Skroob

President Skroob.

President Skroob is the tertiary antagonist of Spaceballs. He is the president of Planet Spaceball, as well as the ruthless boss of Dark Helmet. He tries to act as a parody of Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars, but deviates strongly for comedic purposes (mostly because he lacks supernatural powers and is a president, as opposed to an emperor). He is not a very smart president, as he admits when he tells Colonel Sandurz, "I can't make decisions! I'm a president!" He was portrayed in both Spaceballs and Spaceballs: The Animated Series by Mel Brooks, the director of the movie.

In the movie

President Skroob is first seen sitting in his office, assuring a Spaceballs news outlet that the air shortage on Planet Spaceball is just a rumor. The audience realizes that he was lying when they see him pull out a can of fresh air from Planet Druidia, and inhale deeply. Commanderette Zircon then asks him if he would like to come down to the teledar to trace Spaceball I's pursuit of Princess Vespa of Druidia. Snotty beams him down, accidentally turning Skroob's head backwards in the process. Skroob quickly gets beamed back into his office, turning his head back facing the right direction. He then walks to the teledar, which ironically is located in the next room.

When Princess Vespa and her saviors, Lone Starr and Barf, crash-land on the Moon of Vega, Skroob commands the troops to "comb the desert" for them, a command that Dark Helmet takes literally.

Dark Helmet eventually succeeds in capturing Vespa and getting the code to Druidia's air shield: 1-2-3-4-5. Upon hearing this, Skroob exclaims that he has the exact same combination on his luggage.

Skroob joins Dark Helmet and Colonel Sandurz on Spaceball I to witness the destruction of Druidia, which gets foiled by Lone Starr. After Lone Starr tricks Helmet into pushing the self-destruct button, Skroob and the others scramble to reach escape pods. Skroob, Helmet, and Sandurz ultimately get left behind, and then blasted to the Planet of the Apes.

In the animated series

Skroob's father once owned a woman and her son, Panakin Crybaby, who would later become Dark Helmet. He reveals in that same episode that he is a Sithee, Although he tries to put a girly or "sissy" hat on him and the hat disappears as if it had been created by a magic power like The Schwartz, it was never completely demonstrated that he used The Schwartz in this scene.

Trivia

• President Skroob's last name is an anagram of Mel Brooks' last name.
• President Skroob is a parody of Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars. While Brooks' other films have spoofed dictators such as Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, this seems to be a spoof of American presidents, in particular Richard Nixon. When Marlene and Charlene hide when Commanderette Zircon interrupts their tryst with Skroob, he furtively attempts to look like he is alone in bed by reading a book authored by Nixon.
• Another parallel was between President Skroob and Governor LePtomaine of Blazing Saddles. LePtomaine was a fumbling territorial governor in that film, who also was interrupted by his subordinates when he was having a fling (in this case with an attractive redheaded secretary). Both characters were played by Mel Brooks.
• President Skroob's ranking in the 5-Bad Band would be the Big Bad, since he is the cause of most of the conflict in the Spaceballs franchise.

Quotes

"Why didn't someone tell me my ass was so big?!"

"1-2-3-4-5? That's amazing, I got the same combination on my luggage."

"Sandurz, ya gotta help me! I don't know what to do! I can't make decisions. I'm a president!"

"The cancellation button? Hurry!"

"6? What happened to 7?"

"Like my raincoat!"

"Where the hell are we — Paris?"

"Okay, I'll take a shot at it. What the hell, it works on Star Trek.

"Never have that damn thing down in front of me! How do I know that you're not making faces at me under that thing?"