Customer Reviews

Spaceballs: The Totally Warped Animated Adventures

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mel Brooks Spaceballs is in the top 5, if not my favorite movie of all time. So it would only be natural that I would want to get this DVD of the new toon series. Judging from reading about the show being canceled, and a few reviewers saying how bad it was when they saw it on T.V (Which i never got to do) I really was not expecting much at all when I surprisingly got confirmation that this DVD had been shipped (they had canceled it previously, but it's back again now)

It's a shame there is only 4 episodes. The 4 episodes are not exactly faithful to what you know about Spaceballs, but that does not mean they should be dismissed, as I laughed all the way through each episode. There is a couple of times you get a little disorientated wondering why Lonestar and Princess Vespa are not married, or why Sanders and Helmet would call for Lonestars help... but aside from that, Mel could have had a successful series here, had it been given a chance to get some of the kinks out like most first series do... but oh well, what can you do about it now?

Mel returns as the voice of President Skroob and Yogurt, as with Daphene Whats-her-name as Vespa & Joan Rivers as Dot Matrix.... the rest of the characters voices you can get used to, except for Cornell Sanders voice, that one really needed to be re-cast.

Surprisingly the humor was not censured out. I was expected a completely G rated cartoon here, but it's more a PG rated one that pushes the boundary of it. I was surprised at the sexual innuendos and language portrayed, which just made me like it. Had they gone a little bit more raunchier and smuttier, it could have contended with South Park and such shows.

As long as you go in not expecting a masterpeice, then you should enjoy what this show has to offer. Just sit back and remember, it's just for laughs.

Shame there is no bonus features at all :(

When I was a kid I love watching Spaceballs and other movies made by Mel Brooks. When I heard a lot about the animated series I was excited. But first I get the chance to watch Spaceballs: The Totally Warped Animated Adventures. Watching this brings back a lot of memories, even though it's a lot different between the animation and the original movie. I even watch it with my family and it made them bring back memories. Plus it's great to hear Mel Brooks is lending his voice along with Daphne Zuniga and Joan Rivers. So if you're a longtime fan of Mel Brooks and Spaceballs, ignore the negative reviews and pick up a copy today.

And one last message to all the longtime Spaceballs fans: May the schwartz be with you!

I did not regret getting this dvd. This dvd was very funny. You will regret if you do not buy this dvd. I think they made this show a bit too late should have made it ten years ago.

If you are a Mel Brooks fan or just enjoy good parody, I highly recommend this series. It flew under the radar when it was produced a few years back, and it's a shame, because it beats the heck out of what passes for parody these days. It belongs on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, because I honestly think it would find it's audience there. The animation is good, the voice work is top notch honestly, and the parodies of recent movies, and issues like steroid use in sports and video games is really well handled. There is an episode that sort of updates Spaceballs to include the new Star Wars movies, telling the origin of Dark Helmet called Revenge of the Sithee. There are parodies of Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, Spiderman and Pirates of the Caribbean just to name a few. All of the episodes are just excellent! This is as close as we'll ever come to seeing Mel Brooks' parody these properties, and his humor is definitely as sharp as ever. The language is rough, and there are many references to bodily functions and lots of sex jokes, so it's not for kids. Fans of Family Guy will appreciate this show very much. It reminds me somewhat of the Clerks Animated show, (another series that missed it's audience) though I have to say, 100 times funnier.

The art of parody is almost lost, and Brooks was the King. Do yourself a favor and pick this set up.

I do think it's a terrible shame that only 4 episodes are included in this set. There were 13 in all, and I think it would be a much bigger seller if they were ALL included.

great! Same writing, same characters, and filled with the great wit and charm. definitely a Mel Brooks project. loved it except an episode is missing

I was very much looking forward to the reprisal of SpaceBalls as an animated series. I'm a Futurama fan, and enjoyed the Family Guy Star Wars spoof (called Blue Harvest). In fact, I like most of the sci-fi comedies and spoofs, animated or otherwise.

But this animated series (13 episodes) was, for the most part, a disappointment. I must admit I enjoyed the characters Lone Star & Barf, and I would have much preferred a show about the adventures of the two of them - traveling through the galaxy, getting into trouble.

This series relied much too heavily on the old Yiddish jokes from the original movie ("Use the Schwartz!"), but it added no new humor. And the toilet humor and boob jokes were simply overwhelming. (This show is probably not a good idea for kids)

For example, I was particularly looking forward to one episode, called Hairy Putter, which I had hoped would spoof both Harry Potter and Star Wars at the same time. But except for one or two brief references to Harry Potter, the show was mostly toilet humor. In the episode, Lone Star uses a special golf club (the Hairy Putter) against President Skroob in a golf tournament. Instead of doing anything creative or witty, the entire episode focused on genital jokes - he swings his "hairy shaft", he grabs his "balls", etc.

I don't mind a few "base" jokes from time to time, and I am by no means a prude. But this comedy lacked any substance - it was basically childish, school yard humor. It didn't make sense to have so many sex jokes, when there is soooo much material within the sci-fi canon to have fun with!

In fact, none of the episodes seemed to remember that the show is a Star Wars parody. Nothing here (except for the characters) reflected Star Wars or the original SpaceBalls. All of the episodes seemed to spoof other popular shows - American Idol, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jurassic Park, Grand Theft Auto, etc. But none of the plots were coherent or entertaining, and it never really made sense why Star Wars characters would now be spoofing something else. Did he just run out of ideas? It came off as a cheap trick to try to ride on the coattails of anything/everything that is popular.

Beyond the poor execution, it was really sad that no science fiction/futuristic elements were used in the show. In fact, because the show was spoofing current themes (like American Idol), the show almost seemed like it was set in the late 20th Century. I kept waiting for aliens, space ships, unique/creative technology... and it never came.

More importantly, the show didn't seem to understand that updating a show means to make it fresh - and it falls flat here. This had such huge potential, but throwing in a few contemporary cultural references (like Grand Theft Auto or American Idol) didn't add anything to the show. It is no surprise to me that this never made it on any US cable channel.

One of the primary reasons for this show's failure is that Mel Brooks was so involved in the production - writing, acting, and even the music. I can understand nobody wanted to say this to Mel Brook's face, but he is simply unable to update these jokes and characters for a new era/new audience. Mel Brooks also wrote the theme song, which is ~terribly~ annoying.

I don't want to be too harsh, because some of the episodes were mildly amusing. Basically, Brooks developed this idea 20 years ago which resonated with a lot of people -- now it's time to let it go! Let someone else update & develop it into something fresh and relevant to audiences today.

As it stands, this show is a "series of unfortunate events" and bad ideas, which converged. I wish that after one season of bad writing and directing by Mel Brooks, he would pass the torch to somebody else (perhaps development teams at Cartoon Network or Comedy Central). I'd really like to see something fun come out of these concepts and characters. But I'm sorry to report that this series appears to be a commercial complete flop, and it doesn't look like anyone will pick up this series.