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Movies that feel like Spaceballs (1987)

If you loved Spaceballs, the closest films we have are The Producers (1968), Blazing Saddles (1974) and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005). All three share Spaceballs' witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 6 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Cultpix and others, checked against today's data.

When the nefarious Dark Helmet hatches a plan to snatch Princess Vespa and steal her planet's air, space-bum-for-hire Lone Starr and his clueless sidekick fly to the rescue. Along the way, they meet Yogurt, who puts Lone Starr wise to the power of "The Schwartz." Can he master it in time to save the day?

πŸ… 53% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.1 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Mel Brookswittyplayfulcerebraldarkly funnyawe
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If Spaceballs hit the spot, these will too

The Producers poster
The Producers
1968 Β· dir. Mel Brooks
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.5comedy

Both are Mel Brooks's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

A conniving Broadway producer and his meek accountant plan to profit from charming wealthy old biddies to invest in an overbudget production, and then put on a sure-fire disaster, so nobody will ask for their money back β€” and what's more disastrous than a tasteless musical celebrating Adolf Hitler.

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Blazing Saddles poster
Blazing Saddles
1974 Β· dir. Mel Brooks
πŸ… 89%β˜… 7.7western Β· comedy

Mel Brooks working the same nerve twice

The difference: Not nearly as cerebral as Spaceballs

Crafty railroad worker Bart becomes the first Black sheriff of Rock Ridge, a frontier town about to be destroyed in order to make way for a new railroad. Initially, the citizens of Rock Ridge harbor a racial bias toward their new protector. However, they warm to him after realizing that Bart and his perpetually drunk gunfighter friend Jim are their only defense against a wave of thugs sent to rid the town of its population.

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy poster
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
2005 Β· dir. Garth Jennings
πŸ… 60%β˜… 6.7adventure Β· comedy Β· science fiction

Two things both keep coming back to: galaxy and android

The difference: None of the dark humor Spaceballs is built on

Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

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Dark Star poster
Dark Star
1974 Β· dir. John Carpenter
πŸ… 74%β˜… 6.1comedy Β· science fiction

Both keep coming back to the same thing: space travel

A group of scientists are sent on a mission to destroy unstable planets. Twenty years into their mission, they have to battle their alien mascot as well as a "sensitive" and intelligent bombing device that starts to question the meaning of its existence.

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Mickey 17 poster
Mickey 17
2025 Β· dir. Bong Joon Ho
πŸ… 77%β˜… 6.7science fiction Β· comedy Β· adventure

Common ground: space travel

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than Spaceballs does

Unlikely hero Mickey Barnes finds himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job… to die, for a living.

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Lost in America poster
Lost in America
1985 Β· dir. Albert Brooks
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7comedy

Both are built on the same subject: satire

David and Linda Howard are successful yuppies from LA. When he gets a job disappointment, David convinces Linda that they should quit their jobs, liquidate their assets, and emulate the movie Easy Rider, spending the rest of their lives traveling around America...in a Winnebago.

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(T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 poster
(T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1
2004 Β· dir. Michael Herbig
β˜… 5.5comedy Β· science fiction Β· adventure

The same preoccupation in both: space marine

Hundreds of years after humans have settled on Mars, Regulator Rogul and Lord Jens Maul lead a force of Martians to Earth in order to conquer the planet. Queen Metaphor looks to the gay heroes aboard the Dreamship Surprise – Captain Kork, Mr. Spuck, and first engineer Schrotty – for help.

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A Trip to the Moon poster
A Trip to the Moon
1902 · dir. Georges Méliès
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1adventure Β· science fiction Β· comedy

One thread runs through both: satire

The difference: Made in the 1900s, in a different era of the craft

Professor Barbenfouillis and five of his colleagues from the Academy of Astronomy travel to the Moon aboard a rocket propelled by a giant cannon. Once on the lunar surface, the bold explorers face the many perils hidden in the caves of the mysterious planet.

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Trading Places poster
Trading Places
1983 Β· dir. John Landis
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.5comedy

Witty and playful in the same breath

A snobbish investor and a wily street con-artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.

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Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me poster
πŸ… 54%β˜… 6.7comedy Β· adventure Β· crime

The same preoccupation in both: laser gun

When diabolical genius Dr. Evil travels back in time to steal superspy Austin Powers's β€˜mojo,’ Austin must return to the swingin' '60s himself - with the help of American agent, Felicity Shagwell - to stop the dastardly plan. Once there, Austin faces off against Dr. Evil's army of minions to try to save the world in his own unbelievably groovy way.

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Mars Attacks! poster
Mars Attacks!
1996 Β· dir. Tim Burton
πŸ… 57%β˜… 6.4comedy Β· fantasy Β· science fiction

Both keep coming back to the same thing: laser gun

A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.

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Brazil poster
Brazil
1985 Β· dir. Terry Gilliam
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.8comedy Β· science fiction

Both land ideas and dark humor at once

Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle, he meets the woman from his daydream, and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.

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The best-reviewed films that share Spaceballs’ defining feeling.