From 1977 to present day, almost everyone has heard of characters such as Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and the infamous Jabba the Hutt. The Star Wars franchise has been at the forefront of pop culture for a very long time and will most likely stay in viewers’ hearts for years to come. However, its lesser known parody, Spaceballs, is far less of a household name. Coming out in the late 80’s, Spaceballs only received 38.1 million USD compared to A New Hope with 775.4 million USD ( ). Although Spaceballs is a parody of Star Wars, both movies have unique qualities that set them apart.
The original Star Wars trilogy follows three main protagonists in their quest to take down the evil Empire that threatens their galaxy, facing harrowing villains…show more content… The dorky Dark Helmet takes the role of Darth Vader in the parody, looking like a child playing dress up in clothes far too big. He wears thick glasses and has a hard time keeping his calm in bad situations, resorting to fighting dirty when it looks as if he will not win. In one major battle between himself and Lone Starr, he pauses the fight to surrender but instead steals Starr’s weapon. Audiences will remember Dark Helmet for his childish behaviour and ridiculous demeanor rather than him scaring anyone. The second protagonist of the story is Pizza the Hut, a giant creature made of pizza, cheese, and pepperoni. Just as disgusting as Jabba the Hutt, Pizza the Hut is motivated by many similar things as Jabba although he rarely makes appearances in the movie, mostly being mentioned by characters without actually being shown. Pizza the Hut is seemingly inspired by an Italian mob boss with the accent and greed to match, although he ends up dying of autocannibalism after being locked in a car and only has a single appearance in the film. An original character not based on Star Wars is President Skroob, leader of Planet Spaceball. He is a bad leader and a womanizer, more focused on his next bed partner than helping his people, relying on Dark Helmet rather than doing things…show more content… Princess Vespa sets many things in motion by running away from home after being placed in an arranged marriage with Prince Valium, a tired man who is extremely boring and very plain looking. During her flight she is kidnapped by Dark Helmet to be held ransom against her father. On Dark Helmets home planet of Spaceballs, there is barely any oxygen left for the inhabitants while Vespa’s planet of Druidia is filled with the natural resource. President Skroob plans on using her against the King in order to open the airlock and steal the precious gas. The rest of the movie follows the same path as Star Wars, with Lone Starr awakening mystical powers and falling in love with Princess Vespa. The films climax is reached when Lone Starr and Princess Vespa face off with President Skroob’s weapon of mass destruction, Mega Maid. While trying to steal the oxygen using Mega Maid’s powerful vacuum, Lone Starr uses his powers to flip the power switch and return the air. He later faces down with Dark Helmet and sets the Mega Maid to self destruct, destroying the weapon and saving Druidia. The movie ends with Lone Starr and Princess Vespa flying away after their wedding with a promise of a second movie the characters dub, “Spaceballs: A Search For More Money”.
When deciding whether to watch Star Wars or Spaceballs, it is important to note the aforementioned elements. The prospective viewer has to ask themself if they would rather spend multiple