Amazon and MGM have revealed that the sequel to “Spaceballs” is officially moving forward. Mel Brooks returned to his 99th birthday cusp and returned to reprise his role as yogurt in the 1987 spoofing film. The news satisfies many enthusiastic expectations as “Space Ball” fans (many people have back pain) speculate about whether it will happen for years. The teaser trailer for the film hilariously points out that since 1987 there have been plenty of “Star Wars” TV shows and films, not to mention Disney animated films, remakes of those films, and prequels of the remakes. There were also many “Alien” and “Predator” films, as the teaser notes, a number of “Jurassic Park” films, eight “Harry Potter” films, remakes of those films’ television shows, and 36 films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But it was added, only 1 “Space Ball.”
However, that is not entirely accurate. Technically, since 1987 there have been two “space balls.” That means one is hanging far more than the others. Few people remember “Spaceballs: The Animated Series,” which was run in 13 episodes in 2008 and 2009, and perhaps unwise. It was aired on G4. It aired on digital networks best known for reporting in the video game industry in the mid-2000s.
“Spaceballs: The Animated Series” reunited with original cast members Daphne Zuniga, Joan Rivers and Dom Deluise. Bill Pullman (Lone Star) was replaced by Reno Romano, John Candy (who played Barf before his death in 1994) was replaced by Tino Insana, and George Weiner (who played Colonel Sandulz) was replaced by David Wittenberg and Rick Moranis (who retired for the year at that time). Julian Groseman also took over the role of Leslie Bavis’ cmdlet zircon, but also performed most of the female characters supported by the show.
The show… I understand.
Space Ball: The Animation Series was fine
The “Space Ball” comics attempt to capture some of Brooks’s trends towards pun, low humor and Boest-Boest-style comedy, but most of this is animated and flat. Brooks was able to write cheap puns for his films as the talented comedian actors could wink them to the camera. In animation, the gags are simply bad, especially when adopting the expressive style used in Spaceballs: The Animated Series. This is a series that attempts to pull tarter from lines such as “one onion ring must be thrown into a deep stir fry of lador.” Live comedians or perhaps Mad Magazine can make it interesting. That’s not the case with Space Ball: Anime Series.
Plus, the show uses Flash animation, so that its characters move more like paper dolls than completely clear dolls. Everything looks stiff and cheap.
On the other hand, the show’s plotline is broad and stupid, but it is protected for comedy. “Space Ball: Animation Series” is executed by “Family Guy” more than the “Space Ball” movies, and wants to spark not just “Star Wars” but all the popular culture (there are some jokes aimed at franchises like “Alien”). Rather, the “Space Ball” manga skewers both current events and pop culture of the era, taking in parody of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Grand Theft Auto,” and “The Lord of the Rings” (almost the same as above), and at the same time nods to incidents like the launch of E. coli. The show is its strongest when it sticks to satire Star Wars. For example, it began by spoofing George Lucas’s prequel trilogy, revealing that the dark helmet was originally a boy named Pannakin Klibai.
(By the way, the dark helmet is animated to look 2 feet tall. This is a strange aesthetic choice. Rick Moranis is 5’6″ that short. )
Spaceball comics were not well received by either fans or critics.
One of the “Space Ball” canons explicitly rewritten by the “anime series” was a royal lineage of lonely stars. At the end of Brooks’ 1987 film, it was revealed that Lone Star was secretly the prince of his life, which allowed him to marry Princess Vespa. However, in “Spaceballs: The Animated Series,” it became clear that his royal lineage was a misreading of his birth certificate.
The “Space Ball” manga was also not well received by fans. This is due to a mysterious delay in production. The show was announced in the 2007 San Diego Comics Scam, with G4 planning to create 13 episodes. But in the end, the show didn’t see the light of day until September 21, 2008, 16 months after it was first announced. By then, enthusiasm had kindly reduced deaths and many people had stopped paying attention.
Unfortunately, this series wasn’t read that well. Ign gave the show 4 out of 10said the parody was obvious in the hryvages and the humor was not interesting. Similarly, wiredI felt that the “Space Ball” manga was simply lacking when it comes to comedy. It notes that that type of spoofer was already ruined by the then waves of terrible, referenced spoof films that were infected in the mid-2000s. Certainly, “dating movies,” “superhero movies,” and the disaster film “All,” which is the enemy of IMDB, came out around the same time as “Spaceballs: The Animated Series.”
If the crew behind the “Space Ball” sequel is familiar, the film will refer to an animated spinoff of the original film. Assuming Brooks has any say on this issue, he would probably mention it just to dismiss it, and the film’s fourth wall-breaking nature would allow the character to note that “animation shows don’t count.” When the film comes to theaters in 2027, we’ll have to wait to see if Schwartz wakes up.
