The only thing that people love more than Star Wars is, naturally, parodying Star Wars! Here’s a look back at the top 6 of the best parodies of film history’s most popular sci-fi epic!
6. “Hardware Wars” (1977)
Ernie Fosselius released this 13-minute spoof just months after the appearance of the original Star Wars, and won almost as many awards. The extremely low budget ($8,000) production used household items to recreate scenes from the original, including such ingenious creations as substituting a spaceship for a cassette player and escape pods for cassette tapes. Hardware Wars went on to become one of the profitable short films of all-time, grossing over $1 million and counting.
5. “Thumb Wars: The Phantom Cuticle” (1999)
This short film by Steve Oedekerk used thumb puppets as characters, including such never-before-seen creatures as Loke Groundrunner and Gabba the Butt. If you ever wondered what the universe would look like if thumbs went to war, then this is it. The parody premiered on American television and was later released on VHS and DVD.
4. “Spaceballs” (1987)
Mel Brooks produced, directed and starred in this feature film about a planet that has run out of breathable air and a leader, President Skroob (Brooks), who plots to get more by kidnapping a princess. This hilarious spoof received only modest acclaim when it was released but has developed into a cult classic and is one of the more memorable spoofs ever made, about anything.
3. Troops (1997)
This mockumentary film is a parody of the hit TV show Cops and, of course, Star Wars. It follows a group of stormtroopers as they patrol the Dune Sea and chase down some bad boys. Whatcha gonna do when the stormtroopers come for you?
2. “Robot Chicken: Star Wars” (2007)
Robot Chicken has done parodies of almost every pop culture film and TV show, but their adaptation of the Star Wars series might be the best. Producer Seth Green met with George Lucas prior to writing the script and used many sound effects from the actual films. Featuring 22 minutes of side-bursting, hilarious sketches, this episode received wide acclaim and encouraged the release of a sequel one year later.
1. The Family Guy: Star Wars Trilogy (2005-2010)
Following on from 2005’s “Family Guy: Blue Harvest” and 2009’s “Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side”, the upcoming “Family Guy: It’s a Trap!” will continue the brilliant Family Guy trilogy of Star Wars parodies. In this final chapter based on Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker (Chris) and Princess Leia (Lois) must travel far, far away to free Han Solo (Peter) from the evil grasp of Jabba the Hut (Joe), the galaxy’s most fearsome gangster. Superbly funny and wonderfully observed, you can tell it’s created by real fans of the original movies.
“Family Guy: It’s a Trap!” is due for exclusive release on Blu-ray and DVD on 27th December from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, and as a huge fan of Family Guy and Star Wars i’m so looking forward to it!
