Still Better Than No Spaceballs at All (and It Knows It)

Read Time:6 Minute, 40 Second

TV SERIES REVIEWS
Mel Brooks' Spaceballs: The Animated Series (2-DVD Set)
TV-14 –

Genre: Comedy, Animation, Science Fiction, Parody
Year Released: 2008–2009, MVD Entertainment DVD 2026
Runtime: 5h 29m
Director(s): Jay Surridge, Blake Liebel, David Dulac, Chad Hammes, Michael Montaine, Jason Raines, Rainer Soehnlein
Writer(s): Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan
Cast: Mel Brooks, Daphne Zuniga, Joan Rivers, Dee Bradley Baker, Tino Insana, Rino Romano
Where to Watch: available now, order your copy here: www.mvdshop.com or www.amazon.com

RAVING REVIEW: There’s a specific kind of project that only exists because someone once made a joke about it, and then decades later decided to cash that joke in. MEL BROOKS’ SPACEBALLS: THE ANIMATED SERIES is exactly that. It’s not really a sequel anyone demanded (we’ll get that in 2027!), it isn’t an expansion of the lore that anyone needed, and it isn’t particularly interested in pretending otherwise. From the first moments on screen, the series feels less like a continuation of SPACEBALLS and more like a prolonged shrug that says, “Yeah, fine, you asked for more, here’s more.” That self-awareness ends up being both the show’s saving grace and I’d say what holds it back, but it knew exactly what it was.

The original SPACEBALLS works because it’s relentless but precise. Every joke is perfection because it’s either skewering a specific sci-fi trope or deliberately undercutting the mechanics of parody itself. The animated series doesn’t have that discipline, but it does have something else; in some odd way, it has permission. Permission to be louder, dumber, cheaper, and more disposable. The show knows it’s an extension of a joke that was already stretched thin in 1987, and it leans into that reality.

The tone is aggressively juvenile, sometimes to a fault, but never accidentally so. This isn’t a show that misunderstands Mel Brooks’ humor. It understands it all too well and chooses to focus on exaggerating the least subtle elements because animation allows it to do so. If you’re looking for elegance, you’re watching the wrong version of SPACEBALLS on purpose.

What makes the series oddly fascinating is how openly it mocks its own existence. Entire episodes feel like they’re daring the audience to question why this was ever greenlit, and then immediately answering that question with a merch joke, a licensing gag, or a reference that’s already outdated by the time it lands. This isn’t parody chasing relevance. It’s parody chasing its own shadow and laughing when it trips.

Mel Brooks returning as both Yogurt and President Skroob matters more than it should. His presence grounds the series, even when the jokes are flailing all over the place. There’s comfort in hearing him commit to material that clearly doesn’t deserve that level of commitment. It becomes part of the joke. Brooks isn’t rescuing the show; he’s validating it by participating, as if to say, “Yes, this is real, I signed off on this.”

The supporting voice cast is hit-or-miss, and the absence of Rick Moranis and John Candy is impossible to ignore. No amount of imitation can replicate the timing those performances brought to the original film. The replacements aren’t terrible, but they are reminders that SPACEBALLS was always a cast-driven comedy first and a concept second.

Visually, the animation is functional at best. It looks cheap because it is cheap, and the show never pretends otherwise. There’s something almost honest about how little detail is applied here. The designs mimic the film closely enough to be recognizable, but the ‘motion’ often feels stiff, as if the characters are being dragged from gag to gag rather than flowing with it. If anything, the roughness adds to the meta quality.

Where the series succeeds most is in its scattershot parody approach. Unlike the film, which primarily targets STAR WARS, the show throws references everywhere, sometimes within the same scene. TERMINATOR, HARRY POTTER, THE MATRIX, TITANIC, video games, reality TV, and whatever else was culturally important at the time all get mixed in. The sheer commitment to excess becomes its own commentary on parody fatigue. The show isn’t saying these references are clever; it’s saying this is what parody looks like when it refuses to stop.

There’s also an uncomfortable edge to some of the humor that hasn’t aged well, particularly around gender and sexuality. This isn’t surprising, and it isn’t accidental. It’s the same brand of humor Mel Brooks has always flirted with, just stripped of the charm that actors and staging once provided. In animated form, those jokes land harder and flatter, and the series doesn’t always know when to pull back. That’s part of why it feels stuck between too crude for kids and too lightweight for adults.

Yet, despite all of that, there’s a strange affection that creeps in if you let it. Not because the series is good in the traditional sense, but because it’s honest about being unnecessary. It doesn’t try to reclaim the magic of the original film. It doesn’t pretend to be the sequel people joked about for decades. It exists in a space where the joke is simply that SPACEBALLS keeps going because it can.

That’s where the cleverly self-referential element really locks in. This is parody eating itself, aware that it’s been reduced to brand recognition, yet still choosing to push forward. There’s something very Mel Brooks about that refusal to stop winking for the camera, even when the punchlines are a ghost of themselves.

MEL BROOKS’ SPACEBALLS: THE ANIMATED SERIES is a curiosity, a footnote that somehow became a full season. If you love SPACEBALLS, you’ll probably find yourself somewhere between laughing, groaning, and asking yourself why you’re still watching, which is, honestly, the most honest response this show could hope for.

This is a series that understands exactly how unnecessary it is and weaponizes that understanding. The Schwartz may be weaker, the jokes weaker, and the animation…, but the introspection is doing most of the heavy lifting. It doesn’t demand to be loved. It just demands that you acknowledge it happened. And somehow, that’s enough.

Bonus Materials:
2.0 Stereo Audio
Optional English Subtitles
Spaceballs (1987) Original Theatrical Trailer
Spaceballs 2 (2027) Teaser Trailer
Collectible Mini-Poster
Limited Edition Slipcover (First Pressing Only)

Please visit https://linktr.ee/overlyhonestr for more reviews.

You can follow me on Letterboxd, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. My social media accounts can also be found on most platforms by searching for 'Overly Honest Reviews'.

I’m always happy to hear from my readers; please don't hesitate to say hello or send me any questions about movies.

[photo courtesy of MVD ENTERTAINMENT]

DISCLAIMER:
At Overly Honest Movie Reviews, we value honesty and transparency. Occasionally, we receive complimentary items for review, including DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, Vinyl Records, Books, and more. We assure you that these arrangements do not influence our reviews, as we are committed to providing unbiased and sincere evaluations. We aim to help you make informed entertainment choices regardless of our relationship with distributors or producers.

Amazon Affiliate Links:
Additionally, this site contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may receive a commission. This affiliate arrangement does not affect our commitment to honest reviews and helps support our site. We appreciate your trust and support as you navigate these links.