''Spaced Invaders'' is a 1990 American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

directed by

Patrick Read Johnson Patrick Read Johnson (born May 7, 1962) is an American filmmaker, special effects artist and screenwriter. Born in Wadsworth, Illinois, Wadsworth, Illinois, he is best known for his directorial work on the films ''Spaced Invaders'', ''Angus (film ...

and starring Douglas Barr,

Royal Dano Royal Edward Dano Sr. (November 16, 1922 – May 15, 1994) was an American actor. In a career spanning 46 years, he was perhaps best known for playing cowboys, villains, and Abraham Lincoln. Dano also provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronic ...

, and

Ariana Richards Ariana Clarice Richards (born September 11, 1979) is an American painter and former actress. She is best known for her role as Lex Murphy in the 1993 film ''Jurassic Park''. Richards won several Young Artist Awards for her acting as a child, but ...

. The film's title is a

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

on the classic video game ''

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for Arcade video game, arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1978, with the game being released by Midway Manufacturing overseas. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed s ...

''.

Plot

The space armada from

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

fights an interstellar war against their long-time enemy, the Arcturans. The Martian armada is sent into battle by Enforcer Drones, tasked to keep the Martian soldiers in line, despite objections by some that it won't work. Meanwhile, the incompetent crew of a small spaceship from the Martian "Civilian Asteroid Patrol" intercepts a distress signal from the fleet. Said signal is followed by a

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

rebroadcast of

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

' 1938 ''The War of the Worlds'' radio dramatization. Mistaking this for a real invasion—and not wanting to miss out on the glory of "kicking some Earthling butt"—the CAP crew lands their ship in the tiny community of Big Bean, Illinois; there they proceed with their "invasion" of the planet. The ship's smart-mouthed pilot Blaznee, who has more common sense than the others, doesn't think it's a good idea. He is ignored by the rest of the crew: Captain Bipto, an overzealous optimist; Lieutenant Giggywig, an ambitious and hot-headed know-it-all; Dr. Ziplock, the careful and calculating science officer; and the alternately-overeager-and-timid Corporal Pez. The CAP crew searches for the (nonexistent) Martian invasion fleet which they believe has already landed. Because it's Halloween, everyone assumes the Martians are kids in exceptionally-well-made costumes. Eventually, though, a few locals realize the truth. Among them is the town sheriff (Barr), his daughter Kathy (Richards), and an elderly farmer named Wrenchmuller (

), on whose farm the Martians have crash-landed. The sheriff finds out about the aliens when his deputy records their ship doing 3,000 mph. The deputy tracks down the ship in order to give the occupants tickets for having no license, registration, headlights, taillight, or wheels, and going 2,945 miles over the posted limit. Kathy discovers the aliens when they join a group of

trick-or-treating Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". Th ...

kids. She befriends the Martians' "Scout-in-a-Can", a small robot which folds up into a sphere. Mr. Wrenchmuller tries to cash in on the Martians' existence in order to save his farm. Captain Bipto gets hit by a truck and turns a gas station attendant named Vern into his robotic slave. Giggywig, Ziplock, and Pez try to blow up the town's Co-Op and instead just heat up a silo of corn kernels, creating a gigantic hot-air popcorn-popper. Kathy's new friend, a boy named Brian, captures Blaznee by hitting him with a trashcan lid. He then tries to help the alien repair his ship. Attempting to blow up the ship, Wrenchmuller is trapped in a paralyzing beam. The desperate Martians try to blow up the Earth using the D.O.D. (Doughnut Of Destruction), but it falls apart instead. The Martians finally realize they made a horrible mistake. Things get worse when the ship's "hyperdriver" goes into meltdown, threatening to create a black-hole. Their ship's Enforcer Drone won't let them leave, making things even more complicated. The humans succeed in destroying the Enforcer Drone with dynamite, then offer to help the grateful "invaders" return to space. As an unintentional gift, the Martians jettison their ship's sewage tank while flying over Wrenchmuller's field. The alien excrement rejuvenates the drought-stricken farmland while turning the regular green beans (for which the town is famous) into gigantic, 6-foot-tall pods; this enables Wrenchmuller to save the town from greedy real-estate developers. As the Martians head home, Captain Bipto suggests they go to Arcturus to "help torture prisoners"; this idea is promptly vetoed by the rest of the crew.

Cast

* Douglas Barr as Sheriff Sam Hoxly *

as Mr. Wrenchmuller *

as Kathy Hoxly *

Gregg Berger Gregory Alan Berger (born December 10, 1950) is an American voice actor. He is known for his roles as Jecht from ''Final Fantasy X'' and the ''Dissidia Final Fantasy'' games, Grimlock from ''The Transformers (TV series), The Transformers'', Myste ...

as Steve W. Klembecker * Fred Applegate as Deputy Russell Pillsbury * Wayne Alexander as Vern Pillsbury / Verndroid *J.J. Anderson as Brian Hampton *

Patrika Darbo Patrika Darbo (born April 6, 1948) is an American actress. She made her big screen debut appearing in the 1988 romantic comedy film ''It Takes Two (1988 film), It Takes Two'' and later appeared in ''The 'Burbs'' (1989), ''Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got ...

as Mrs. Vanderspool * Tonya Lee Williams as Ernestine Hampton *Kevin Thompson as Blaznee *Jimmy Briscoe as Captain Bipto * Tony Cox as Corporal Pez * Debbie Lee Carrington as Dr. Ziplock *Tommy Madden as Lieutenant Giggywig

Voices

*Kevin Thompson as Blaznee *

Jeff Winkless Jeffrey Alan Winkless (June 2, 1941 – June 26, 2006) was an American actor born in Springfield, Massachusetts. Two of his younger brothers, Terence H. Winkless and Daniel Owen Winkless, worked with him on ''The Banana Splits Adventure Hour'' ...

as Captain Bipto *

Tony Pope Anthony J. Pope (March 22, 1947 – February 11, 2004) was an American voice actor. He appeared in over 100 titles during his three-decade career, including as the voice of Goofy from 1977 to 1988 before Bill Farmer took over the role in 1987. ...

as Corporal Pez *

Joe Alaskey Joseph Francis Alaskey III (April 17, 1952 – February 3, 2016) was an American actor and comedian. He was one of Mel Blanc's successors at the Warner Bros. Animation studio until his death. He alternated with Jeff Bergman, Greg Burson, Ji ...

as Dr. Ziplock * Bruce Lanoil as Lieutenant Giggywig *

as Commander / Enforcer Drone * Kirk Thatcher as Shortstuff

Production

The film was initially titled ''Martians!!!''.

wrote the script in April 1988 and upon the script reaching Smart Egg Pictures with the company approving production and assigning Johnson as director very quickly to the point shooting was commencing by November of that year and were already discussing the possibility of sequels before the film's release. The characters and mannerisms of Blaznee, Captain Bipto, and Corporal Pez were modeled off of

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...

, James T. Kirk, and

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

respectively.

Reception

Film historian

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

gave the movie 1.5 out of 4 stars, declaring it "Criminally overlong...It all makes you wonder why Orson Welles couldn't get financing for decades, while pictures like this one are produced by the truckload." The film has gained a cult following.

TV series

In November 1997, a live-action TV series was being developed by Gullane Entertainment

References

External links

* * * {{Patrick Read Johnson Fiction set around Arcturus Mars in film Films about alien invasions 1990s science fiction comedy films American science fiction comedy films Touchstone Pictures films 1990 films American space adventure films Films directed by Patrick Read Johnson American films about Halloween 1990 directorial debut films 1990 comedy films 1990s English-language films Films about father–daughter relationships 1990s American films English-language science fiction comedy films 1990 science fiction films