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"Please, please, don't make a fuss. I'm just plain Yogurt."

Yogurt[src]

Yogurt was a keeper of a power known as the Schwartz and he resided on the Moon of Vega, where he taught Lone Starr of the Schwartz.

Biography[]

By age 8542,[1] Yogurt resided in a cave on the Moon of Vega and the Dinks acted as his servants.[2]

The Dinks found Lone Starr, Barf, Princess Vespa, and Dot Matrix lost in the desert, and took them to Yogurt's temple. The group initially seemed confused about where the Dinks are leading them. Once they saw Yogurt, though, they became elated to meet him, having heard about his wisdom and power.[2]

Yogurt showed the heroes the Schwartz-ring, as well as various pieces of Spaceballs merchandise. He then agreed to translate the message on Lone Starr's medallion, but withheld what it said until the proper time. Yogurt also taught Lone Starr how to use the ring to lift heavy objects (namely a giant statue of Yogurt). After Dark Helmet kidnapped Vespa and Dot, Yogurt gave Lone Starr the ring to help save Planet Druidia, as well as a fortune cookie to open later. Before Lone Starr and Barf left for Planet Spaceball, Yogurt expressed hope that they'll all meet again in Spaceballs 2: The Search For More Money.[2]

Lone Starr eventually lost the Schwartz-ring during a battle with Dark Helmet. Yogurt immediately restored Lone Starr's confidence by telling him that the ring was nothing more than the prize from a Cracker Jack box, and that Lone Starr had the real Schwartz inside him. Lone Starr then tricked Helmet into blowing up Spaceball I.[2]

When Lone Starr and Barf opened the fortune cookie, they received a message from Yogurt telling them that Lone Starr's medallion was a royal birth certificate, declaring him a prince. With this news in hand, Lone Starr and Barf rushed back to Planet Druidia in the Eagle 5, with help from a can of Liquid Schwartz that they also received from Yogurt. Once there, Lone Starr asked Vespa if she would like to marry him, and she accepted.[2]

Behind the scenes[]

Yogurt is portrayed by Mel Brooks, writer and director of Spaceballs, who additionally appeared as President Skroob. Yogurt is a parody of Yoda from Star Wars.

  • In the DVD audio commentary, writer, producer, and director Mel Brooks speaks about how difficult it was playing the character Yogurt. The gold-colored make-up gave him a terrible rash on his face and neck (necessitating the shooting of most of Yogurt's scenes out of sequence) requiring him to take allergy medicine during the rest of the shoot, and his knees were hurting constantly, since he had to walk around on his knees, even though he was wearing kneepads. Brooks also goes on to say that in spite of the difficulties, he enjoyed playing Yogurt tremendously, and that it was all worth it.
  • The scenes in Yogurt's temple were filmed on the same soundstage where, in the 1930s, MGM shot the scenes in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy and her friends meet the Wizard of Oz. Some other parallels also exist:
    • A young woman trying to go home (Dorothy/Vespa), a simple man sworn to protect her (Scarecrow/Lone Starr), a person made out of metal (Tin Man/Dot), and a humanoid animal (Cowardly Lion/Barf) link arms and slowly walk down a corridor
    • The humanoid animal (Cowardly Lion/Barf) nearly chickens out and separates from the group
    • The main denizen of the heroes' current location (The Emerald City/Yogurt's cave), someone renowned for magic and wisdom (Oz/Yogurt), uses fire and a deep-voiced, larger-than-life representation of himself (Oz's giant fake head/Yogurt's giant statue) to catch their attention
    • Once the heroes meet the person (Oz/Yogurt) in his true form, he tries to act humble while still doing what he can to help the young woman (Dorothy/Vespa) get home.

Trivia[]

  • When Yogurt tells Lone Starr about the birth certificate, he thanks Yogurt. His last line is, "You're welcome. And may the Schwartz be with youuuuuuuuu! Oh, what a world, what a world!" {This last part was said by the Wicked Witch of the West as she was melting away in The Wizard of Oz.}
  • Yogurt's rank on the 5-Man Band would be the Smart Guy, since he is very wise in teaching Lone Starr and translating the text of Lone Starr's medallion.

References[]

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