Spaced Invaders
Encyclopedia
Spaced Invaders is a 1990 science fiction
comedy
directed by Patrick Read Johnson
and starring Douglas Barr
, Royal Dano
and Ariana Richards
.
, known as the Imperial Atomic Space Navy (Battle Group Seven), fight a vast interstellar war against a presumably long-time enemy called the Arcturans, under the direction of imperious "Enforcer Drones." An incompetent crew of a small Martian spaceship (of the Civilian Asteroid Patrol) intercept a short distress signal from the fleet followed by a rebroadcast of Orson Welles
' 1938 The War of the Worlds
radio dramatization.
Mistaking this for a real invasion, they land the ship in the tiny farming community of Big Bean, Illinois and try attempt to conquer Earth. The ship's smart-mouthed pilot, Blaznee, with more common sense than the others, doesn't think it's a good idea, but he is ignored by the others: Captain Bipto, the overzealous optimist of the group; Lieutenant Giggywig, the ambitious hothead who thinks he knows everything; Dr. Ziplock, the careful and calm scientist; and Corporal Pez, the over-eager and timid smart-mouth. They start to search for the invasion fleet they think has already landed. Because it's Halloween
, they are assumed to just be kids in very good costumes. Eventually, though, a handful of locals come to realize the truth. Among them is the town sheriff (Barr), his young daughter (Richards), and an elderly farmer named Wrenchmuller (Dano). The sheriff finds out about the aliens when his deputy tapes the alien ship on his video camera doing 3000 mph.
The deputy tracks down the Martian ship to give them a ticket for having no license, no registration, no headlights, no taillight, no wheels, and going 2945 miles over the posted limit. The sheriff's daughter, Kathy, finds out about the aliens when they unintentionally join a group of costumed kids Trick-or-Treating
. She befriends the Martians' "Scout-in-a-Can", a small robot that folds itself up into a small sphere and is considered "smart, efficient, easy to use, and expendable". Mr Wrenchmuller finds out about them when they crash land in his barn. Captain Bipto gets run over by a truck and turns a gas station attendant into his robot slave. Giggywig, Ziplock and Pez try to blow up the town's Co-Op and instead heat up one of the silos of popcorn seeds, making a giant popcorn popper. Kathy's new friend, Brian captures Blaznee by hitting him with a trashcan lid then tries to help him repair his ship. Finally, Wrenchmuller tries to blow up the ship and gets trapped in a paralyzing beam instead. The Martians try blowing up the planet with the D.O.D. (Doughnut Of Destruction), but it fails to operate and falls apart upon use. Eventually the Martians realize they made a horrible mistake.
Things get worse when the ship's "hyperdriver" goes into meltdown, threatening to create a black-hole on Earth, and the stubbornness of their ship's Enforcer Drone makes things even worse. The sympathetic humans manage to destroy the Enforcer Drone with a stick of dynamite and help the grateful "invaders" return to space. As an unintentional gift to their human friends, the Martians jettison their ship's sewage tank all over Wrenchmuller's field in an attempt to lighten the load of their ship so that they can reach escape velocity.
The alien manure rejuvenates the drought-stricken farmland and turns the regular green beans (for which the town is known) into gigantic, 6 foot tall green beans, enabling Wrenchmuller to save the town itself from greedy real-estate developers. The ending scene has the Martians heading home, with Captain Bipto suggesting they go to Arcturus in order to "help torture prisoners", which is vehemently refused by the rest of the crew.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
directed by Patrick Read Johnson
Patrick Read Johnson
Patrick Read Johnson in Wadsworth, Illinois) is an American film director, producer, and writer.-Movie career:Johnson is best known for his directorial work on the films Spaced Invaders, Angus, Baby's Day Out, The Genesis Code and 77. He also has written and produced such films as Dragonheart...
and starring Douglas Barr
Douglas Barr
Douglas Barr is an American actor, writer, and director. He has starred in movies and on television.Douglas was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His first TV series, during the 1980s, was When the Whistle Blows. Later on, his big role came in the ABC TV series The Fall Guy as Howie Munson from 1981–1986...
, Royal Dano
Royal Dano
Royal Edward Dano was an American film and television character actor.-Early life:Dano was born in New York City to Mary Josephine , an Irish immigrant, and Caleb Edward Dano, a printer for newspapers. He reportedly left home at the age of twelve and at various intervals, lived in Florida, Texas...
and Ariana Richards
Ariana Richards
Ariana Clarice Richards is an American actress and professional painter. She is best known for her roles as Mindy Sterngood in Tremors, Lex Murphy in the film Jurassic Park, and as Carol Wetherby in the film Prancer....
.
Plot
The armed forces of MarsMars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, known as the Imperial Atomic Space Navy (Battle Group Seven), fight a vast interstellar war against a presumably long-time enemy called the Arcturans, under the direction of imperious "Enforcer Drones." An incompetent crew of a small Martian spaceship (of the Civilian Asteroid Patrol) intercept a short distress signal from the fleet followed by a rebroadcast of Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' 1938 The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds (radio)
The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938, and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker...
radio dramatization.
Mistaking this for a real invasion, they land the ship in the tiny farming community of Big Bean, Illinois and try attempt to conquer Earth. The ship's smart-mouthed pilot, Blaznee, with more common sense than the others, doesn't think it's a good idea, but he is ignored by the others: Captain Bipto, the overzealous optimist of the group; Lieutenant Giggywig, the ambitious hothead who thinks he knows everything; Dr. Ziplock, the careful and calm scientist; and Corporal Pez, the over-eager and timid smart-mouth. They start to search for the invasion fleet they think has already landed. Because it's Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, they are assumed to just be kids in very good costumes. Eventually, though, a handful of locals come to realize the truth. Among them is the town sheriff (Barr), his young daughter (Richards), and an elderly farmer named Wrenchmuller (Dano). The sheriff finds out about the aliens when his deputy tapes the alien ship on his video camera doing 3000 mph.
The deputy tracks down the Martian ship to give them a ticket for having no license, no registration, no headlights, no taillight, no wheels, and going 2945 miles over the posted limit. The sheriff's daughter, Kathy, finds out about the aliens when they unintentionally join a group of costumed kids Trick-or-Treating
Trick-or-treating
Trick-or-treating or "Guising", is a customary practice for children on Halloween in many countries. Children in costumes travel from house to house in order to ask for treats such as candy with the question "Trick or treat?"...
. She befriends the Martians' "Scout-in-a-Can", a small robot that folds itself up into a small sphere and is considered "smart, efficient, easy to use, and expendable". Mr Wrenchmuller finds out about them when they crash land in his barn. Captain Bipto gets run over by a truck and turns a gas station attendant into his robot slave. Giggywig, Ziplock and Pez try to blow up the town's Co-Op and instead heat up one of the silos of popcorn seeds, making a giant popcorn popper. Kathy's new friend, Brian captures Blaznee by hitting him with a trashcan lid then tries to help him repair his ship. Finally, Wrenchmuller tries to blow up the ship and gets trapped in a paralyzing beam instead. The Martians try blowing up the planet with the D.O.D. (Doughnut Of Destruction), but it fails to operate and falls apart upon use. Eventually the Martians realize they made a horrible mistake.
Things get worse when the ship's "hyperdriver" goes into meltdown, threatening to create a black-hole on Earth, and the stubbornness of their ship's Enforcer Drone makes things even worse. The sympathetic humans manage to destroy the Enforcer Drone with a stick of dynamite and help the grateful "invaders" return to space. As an unintentional gift to their human friends, the Martians jettison their ship's sewage tank all over Wrenchmuller's field in an attempt to lighten the load of their ship so that they can reach escape velocity.
The alien manure rejuvenates the drought-stricken farmland and turns the regular green beans (for which the town is known) into gigantic, 6 foot tall green beans, enabling Wrenchmuller to save the town itself from greedy real-estate developers. The ending scene has the Martians heading home, with Captain Bipto suggesting they go to Arcturus in order to "help torture prisoners", which is vehemently refused by the rest of the crew.
Cast
- Douglas BarrDouglas BarrDouglas Barr is an American actor, writer, and director. He has starred in movies and on television.Douglas was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His first TV series, during the 1980s, was When the Whistle Blows. Later on, his big role came in the ABC TV series The Fall Guy as Howie Munson from 1981–1986...
as Sam - Royal DanoRoyal DanoRoyal Edward Dano was an American film and television character actor.-Early life:Dano was born in New York City to Mary Josephine , an Irish immigrant, and Caleb Edward Dano, a printer for newspapers. He reportedly left home at the age of twelve and at various intervals, lived in Florida, Texas...
as Wrenchmuller - Ariana RichardsAriana RichardsAriana Clarice Richards is an American actress and professional painter. She is best known for her roles as Mindy Sterngood in Tremors, Lex Murphy in the film Jurassic Park, and as Carol Wetherby in the film Prancer....
as Kathy - J.J. Anderson as Brian (Duck)
- Gregg BergerGregg BergerGreggory "Gregg" Berger is an American voice actor, who is known for his longtime role as Odie the dog from the Garfield franchise...
as Klembecker - Wayne AlexanderWayne AlexanderWayne Alexander is an American actor who grew up in San Joaquin Valley in California. He trained at Los Angeles City College Theater Academy, then spent four years at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater. He later worked as a fight choreographer and did stage work both in Los Angeles and...
as Vern - Fred ApplegateFred Applegate (actor)Frederick Applegate is an American actor, singer and dancer. He is best known for originating the roles of Inspector Kemp and The Blind Hermit in The New MEL BROOKS Musical Young Frankenstein. Other Broadway credits include M. Dindon/M...
as Russell - Patrika DarboPatrika DarboPatrika Darbo is an American actress.-Early life:Born Patricia Davidson in Jacksonville, Florida, Darbo grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She studied theater at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, graduating in 1970, and undertook further study at the Atlanta School of Drama...
as Mrs. Vanderspool
Allusions
- The title of the film is a play on the video game Space InvadersSpace Invadersis an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to...
. - During the end title music, there is an homage to the TV series My Favorite MartianMy Favorite MartianMy Favorite Martian is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963 to May 1, 1966 for 107 episodes...
as the first bars of the show's theme song are sung by one of the Invaders.