Thanks to the biographical documentary on HBO, we’re in the middle of a Mel Brooks renaissance again. The first time it hit was 25 years ago when his film The Producers became a mega-sensation on Broadway. People rewatched his classic comic films. Mel is slated to turn 100 this summer and is still active. He’s in the process of making a sequel to Spaceballs, his spoof of Star Wars and other science fiction movie. While people remember the original film coming out in 1987, Mel Brooks had revisited the film back in 2008 when he brought the movie to television. Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs The Animated Series reworked the show into a cartoon featuring the characters. You might not remember the show since it ran on G4 which in my area required a special cable package. Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs The Totally Warped Animated Adventures contains all 15 episodes produced that featured the voices of several of the key characters including Mel doing a double act.
The two episodes of “The Pilot” are a truncated version of the original movie. We get the best lines and visuals from the film in barely half the time of the film. The voice cast brings back Mel as both the evil President Skroob and he mystical Yogurt. Daphne Zuniga and Joan Rivers return as Princess Vespa and her robot Dot Matrix. Because John Candy had passed away, Barf was voiced by Tino Insana. He’d go on to voice Mr. Grouper on Bubble Guppies. Rick Moranis didn’t return as Dark Helmet (although he’s supposedly in Spaceballs 2). Dee Bradley Baker takes over the role of the man in the giant helmet. He voiced Jonny Quest on the classic episode of Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law. Bill Pullman skipped voicing Lone Starr (although he’s also in the sequel). Rino Romano plays the Han Solo spoof this time. He was voicing Batman on The Batman at this time. In this Pilot episode, Dom DeLuise adds to sauce to the voice of Pizza The Hutt. This would be Dom’s last gig before his death.
The Pilot has a slightly differently ending so that the Princess doesn’t marry Lone Starr. This helps out in the 13 episodes so they’re still dating. The episodes have the characters spoof other movies and pop culture elements. “Revenge of the Sithee” has Dark Helmet explain his childhood like the Star Wars prequels. “Grand Theft Starship” has them poke fun at the Grand Theft Auto videogame (which has been around for nearly 20 years). “Lord of the Onion Rings” pokes deep fried fun at Lord of the Rings. “Hairy Putter and the Gopher of Fire” double spoofs Harry Potter and Caddyshack. “Fishfinger” turns Lone Starr into a James Bond figure. The episodes give that Mel Brooks twist to so many flicks that he couldn’t turn into live action films.
The animation reminds me a bit of a prototype of Archer‘s techniques with the way the characters move. Nothing is too wild on the screen or experimental visually. It’s kind of like one of Mel Brooks’ movies. It’s fun to see the characters being reused to spoof other films such as when the President and Dark Helmet are turned into robotic Terminators. Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs The Totally Warped Animated Adventures is the perfect show to watch as you wait for Spaceballs 2 to arrive in theaters in 2007. Feel the Schwartz build up inside of you with each episode.
The Video is 1.33:1 full frame. The transfer looks sharper with the animation. The Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. You’ll hear the difference between when Mel is President Skroob or Yogurt. The episodes are subtitled in English.
Trailer for Spaceballs (1:37) is the original trailer that shows the comic menace of Dark Helmet. The live action president only has twins in his bed.
Trailer for Spaceballs 2 (1:42) has a great crawl about how all the other science fiction films have prequels and sequels. Now is the for the follow up to Spaceballs. Mel Brooks shows up and swears this film will be out in 2027.
Hardware Wars (1:29) is the trailer for the classic short film that spoofed Star Wars first. MVD also put out the Blu-ray of Hardware Wars.
Miniposter that’s suitable for framing.
MVD Rewind Collection presents Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs The Totally Warped Animated Adventures. Created by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan. Starring the voices of Mel Brooks, Daphne Zuniga, Joan Rivers, Tino Insana, Rino Romano, Dee Bradley Baker, Rudy De Luca and Dom DeLuise. Boxset contents: 15 episodes on 2 DVDs. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: February 24, 2026
