Goofy '80s parody has cursing, violence, innuendo.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Language
some
"F--k" uttered once by Dark Helmet. "S--t" and "a--hole" frequently used. "Ass." "Son of a bitch." Humor often mined out of sexual innuendo; for instance, the famous line "Your Schwartz is as big as mine!"
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.
The movie mocks excessive movie commercialism by showing a Spaceballs-themed gift shop featuring a wide and absurd array of merchandise adorned with the Spaceballs logo. Lone Starr pilots a Winnebago, and Princess Vespa's ship is a Mercedes.
Sex, Romance & Nudity
a little
Not too much is shown, but there's plenty of innuendo. Lots of groin-related jokes, the most explicit when Dark Helmet and Lone Starr activate their Schwartzes while cupping privates. President Skroob is shown in bed with a pair of twins. Much is made of preserving Princess Vespa's virginity.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
Some cartoonish combat/violence. Princess Vespa shoots a group of enemy soldiers with a ray gun. Dark Helmet uses "the Schwartz" to inflict pain on a man's genitalia; he and Lone Starr have a battle with their respective Schwartzes.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
The movie is always irreverent and often crude, but the core story has the good guys triumphing, love conquering all, and friendship persevering.
Positive Role Models
very little
The good guys do the right thing in the end, and some characters change for the better (particularly Lone Starr and Princess Vespa). That said, there's some ethnic humor relating to Jewish and African-American stereotypes, and Vespa isn't a particularly independent woman. Dark Helmet is also whiny and petulant.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Spaceballs is Mel Brooks' 1987 spoof of the Star Wars franchise. However, while the Star Wars movies are movies young kids can watch and enjoy, the bawdy humor and absurd innuendo and double entendre make this best for older kids. Characters have names like "Major A--hole" and "Prince Valium." Ethnic and racial jokes abound; Princess Vespa, for instance, from the planet Druidia, is a "Druish Princess," and when Dark Helmet orders his troops to "comb the beach," African-American troops are shown using a giant afro comb to run through the sand. When Lone Star and Dark Helmet fight with light sabers, they turn them on while holding their hands close to their respective crotches, causing Dark Helmet to exclaim, "Your Schwartz is as big as mine!" One of the characters emerges from under the blankets in a bed with two identical twin women. There's some pratfall and slapstick violence, and language: "f--k" is used once, and "s--t" and "a--hole" are frequently used. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
I truly do not know what people were thinking with these other reviews. This movie, while very funny and enjoyable, is not appropriate for young children. There is excessive swearing which is not suitable for more sensitive audiences. Most of the humor in this film is adult. By today’s rating it could never be PG. Again, this movie is fun to watch, just keep in mind that it was not made for little kids.
There isn't anything truly objectionable in spaceballs, though half the humor will fly right over most kids heads.
What's the Story?
When spoiled Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) is kidnapped by President Skroob's (Mel Brooks) evil regime in SPACEBALLS, it's up to scruffy hero Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and his faithful companion, Barf (John Candy), to rescue her.
Brooks' Star Wars parody isn't particularly sophisticated, but older kids and teens should have fun with the goofy humor. Like most Brooks fare, Spaceballs revels in crude, sometimes infantile gags. For example, when the Darth Vader-inspired character, Dark Helmet, first appears, he approaches the camera, breathing heavily through his face-obscuring mask. Suddenly he flips up the front of the mask to reveal a nerdy-looking Rick Moranis, who exclaims, "I can't breathe in this thing!"
One of the great virtues of Brooks' masterwork, Young Frankenstein, was its beautiful re-creation of the look of the horror films of the 1930s, which added punch to all the ensuing silliness. Here, you don't really get the impression of watching a Star Wars movie gone mad: Many of the cheap-ish looking sets wouldn't look out of place on an episode of Saturday Night Live. Nevertheless, there are moments when the movie shines. Excessive merchandising is taken to task in a very funny scene in which Yogurt (Brooks again) hawks everything from Spaceballs the toilet paper to Spaceballs the flame thrower ("the kids love this one!"). And the movie's most memorable gag pays tribute to both the Alien series and the classic Chuck Jones cartoon "One Froggy Evening." Another good bit manages to work in a re-creation of the famous conclusion of Planet of the Apes.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about other film or TV parodies besides Spaceballs that they enjoy. For example, The Simpsons is one of the best examples of parody used as social commentary. What can funny imitations point out that serious analysis may render too boring?
Which movies is Spaceballs specifically making fun of? How can you tell?
Mel Brooks has a distinctive style of comedy movies, movies filled with puns, sexual innuendoes, silliness, and slapstick. Who are some other examples of directors and actors who have their own distinct and well-known style?
MPAA explanation:
raunchy humor and comic violence
Last updated:
July 30, 2024
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
