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To that end, parodies and comedic references to Star Wars have piled up over the years. Some takes are more mean-spirited than others, leading, of course, to the point that it’s hard to make a good satire of something if you don’t actually get why it’s so beloved. The ten parodies featured here do get Star Wars, and they approach it with the good-natured manner of fans who can balance loving the franchise with acknowledging some of the more ridiculous parts of it.
1) Spaceballs
You can’t get more established as an essential of cinema than being parodied by Mel Brooks. Spaceballs debuted ten years after Star Wars did, so it’s not the first parody of it, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last. It’s probably the most prominent early attempt to take on the ridiculousness of Star Wars, though, and even if some of what’s being satirized feels more like the prequels and the sequels than the original trilogy, somehow, Spaceballs is both utterly dedicated to making fun of certain aspects of Star Wars and also utterly dedicated to building its own unique version of a space opera. The sequel, planned for 2027, has a lot more material to draw upon than the original did, that’s for sure.
2) “The Saga Begins” by “Weird” Al Yankovic
“Weird” Al Yankovic’s “The Saga Begins” thanks to Internet spoilers; the song recaps The Phantom Menace and was written and recorded before the film actually released. Yankovic mixes Don McLean’s “American Pie” with the new lore of the prequels, as his version of Obi-Wan Kenobi retells the origins of Anakin Skywalker. Even though Lucasfilm refused to let Yankovic see the movie early, he managed to see an early charity screening, and along with the Internet spoilers he’d collected, the rest is history. Of all the humorous parodies and references to Star Wars in pop culture, this one did give George Lucas a smile, in the end.
3) Buzz Lightyear’s Backstory (Toy Story 2)
There are hints that Buzz Lightyear’s backstory as the lead of some sci-fi cartoon is more Star Wars than Star Trek in the original Toy Story, but Toy Story 2 fully embraces that lore. The Buzz from the toy store relives cartoon Buzz’s story, as the toy version of the evil Emperor Zurg reveals that he’s Buzz’s father in an affectionate replay of the iconic Luke-Vader showdown on Bespin. Both the cartoon series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and Lightyear build upon the lore from the films, with even more send-ups of Star Wars.
4) Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken often parodied pop culture, but the stop motion show seemed to enjoy its artistic premise the most when playing with Star Wars action figures. The best part of Robot Chicken was probably their version of Emperor Palpatine, who read as an utterly vain bureaucrat. Palpatine can be tricky for humorists to satirize, but he’s ludicrous at his core, so it was nice to see Robot Chicken fully play with the theatricality of the character as established in the prequels.
5) Lego Star Wars: The Video Game
As the Lego Star Wars franchise as moved along, the games have gotten more sincere, but when the series started out in 2005, it took the source material less seriously. You got moments like the above, where Qui-Gon’s death is taken as a joke, with the X’s replacing his eyes. Early Lego Star Wars leaned into the slapstick, as well as the core idea that these were just minifigs pretending to be our favorite characters. Minifigs are just plastic, after all, and their physics are all over the place in early games, as characters explode into pieces when they ‘die.’ Lego Star Wars was never too pointy in its humor, instead preferring to give a Looney Tunes-level of physical comedy to Star Wars.
