Talk:Spaceballs

I want to raise these spellings for discussion because I don't know how to best approach it within Wikipedia's guidelines. As has been raised several times, the portmanteau for man-dog would intuitively be 'mog', not 'mawg'. However, the only authoritative evidence I can find is within the film itself, where a wall on the Winnebago has a sign reading: "Mawg on Board". I cannot find any similar reference to "mog" within the film. However, one could speculate that the signage is itself a joke suggesting that mogs are so poor at spelling that they misspelled their own species.

Supposed copies of the screenplay can be found in both forms, 'mawg' and 'mog'.

As for secondary sources, I can find contradictions within websites and no consensus among them. For example, Looper write 'mog' in their 21 July 2020 article, but then write 'mawg' in their 25 June 2021 article. A cursory Google search indicates that 'mog' is more frequent than 'mawg', but that may only indicate the intuitiveness of the portmanteau's spelling rather than its correctness.

What do people think is the correct approach here? Primary evidence indicates the official spelling according to the film's creators is 'mawg', and plenty of secondary sources do spell it this way, but I cannot find clear, authoritative, written confirmation that it is 'mawg' rather than 'mog'. --Scuoise (talk) 20:45, 30 July 2021 (UTC)

In some dialects of English they would be pronounced the same: See Cot-caught merger. It's possible that those making the movie were less concerned with such spelling inconsistency than you are... AnonMoos (talk) 21:39, 30 July 2021 (UTC)

I agree that the pronunciation would be the same for most people. I'm raising the topic with respect to which spelling ought to be used within the article, since there have been several reversions from 'mawg' to 'mog'. The question here isn't how to pronounce the word, but rather which should be considered the correct spelling based on the sources available. If there are going to be edits back and forth, we should reach some consensus on the spelling. --Scuoise (talk) 21:47, 30 July 2021 (UTC)

The only real canon source for the film is the film itself, and as you said the word 'mawg' is used repeatedly. I'm personally in favor of sticking with 'mawg', but I'm open to further discussion if there are other points to be made. Hans404 (talk) 23:16, 6 October 2021 (UTC)

I agree. If the film said 'Mawg', all other sources take a back seat. Bkatcher (talk) 02:06, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

I don't have a strong preference either way, but I note that the article currently contains "mawg" in one place and "mog" in another - which may explain why people keep editing it (i.e. to make the article internally consistent). DH85868993 (talk) 23:15, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

Good catch! I've aligned both instances to 'mawg' for now, as that seems to be the way most of us are leaning, but we can certainly give it a bit more time in case there's more discussion to be had. Hans404 (talk) 00:38, 8 October 2021 (UTC)

"... mogs [sic] ... misspelled their own species." I resemble that remark. --2601:840:8000:CDC0:294A:B213:5A7C:2C79 (talk) 16:49, 15 June 2025 (UTC)
p.s. (It's not hard to type with your paws, just slow.) My litterary staff take care of cans, doorknobs, and the occasional hairball.

why not include audience score, instead of only the outdated and laughably bad, skewed "critics" scores? (which do not reflect professional critics opinions but are just a bunch of journalist opinions)

the reception from the public was far better and is less skewed, esp. if there are only 10 reviews where each bad review weighs in a lot. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2003:CC:B703:8821:7D2E:E942:488E:4A80 (talk) 08:42, 15 June 2022 (UTC)

WP:UGC user voted web polls are not a reliable source WP:RS. -- 109.76.133.142 (talk) 12:34, 31 July 2022 (UTC)

I'm presuming it would be against Wikipedia protocol to rename this article? 😏 TeamEquestria (talk) 01:21, 11 January 2025 (UTC)

May I suggest a redirection? (from Spaceballs: The Wikipedia Article to Spaceballs, not the way around) 204.128.192.31 (talk) 14:56, 4 July 2025 (UTC)

I'd vote for that. Leeandron (talk) 19:58, 15 September 2025 (UTC)

This is the funniest WIkipedia comment I've ever seen.

- Spaceballs the Reply Signature Maddox121 ForgotHisPassword (talk) 20:15, 15 September 2025 (UTC)

Please delete Transformers as a reference of parody! The first Transformers film was in 2007, Space Balls was released in 1987. 68groove (talk) 15:49, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

Transformers were popular toys and cartoons well before this movie.Bkatcher (talk) 15:55, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

True, but maybe it could be clarified that the toys are meant. 68groove (talk) 15:58, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

Their first TV show also debuted in 1984. – Muboshgu (talk) 16:05, 9 March 2026 (UTC)