Parody film explained

A parody film or spoof film is a subgenre of comedy film that lampoons other film genres or films as pastiches,^{[1] [2] [3]} works created by imitation of the style of many different films reassembled together.Although the subgenre is often overlooked by critics, parody films are commonly profitable at the box office.^[4] Parody is related to satire, except that "parody is more often a representation of appreciation, while a satire is more often...pointing ...out the major flaws of an object through ridicule."^[5] J.M. Maher notes that the "difference is not always clear" and points out that "some films employ both techniques".^[6] Parody is found in a range of art and culture, including literature, music, theater, television, animation, and gaming.

The first film parody was The Little Train Robbery (1905), which makes fun of The Great Train Robbery (1903), in part by using an all-child cast for the Western spoof. Historically, when a genre formula grows tired, as in the case of the moralistic melodramas in the 1910s, it retains value only as a parody, as demonstrated by Buster Keaton shorts that mocked that melodrama genre.^[7]

Influential parody actors and creators from the first half of 20th century included the Marx Brothers (active 1905–1949), W. C. Fields (active 1898–1946), Mae West (active 1907–1978), Laurel and Hardy (1927–1955), and Bob Hope (active 1924–1998).^[8] The 1970s and 1980s have been called the "golden age" of parody movies, led by Mel Brooks and the "ZAZ trio" (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker). Brooks' parodies included a Western parody, Blazing Saddles (1974), a horror parody, Young Frankenstein (1974), and a space opera parody, Spaceballs (1987). The ZAZ trio is best known for their film which parodies a number of 1960s and 1970s genres (from exploitation film to kung fu film), The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977) and their air disaster film parody, Airplane! (1980).^[6] Woody Allen also contributed several parodies.

In the 2000s, the increasing availability of digital cameras (and then smartphones) that could shoot video and accessible editing software made it possible for amateur and early-stage professional creators to make parodies and post them online.^[6]

1900s

• Sherlock Holmes Baffled (1900)
• The Little Train Robbery (1905)

1910s

• The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (1916)
• Teddy at the Throttle (1917)

1920s

• Mud and Sand (1922)
• Three Ages (1923)
• Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde (1925)
• Yes, Yes, Nanette (1925)

1930s

• Free and Easy (1930)
• Movie Crazy (1932)
• Number Seventeen (1932)
• Once in a Lifetime (1932)
• Sons of the Desert (1933)
• Babes in Toyland (1934)
• Satan Met a Lady (1936)
• The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes (1937)
• Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937)
• Sh! The Octopus (1937)
• The Gorilla (1939)

1940s

• The Great Profile (1940)
• You Nazty Spy! (1940)
• A Chump at Oxford (1940)
• Playmates (1941)
• Hellzapoppin' (1941)
• Crazy House (1943)
• Along Came Jones (1945)
• The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947)
• Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
• Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949)

1950s

• Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
• Jack and the Beanstalk (1952)
• Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)
• Beat the Devil (1953)
• Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955)
• Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)
• The Court Jester (1956)

1960s

• Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)
• Carry On Cleo (1964)
• A Shot in the Dark (1964)
• Dr. Strangelove (1964)
• Carry On Spying (1964)
• Harum Scarum (1965)
• The Great Race (1965)^[9]
• Carry On Cowboy (1965)
• Don't Lose Your Head (1966)
• For a Few Dollars Less (1966)
• Carry On Screaming! (1966)
• Our Man Flint (1966)^[9]
• In Like Flint (1967)
• Casino Royale (1967)
• The Ambushers (1967)
• The Dove (1968)^[10]
• Zuckerkandl (1968)

1970s

• Carry On Up the Jungle (1970)
• The Twelve Chairs (1970)
• Carry On Henry (1971)
• And Now for Something Completely Different (1971)
• Blacula (1972)
• Carry On Dick (1974)
• Blazing Saddles (1974)^[9]
• Flesh Gordon (1974)
• Young Frankenstein (1974)^[9]
• The Groove Tube (1974)
• Dark Star (1974)
• Vampira (1974)
• Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)^[9]
• Love and Death (1975)
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
• The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975)^[9]
• The Black Bird (1975)
• Allegro Non Troppo (1976)
• Silent Movie (1976)^[9]
• Murder by Death (1976)^[9]
• Once Upon a Girl (1976)
• Queen Kong (1976)
• The Big Bus (1976)
• High Anxiety (1977)^[9]
• The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)^[9]
• Hardware Wars (1978)^[10]
• Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978)
• The Cheap Detective (1978)
• Carry On Emmannuelle (1978)
• Piranha (1978)^[9]
• Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)^[9]
• Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979)

1980s

• Galaxina (1980)^[11]
• Wholly Moses! (1980)
• Airplane! (1980)^[9]
• Murder Can Hurt You (1980)
• The Private Eyes (1980)
• Closet Cases of the Nerd Kind (1980)
• History of the World, Part I (1981)
• Under the Rainbow (1981)
• Student Bodies (1981)
• Saturday the 14th (1981)^[12]
• Zorro, The Gay Blade (1981)^[12]
• The Creature Wasn't Nice (1981)
• Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)^[9]
• Young Doctors in Love (1982)^[12]
• (1982)^[9]
• Police Squad! (TV series) (1982)
• Pandemonium (1982)
• The King of Comedy (1982)
• Wacko (1982)
• Zapped! (1982)
• The Man With Two Brains (1983)
• Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
• Bullshot (1983)
• Agent 000 and the Deadly Curves (1983)
• Bloodbath at the House of Death (1984)
• Bloodsuckers from Outer Space (1984)^[13]
• Johnny Dangerously (1984)
• Surf II: The End of the Trilogy (1984)
• This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
• The Toxic Avenger (1984)
• Top Secret! (1984)^[9]
• The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984)
• Voyage of the Rock Aliens (1984)
• Night of the Comet (1984)
• Rustlers' Rhapsody (1985)^[12]
• When Nature Calls (1985)
• Morons from Outer Space (1985)
• Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)
• Radioactive Dreams (1985)
• Eat and Run (1986)
• Haunted Honeymoon (1986)
• Reform School Girls (1986)
• Three Amigos (1986)
• Whoops Apocalypse (1986)
• Fresno (1986)
• Monster in the Closet (1986)^[14]
• Evil Dead II (1987)
• Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
• Million Dollar Mystery (1987)
• Spaceballs (1987)
• Back to the Beach (1987)^[12]
• Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)^[9]
• Leonard Part 6 (1987)^[15]
• Dragnet (1987)^[9]
• Love at Stake (1987)
• Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988)^[12]
• (1988)^[9]
• The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
• I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)^[9]
• Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
• Buster (1988)
• Switching Channels (1988)
• UHF (1989)^[9]
• Disorganized Crime (1989)
• Lobster Man from Mars (1989)
• Meet the Feebles (1989)
• Transylvania Twist (1989)
• Blades (1989)
• Big Man on Campus (1989)
• Shocker (1989)

1990s

• A Man Called Sarge (1990)
• Flesh Gordon Meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders (1990)
• The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)^[16]
• Repossessed (1990)
• Killer Tomatoes Strike Back (1990)
• Mob Boss (1990)
• Zapped Again! (1990)
• The Freshman (1990)
• If Looks Could Kill (1991)
• Soapdish (1991)
• (1991)^[9]
• Hot Shots! (1991)^[9]
• Killer Tomatoes Eat France (1991)
• Wizards of the Demon Sword^[17]
• Mom and Dad Save the World (1992)^[18]
• Evil Toons (1992)
• Carry On Columbus (1992)
• Stay Tuned (1992)
• Wayne's World (1992)
• Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
• CB4 (1993)
• The Naked Truth (1993)
• Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
• Wayne's World 2 (1993)
• (1993)^[9]
• Fatal Instinct (1993)
• Matinee (1993)^[9]
• Last Action Hero (1993)
• Freaked (1993)
• The Silence of the Hams (1994)
• Naked Gun : The Final Insult (1994)^[9]
• Fear of a Black Hat (1994)
• Blankman (1994)
• The Brady Bunch Movie (1995)
• (1995)
• Arabian Knight (1995)
• Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold (1995)
• A Very Brady Sequel (1996)
• Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
• The Cable Guy (1996)
• Cannibal! The Musical (1996)^[9]
• Spy Hard (1996)
• High School High (1996)
• (1996)^[19]
• Mars Attacks! (1996)^[9]
• (1997)^[9]
• Funny Games (1997)
• Orgazmo (1997)
• Jane Austen's Mafia! (1998)
• Wrongfully Accused (1998)
• BASEketball (1998)
• Plump Fiction (1998)
• (1999)
• (1999)^[9]
• Bowfinger (1999)
• Galaxy Quest (1999)^[20]
• The Underground Comedy Movie (1999)
• (1999)
• The Woman Chaser (1999)
• (1999)
• Mystery Men (1999)
• Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

2000s

• (2000)
• Scary Movie (2000)
• Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth (2000)
• The Bogus Witch Project (2000)
• The Tony Blair Witch Project (2000)
• Scary Movie 2 (2001)^[12]
• Not Another Teen Movie (2001)^[12]
• Shaolin Soccer (2001)
• Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
• Freddy Got Fingered (2001)
• Shrek (2001)
• Elvira's Haunted Hills (2001)
• Zoolander (2001)^[9]
• Wet Hot American Summer (2001)^[9]
• Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001)^[21]
• (2002)^[9]
• Undercover Brother (2002)^[9]
• Ali G Indahouse (2002)
• The Brady Bunch in the White House (2002)
• The Hot Chick (2002)
• Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)^[9]
• Scary Movie 3 (2003)^[12]
• Johnny English (2003)
• Down with Love (2003)^[9]
• G-Sale (2003)
• A Mighty Wind (2003)
• The Hebrew Hammer (2003)^[22]
• Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2004)
• Shrek 2 (2004)
• Shaun of the Dead (2004)
• Freak Out (2004)
• (2004)
• Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
• Club Dread (2004)^[12]
• The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)
• (2004)^[9]
• My Big Fat Independent Movie (2005)
• (2005)
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
• Hoodwinked! (2005)^[12]
• Date Movie (2006)^[15]
• Scary Movie 4 (2006)
• Another Gay Movie (2006)
• 18 Fingers of Death! (2006)
• Borat (2006)^[23]
• Barnyard (2006)
• Doogal (2006)
• Bikini Bloodbath (2006)
• Man of the Year (2006)
• Everything Other than Japan Sinks (2006)
• Epic Movie (2007)^[24]
• Farce of the Penguins (2007)
• Shrek the Third (2007)
• Funny Games (2007)
• Hot Fuzz (2007)^[23]
• The Comebacks (2007)^[24]
• (2007)^[9]
• (2007)
• Norbit (2007)
• Enchanted (2007)^[23]
• Kill Buljo (2007)
• You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)
• Meet the Spartans (2008)^[24]
• Superhero Movie (2008)
• (2008)
• An American Carol (2008)
• Get Smart (2008)
• Disaster Movie (2008)^[15]
• Extreme Movie (2008)
• Igor (2008)
• Tropic Thunder (2008)
• The World Is Hot Enough (2008)
• A.R.O.G. (2008)
• Black Dynamite (2009)
• Brüno (2009)
• Dance Flick (2009)
• (2009)^[12]
• Transylmania (2009)
• Stan Helsing (2009)
• Spanish Movie (2009)
• Dark and Stormy Night (2009)
• Alien Trespass (2009)
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

2010s

• Thamizh Padam (2010)
• MacGruber (2010)
• Megamind (2010)
• Shrek Forever After (2010)
• Vampires Suck (2010)
• The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It (2010)
• Johnny English Reborn (2011)
• Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011)
• Breaking Wind (2012)^[15]
• Sudigadu (2012)
• The Dictator (2012)
• Ted (2012)
• Movie 43 (2013)
• iSteve (2013)
• The Starving Games (2013)^[15]
• A Haunted House (2013)
• Scary Movie 5 (2013)^[25]
• 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2013)
• Inappropriate Comedy (2013)
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)
• Cosplay Fetish Battle Drones (2013)
• This Is the End (2013)
• Copa de Elite (2014)
• A Haunted House 2 (2014)
• The Lego Movie (2014)
• The Hungover Games (2014)
• Hrudaya Kaleyam (2014)
• They Came Together (2014)
• What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
• The Interview (2014)
• (2015)
• Double Barrel (2015)
• Chirakodinja Kinavukal (2015)
• Superfast! (2015)
• The Walking Deceased (2015)^[26]
• Ted 2 (2015)
• Tooken (2015)
• Ridiculous 6 (2015)
• The Night Before (2015)
• Fifty Shades of Black (2016)^[15]
• (2016)
• Meet the Blacks (2016)
• (2016)
• Sausage Party (2016)
• The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
• The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017)
• Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018)
• Thamizh Padam 2.0 (2018)
• Johnny English Strikes Again (2018)
• Holmes & Watson (2018)
• (2019)
• Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019)
• Notzilla (2019)^{[27] [28]}
• (2019)
• Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans (2019)
• Airplane Mode (2019)

2020s

• (2020)
• Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)^[23]
• Secret Magic Control Agency (2021)
• (2021)
• The Lost City (2022)
• The Mean One (2022)
• (2022)
• DC League of Super-Pets (2022)
• (2022)
• Strays (2023)
• Barbie (2023)
• (2023)
• Unfrosted (2024)
• Not Another Church Movie (2024)

Further reading

• Gehring, Wes D. Parody as Film Genre: Never Give a Saga an Even Break. Praeger, 1999.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Postmodern Parody and Pastiche.
2. News: Spoofs? Don't make us laugh. The Independent. 30 August 2009. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/spoofs-dont-make-us-laugh-1779377.html . 25 May 2022 . subscription . live. 2011-05-06. London. Andrew. Johnson.
3. News: Spoofs: the films that ate Hollywood. The Guardian. 6 August 2009. 2011-05-06. London. Ryan. Gilbey.
4. News: What Keeps Spoofs From Being Box-Office Jokes?. The Los Angeles Times. 25 July 1998. 2011-01-02. Robert W.. Welkos.
5. Web site: The Beginner's Guide: Parody. Mazzillo . Amanda . 1 May 2017. www.filminquiry.com . Film Inquiry. 1 April 2023.
6. Web site: Why Were Parody Movies So Popular in the 2000s?. Maher . JM. 20 October 2022. movieweb.com . Movieweb . 1 April 2023 .
7. Book: Balducci, Anthony. The Funny Parts: A History of Film Comedy Routines and Gags. 28 November 2011. McFarland. 9780786488933. 3 October 2018. Google Books.
8. Gehring, Wes D. Parody as Film Genre: Never Give a Saga an Even Break. Praeger, 1999.
9. http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?genre=Parody%2fSpoof&perpage=100 The Top 100 Parody/Spoofs of All Time-Flickchart
10. http://oddballfilms.blogspot.com/2016/04/what-film-16-you-cant-handle-spoof-fri.html Oddball Films:What the F(ilm)?! 16: You Can't Handle the Spoof! - Fri. April 8th - 8PM
11. Book: Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Cinema. Booker, Keith M. Scarecrow Press. 2010. xxiv.
12. http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?genre=Parody%2fSpoof&perpage=100&page=2 The Best Parody/Spoofs of All Time-Flickchart
13. Web site: Blood Suckers from Outer Space (1984) - Glen Coburn | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie .
14. Web site: Monster in the Closet (1987) - Bob Dahlin | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie .
15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-YCsUa1mZU Top 10 Worst Parody Movies-WatchMojo on YouTube
16. http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?genre=Parody%2fSpoof&perpage=100 The Top 100 Parody/Spoof>of All Time-Flickchart
17. Web site: Wizards of the Demon Sword (1991) - Fred Olen Ray | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie .
18. News: Hicks . Chris . July 7, 1992 . Film review: Mom and Dad Save the World . Deseret News . Salt Lake City, Utah . December 13, 2024.
19. https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-05-10-1996131167-story.html Cable comedy troupe tries the big screen Review: "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie" is long on name, and pretty long on laughs, too, if you get past its slow set-up. : Baltimore Sun
20. https://screenrant.com/galaxy-quest-star-trek-parody-perfect-why/ Why Galaxy Quest Was The Perfect Star Trek Parody|ScreenRant
21. Web site: Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001) - Lee Demarbre | Synopsis, Movie Info, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie .
22. Web site: The Hebrew Hammer (2004) - Jonathan Kesselman | Synopsis, Movie Info, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie .
23. https://screenrant.com/best-movie-parodies-according-critics-rotten-tomatoes/ 20 Best Parody Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes|ScreenRant
24. News: Surely you can't be serious. . 27 January 2008 . 2010-12-25 . Spoof films are routinely snubbed by Oscar and are even looked down upon by other comedies. But the genre's producers often just laugh all the way to the bank. . Aaron . Lee.
25. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/94184/the-walking-deceased-shamble-to-dvd/ Scary Movie 5
26. http://www.fangoria.com/new/qa-director-scott-dow-on-the-walking-deceased/
27. Web site: "Notzilla," Spoof of the Monsters is Coming This Summer; Info and Poster. Gingold. Michael. July 2, 2020. Rue Morgue. July 5, 2020.
28. Web site: Poster & First Look at Award-Winning Kaiju Comedy Notzilla Releasing August 18th. Millican. Josh. July 3, 2020. Dread Central. July 5, 2020.