00:00Merchandising! Merchandising! Where the real money from the movie is made. Spaceballs the t-shirt!
00:06Fasten your seatbelts, fire up the Winnebago, and prepare to go to ludicrous speed.
00:11We passed them! Stop this thing!
00:15We can't stop! It's too dangerous!
00:18Because we're diving into the outrageous galaxy of Spaceballs.
00:22Spaceballs. This isn't just a parody of Star Wars. It's a movie so packed with behind-the-scenes chaos,
00:32legal drama, and improvised genius that it barely made it to theaters intact.
00:37Are we stopped? We're stopped, sir. Good. Well, why don't we take a five-minute break? Very good, sir.
00:45Here are 20 shocking facts about Spaceballs that'll blow your mind. And as a bonus,
00:50wait till you hear what George Lucas really thought.
00:53Number 1. Mel Brooks had to get permission from George Lucas himself.
00:57That's right. Before filming even began, Brooks reached out to Lucas to make sure he wouldn't get
01:03sued. Lucas said yes, but with one condition. No Spaceballs merchandise. That's why the film
01:08constantly mocks itself with fake merch like Spaceballs the Flamethrower. Ironically, that fake
01:14merch became more iconic than some real movie products at the time.
01:18Number 2. Rick Moranis improvised almost all of Dark Helmet's dialogue. Yep, that signature whiny
01:26villain voice and those ridiculous one-liners? Completely off the cuff. Moranis said playing
01:32the character was like channeling every childhood tantrum into one role, and Brooks just let him
01:37run with it. One crew member said there were times when even the camera operators had to stifle laughter
01:42during his takes. Number 3. The film's budget was slashed mid-production. Originally, Spaceballs was
01:49set to have epic space battles and expensive effects. But when the money dried up, Brooks leaned into the
01:55place. That's why many of the ship models are clearly toys, and why the whole thing feels like a sci-fi
02:10sketch show on steroids. It was DIY movie magic at its weirdest. Number 4. Pizza the Hut was a nightmare to
02:18film. The costume was real, made from rubber, melted cheese, and gallons of fake slime. The actor inside,
02:25Richard Carle, could only last a few minutes at a time before overheating. One crew member said it
02:30smelled like a microwave on fire, and after every take it took hours to clean up the mess.
02:36Number 5. The Winnebago wasn't just a prop. It was an actual working RV, modified with giant wings,
02:43driving on real roads before adding the space effects. The interior scenes were shot on a
02:49soundstage, but that exterior? 100% real van in flight gear. Brooks joked that it was the cheapest
02:56spaceship in cinema history. Number 6. John Candy almost passed out in his barf costume. The tail
03:02was remote-controlled, the ears twitched on motors, and the fur suit trapped heat.
03:07I'm a mog. Half man, half dog. I'm my own best friend.
03:13Between takes, Candy had to be hosed down just to keep from overheating. But he never complained.
03:18He loved the role and called it one of his favorites ever. He even ad-libbed some of Barf's lines,
03:23including, I'm a mog. Half man, half dog. I'm my own best friend.
03:29Number 7. The radar scene with the jam? Totally improvised. When Dark Helmet yells,
03:34there's only one man who would dare give me the raspberry. Lone Star. That entire sequence was
03:41made up on the spot. They actually threw real jam into the equipment. The crew had to stop filming
03:46afterward because the jam got stuck in the ventilation system. Number 8. Dot Matrix was
03:52voiced by Joan Rivers, but the body was played by a mime. That's right.
03:56How was that? Not bad. Not bad for a girl. Hey, that was pretty good for Rambo.
04:03Lorene Yarnell. A professional mime wore the golden robot suit while Rivers dubbed the lines in post.
04:09The result? C-3PO's sassier, sharper cousin. The two never met in person, but their combined
04:15performance gave Dot Matrix a life of her own. Number 9. The combing the desert scene was a direct
04:21jab at studio notes. Executives kept asking Brooks for more visual gags, so he gave them the most
04:28literal one he could think of. Two guys combing the desert. With giant combs. One of the combs broke
04:34mid-take and had to be taped back together. Number 10. The film barely passed the censors.
04:40Between the language, innuendo, and Mel Brooks' usual edge, several scenes were flagged for being too
04:46risque. Brooks had to fight to keep lines like,
04:49I bet she gives great helmet in the final cut. Surprisingly, most of the humor got through
04:54untouched. Number 11. Lone Star's name is a mix of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. Mel Brooks wanted
05:02one character to parody both heroes at once. That's why Lone Star flies a Millennium Falcon knockoff,
05:08wears a vest, and still gets the princess. Bill Pullman even studied both Star Wars characters to
05:13find a blend of swagger and idealism. Number 12. Mel Brooks played two roles.
05:19Yogurt and President Scrooge. But his makeup for Yogurt was so intense, he could only film for a few
05:25hours a day. The gold paint irritated his skin and the suit was almost impossible to move in. Still,
05:32he insisted on doing both parts himself. He said it was the only way to guarantee the jokes landed
05:37exactly how he wanted. Number 13. The Spaceballs theme song. Not written until after filming. Brooks wanted
05:44something upbeat and ridiculous, so he hired composer John Morris to write it in just a few days.
05:50They recorded it with a fake band to match the film's offbeat tone. The lyrics were changed several
05:55times to include last-minute jokes. Number 14. The scene where the characters watch Spaceballs the
06:01Movie inside Spaceballs the Movie nearly got cut. The studio thought it was too confusing, but Brooks fought
06:08to keep it. Today, it's one of the most iconic scenes in the film. Some film professors even use
06:13it to teach meta-storytelling. Number 15. George Lucas actually liked it. After seeing a rough cut,
06:20Lucas reportedly said,
06:21It's a loving spoof. His only regret? That he hadn't thought of Yogurt first.
06:26Lucasfilm even helped with the film's post-production by offering advice on space scenes. Brooks later said
06:32that Lucas' approval gave him the confidence to keep pushing boundaries. Number 16. Daphne Zuniga
06:38hated the yogurt scene. Not the character Yogurt, the actual yogurt she had to fall into during a gag.
06:44She said it was cold, sticky, and smelled terrible. The scene took multiple takes, and every time they
06:50reset, the yogurt got worse. Thicker, smellier, and somehow more slippery. It soaked through her costume,
06:57got in her hair, and lingered in the studio air long after they wrapped. Daphne later said that by
07:03the end of the day, the set smelled like a gym locker filled with expired groceries. She took it
07:09like a champ and nailed the scene in the end, but she admitted in interviews that she refused to eat
07:13yogurt for years after filming. She later joked that it was the only time in her career she had
07:19to shower on set between takes. Number 17. The Spaceballs sequel was teased in the movie,
07:25but never happened. Spaceballs 2, the search for more money, became an inside joke in Hollywood,
07:31and among fans, it became a legend. Brooks said he'd only make it if Rick Moranis came back,
07:37but Moranis stepped away from acting for years to focus on raising his children. Still, over the
07:42years, multiple drafts were written and quietly shelved. There were rumors of an animated series,
07:48a reboot, and even a Netflix pitch, but nothing ever materialized. Fans still ask Brooks at
07:54conventions about the sequel, and his answer is always the same, only if we can go even more
07:59ludicrous. He once joked that the true sequel was already made. It was just trapped in a different
08:04dimension where Mel Brooks is president and everyone wears mega-made helmets. Number 18.
08:10The Stunt Doubles Joke? Real stunt doubles. When Lone Star and Princess Vespa are caught and the guards say,
08:17those aren't them, they're their stunt doubles. The people on screen are actual professional doubles,
08:22complete with bad wigs and fake mustaches. One of the doubles was reportedly offended that their
08:28face got a bigger laugh than their stunt work. During test screenings, the audience laughed so
08:33loud and so long that several lines of dialogue were drowned out entirely. Brooks said he didn't
08:39care because the reaction was worth it. He later admitted that the line came from a conversation with
08:45his stunt coordinator, who jokingly complained that nobody notices the doubles until there's a punchline
08:50involved. So Brooks gave them the punchline and the spotlight. Number 19. Spaceballs didn't crush
08:57the box office when it premiered. Critics were confused and it flew under the radar, but over time
09:02it became a cult favorite. Quoted endlessly, played at midnight screenings, and even taught in film
09:08schools as a masterclass in parody. What started slow became a comedy legend. Number 20. Mel Brooks says
09:15Spaceballs is the most requested movie of his career. Fans still ask about it at every Q&A, and he's met
09:22people who named their dogs Barf or dressed up as Dark Helmet at their weddings. When asked about a sequel,
09:29he simply says, only if I can go to plaid. Bonus fact, the Schwartz rings? Totally real. Every main cast
09:36member got to keep one after filming wrapped. Rick Moranis reportedly still has his, and he's been known to
09:43wear it to fan conventions. For diehard fans, it's not just a ring. It's a piece of parody history.
09:49May the Schwartz be with you.
