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Why did 'Spaceballs' gain a following amongst younger people?

posted 10 years ago by ofrah1
27 replies | jump to latest

One day, I was listening to the director's audio commentary for the film and in it, Mel Brooks mentioned that with the release of home video, the film eventually gained a following amongst KIDS because they saw it as "a space fairy tale." I found that remark interesting because in reality, the film contains swear words (including one instance of the "F-word") and some bawdy jokes.

What I want to ask is WHY did Spaceballs over the years gain a following amongst YOUNGER AND YOUNGER PEOPLE, even though the content makes it clear that the film was intended more for teens and adults?

**Just to be clear, I am making an OBSERVATION, NOT a judgement; it's NOT like I'm saying, "Kids watching Spaceballs? Oh, you better believe that's a paddlin'." (points if you know the TV show I am referencing).**

[–] herbsuperb 10 years ago

Huh. I was unaware of this. I remember watching this as a kid of perhaps 10. Loved it then, but love it even more now. I'm sure there were parts of it that I simply didn't understand. Perhaps I found them funny without even really knowing why. I can understand why kids would love this movie even if they don't understand some of the jokes, references, etc. That's one of the many reasons why it only got better as I grew up. I started to 'get it' more.

I've never watched any commentary on this one. I'll have to pop in the old DVD sometime and check it out.

[–] nielw 10 years ago

I was born in 1980. I grew up on Star Wars. When this came out on video, I watched it all the time as a kid. I grew up on it, which is why I recently pulled it out and watched it again, for nostalgia's sake. Most of the bawdy humor went over my head... Kids don't notice that stuff. I never even noticed the swear words until later in life. But yes, I loved this movie as a kid.

That's a paddlin': Jasper from the Simpsons.

Mirror inspector is a job I could really see myself doing.

[–] lorrainearmstrongfl 10 years ago

You have to remember that at his age, 50 year olds are kids to him.

[–] willydoe71 10 years ago

I, for one, introduced my daughter to this movie, thought she'd find it funny...and she did. She loves it. She's only 11 now, but I showed her this movie almost 4 years ago.

[–] RCeditor 10 years ago

willydoe, I shared this with my kids & they loved it also. My daughter even called one of her dolls Vespa.

THE RAP CRITIC:
http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/teamt/rap-critic

[–] bond_98 10 years ago

I showed this to my cousins when they were 17 years old. They loved it. I think considering how big Star Wars is. It's easy for anyone to get that it's a parody of Star Wars. Mel Brook said that SpaceBalls and Robin Hood MIT was his two best selling movies.

[–] member-id 10 years ago

Ok, Jasper:) I probably saw this when I was like 10 and loved it (was/am a huge star wars fan) and in middle school a group of my friends all loved it and would quote it all the time. Swearing(hearing, not saying) was never really a big taboo in the 90s with lots of kids movies using sh*t, so that was never a big deal. So I guess I always knew it was big with kids, cause I was one of them! Paddlin the school canoe, oh you better believe that's a paddlin!!!

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] dan-willi84 10 years ago

Funny, I thought "The Rings of Akhaten" from Series 7 of Doctor Who was a space fairy tale.

[–] bsu_oak530 10 years ago

For me, like some have already mentioned, I was a huge Star Wars fan as a kid, I mean huge. I still am. Spaceballs was to me a humorous Star Wars when I was a kid. It had exciting action, despite it being comedy, and there were a lot of scenes that just made crack up. The ludicrous speed, the fast forwarding scene, the Yogurt scenes, I mean it all made me laugh. I didn't understand the sexual humor as a child, but as I grew up I found it hilarious. So I saw it as a kid, and because of my love for Star Wars, I loved this too.

[–] ckmsaxophone 10 years ago

Some movies are just timeless in that way. It's like they get passed down from generation to generation, parents to kids. I can see why kids like it, even though it was originally marketed to teens and adults. It's a spoof of Star Wars. Star Wars has a mass amount of fans of all ages. Star Wars fans find out about Spaceballs and want to watch it. Spaceballs isn't serious--kids can easily watch it (and the adult humor most likely goes over their heads, the tamer stuff they can laugh at, too).

I guess that's my perspective. I remember watching this movie when I was 10 or 11 years old because my parents watched it. I thought it was hilarious. I also liked how it parodied Star Wars, because I loved watching Star Wars at that time.

"I must express myself." - Delia Deetz