Many of the original talents behind the popular Mel Brooks’ spoof Spaceballs have not returned for this sort-of sequel, but its spirit of relentless parody and often corny schtick lives on. While it may not hold a candle to the original source material, this animated series has a few shining moments that will hopefully keep the diehard fans from being too offended.
This particular set only features 4 of the 13 episodes of the series. Each is a parody of either a popular film or video game starring all favourite characters from the original film, such as Barf, Dark Helmet and Yogurt. Largely these will appeal solely to those who are capable recognizing each reference within said parodies that can stretch as far back as the Poseidon Adventure to as recent as Granf Theft Auto. Most folks will get sick of the inherent Spaceballs references that are launched at the audience shamelessly, such as the catch-phrase “use the Schwartz” being repeated ad nauseum. Being a fan of the movie myself, I think that the way I feel about this series is the same way non-fans I’ve spoken to feel about the film; they admit to laughing at the odd gag (sometimes with a lot of guilt) but are not terribly impressed. I’m sticking to the movie, but “E” for effort Mel (who was the starring voice actor in this series by the way).
Video
Fullscreen 1.33:1. The animation is clearly created by the computer program Flash, which is a haven for the contemporary 11 minute comedies that are taking over the Cartoon Network (it should be noted that these episodes are designed to take up a half an hour slot). It looks clean as has been well transferred onto DVD.
Audio
Dolby Digital Stereo. Nothing spectacular but for a rather unknown TV series, like the Video, it has been well handled and kept nice and clear.
Special Features
None.
Final Thoughts
The plots and gags are mostly rather broad and obvious, making this series not much more than an excuse to watch the original (as I have already advocated above). This series holds enough charm to give those watching G4 or Superstation (it’s homes) at 2AM while they wait for their pizza pop to heat up between session of World of Warcraft…which is a bigger demographic than one might initially assume.
