Common Sense Media says
Goofy parody mocks the Star Wars series.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this spoofy comedy is up to its Dark Helmet in off-color jokes, sexual innuendo, and potty humor. When you're not giggling, you might cringe at the kind of humor it inspires in your tweens ... but, then again, they've probably seen a lot iffier stuff than this.
What's the story?
When spoiled Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) is kidnapped by President Srkoob's (Mel Brooks) evil regime, it's up to scruffy hero Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and his faithful companion Barf (John Candy) to rescue her.
Is it any good?
Brooks's Star Wars parody isn't particularly sophisticated, but older kids and teens should have fun with the goofy humor -- like most Brooks fare, SPACEBALLS revels in crude, sometimes infantile gags. For example: When the Darth Vader-inspired character, Dark Helmet, first appears, he approaches the camera, breathing heavily through his face-obscuring mask. Suddenly he flips up the front of the mask to reveal a nerdy-looking Rick Moranis, who exclaims, "I can't breathe in this thing!"
One of the great virtues of Brooks' masterwork, Young Frankenstein, was its beautiful re-creation of the look of the horror films of the 1930s, which added punch to all the ensuing silliness. Here, you don't really get the impression of watching a Star Wars movie gone mad: Many of the cheap-ish looking sets wouldn't look out of place on an episode of Saturday Night Live. Nevertheless, there are moments when the movie shines. Excessive merchandising is taken to task in a very funny scene in which Yogurt (Brooks again) hawks everything from Spaceballs the toilet paper to Spaceballs the flame thrower ("the kids love this one!"). And the movie's most memorable gag pays tribute to both the Alien series and the classic Chuck Jones cartoon "One Froggy Evening." Another good bit manages to work in a re-creation of the famous conclusion of Planet of the Apes.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about other film or TV parodies they enjoy. For example, The Simpsons is one of the best examples of parody used as social commentary; what can funny imitations point out that serious analysis may render too boring?
Which movies is Spaceballs specifically making fun of? How can you tell?
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- Teens & kids
AGE
Parents should note that the PG rating is circa 1987 standards. I was surprised when I heard the word a**hole multiple times within the first 10 minutes of the movie. Parents should know that because of the innuendo and language (this IS Mel Brooks, after all...) that the movie is certainly not for younger fans wanting to see a spoof of the Star Wars series. I would recommend DVRing the edited version on Comedy Central as opposed to letting pre-teen kids watch the original on DVD.
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AGE
Rating Incorrect- should be PG13
The language made me cringe for my kids sake- should be rated PG13. For instance; a major is introduced I'm Major A#@!ole as are his cousins "We're all A#@!oles Sir!" Funny for grownups, but wait till yer kids are older to see this wonderful spoof. S#@t is used a lot, and F%@k once...and the sexual innuendo is there, plus, Dark Helmut shoots disobeyers in the crotch.
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AGE
I can't get enough of Mel Brooks's satire and humor!!!
My rating: PG-13 for language, crude humor and innuendo throughout including double entendres, and comic sci-fi violence.
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AGE
A Great Comedy.
This is a great comedy movie if you saw Star Wars. The language is bad but in a funny way(like Happy Gilmore). Not for children under 10 andfor mature 10 year olds.
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Kid, 10 years old
October 4, 2009
AGE
Ha, Ha, Ha
I am a big Star Wars fan, so that helped me get alot of the jokes. I thought it was really funny because of jokes like, "they combed the desert" where they actually used a comb to comb the desert. As a 7 year old, I thought there were too many bad words in it.
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Kid, 10 years old
January 8, 2011
AGE
characters are slashed and a spaceship explodes but no one is killed
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AGE
Parody, Sweet Parody! Star Wars at its funniest!
Well, I'll make this short.
You cannot go wrong when you mix Star Wars and innapropriate jokes! AWESOME!
And that is my review for this movie.
Thanks for reading!
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AGE
our times,PG-13.their times,PG.
no doubt would have been PG-13 in our times mostly for strong language but besides that hilarious
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Kid, 12 years old
August 28, 2010
AGE
good for 10 and up
great movie but not for under 10
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| Topics: | adventures, misfits and underdogs, space and aliens |
| Studio: | MGM/UA |
| Director: | Mel Brooks |
| Cast: | Bill Pullman, John Candy, Rick Moranis |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 96 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | June 26, 1987 |
| DVD release date: | May 3, 2005 |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
| MPAA explanation: | raunchy humor and comic violence |
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