Spaceballs: The Animated Series

I have to say that I was iffy about a Spaceballs cartoon, much less a flash one at that, but after the 1st episode I've become addicted!!! I love the original film, and hope that this series is laying the ground work for Spaceballs II: The Quest for more money! I like the fact that the series parodies more than just Star Wars, though it still does, see "Return of the Sithee" if you doubt it, but it works! I am disappointed that the show didn't get enough publicity. I just found out that it actually was made, after reading rumors about a new movie/cartoon for years and never seeing any progress. I'm not even sure if it did get aired or what channel it would have come on. Nonetheless, I am glad it exists..but if people want to prevent a new movie from being made, citing the poor rating of this series, I think they should realize had there been proper promoting for the series, it would most likely still be on the air. Good stuff! It's great to see that Mel Brooks still has it! Keep it up!

The Spaceballs movie was full of screwball humor and some fairly cheesy jokes, but it worked, because of good acting, sharp delivery, and solid comedic timing. None of those qualities are present in the series. The first two episodes try to recreate the movie, featuring the same plot, the same jokes, and even some of the same actors, but it's just not funny. The old actors seem to be going through the motions, and the new actors give near-deadpan performances. They don't bring anything new to the table or even try to recreate the performances of their predecessors.

Later episodes devolve into half-hearted parodies of popular films laden with awful writing and terrible jokes. There's a slight chuckle here and there, but it's not worth wading through the corny and often painful one-liners. If there's anything this series does well, it's highlighting how funny the original movie actually was. Save your time and go watch the movie again.

The Spaceballs gang returns for an animated series. The good news is that Mel Brooks returns as the creator. Possibly bad news is that Mel Brooks returns and nobody is willing to say no to the legend. Also returning are Daphne Zuniga and Joan Rivers. There are some head scratching unfunny changes like planet Moron. The first episode is a spoof of The Phantom Menace. However, the rest of the series is spoofing other franchises to little success.

The first thing that I notice is that the voices are different. It's understandable that many of the original actors are not returning. It should have been a great opportunity to start anew. The first episode is mostly a flashback back to Dark Helmet's childhood. It hits a couple of times. Boy Dark Helmet having sex with Princess Harley Van Patten is uncomfortably hilarious and is such dark comment on The Phantom Menace. The pilot episode is actually watchable. That's what this series should have been. It should be taking the prequels out to the shed to pound away on Star Wars. In a way, it needs a Star Wars nerd and I'm not sure that Mel Brooks is actually one. Instead, it goes all over the place and ends up nowhere. The Jurassic Park parody works to some extent but it's the best of a bad lot. This show is a muddled scattershot of boob jokes and not that funny.

Within 3 minutes of the first episode I was so horrified I had to immediately switch it off and delete it. Far from a continuation of the beloved cult classic, this abomination is nothing more than a platform for big boobs and masturbation jokes. They managed to pack more misogyny into 3 minutes than most cartoons do in a season. There is a reason I hadn't heard of this show until now - it deserves to be forgotten. How the late Joan Rivers could put her name to this is beyond me. How Mel Brooks thought this train wreck would be a good follow up to the Spaceballs legacy is equally baffling. An atrocity in every sense of the word. Even though I got it for free, I feel like I should be entitled to a refund.

Typical Mel Brooks. Very funny!

Worth the time to watch if you are a Mel fan. I hope he comes up with something else soon.