The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension story
The film follows the efforts of the polymath Dr. Buckaroo Banzai, a physicist, neurosurgeon, test pilot, and musician, as he tries to save the world by defeating a band of inter-dimensional aliens called Red Lectroids from Planet 10.
13 total · 5 major · 8 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| extra-dimensional being | major | It was up to Buckaroo Banzai to save the world from an attack by Reptilian aliens out of the 8th dimension. |
| intangibility device | major | The story turned on Buckaroo Banzai preventing Dr. Emilio Lizardo from getting a special "oscillation overthruster" device that enabled pass through solid objects, and even into the 8th dimension. |
| mad scientist stereotype | major | Dr. Emilio Lizardo was a criminally insane alien scientist in human form who was determined to invent, or otherwise get his hands on, a device (an "oscillation overthruster") that permits one to access the 8th dimension. |
| parallel universe | major | The usage of the "oscillation overthruster" opened up access to another universe that was referred to as "the 8th dimension" in the film. |
| reptilian being | major | It was up to Buckaroo Banzai to save the world from an attack by Reptilian aliens out of the 8th dimension. |
| coping with excruciating pain | minor | The President suffered from chronic back pain for which he sought a most unusual treatment. |
| father and son | minor | Casper and his enthusiastic young son Scooter were in Buckaroo's crew. |
| malicious hoaxes in society | minor | We learned that the aliens arrival in 1938 was told by Orson Welles' iconic broadcast of The War of the Worlds until the they forced him to state it was a work of fiction. |
| romantic love | minor | The film concluded with Buckaroo and Penny sharing a passionate kiss. |
| scientist occupation | minor | We saw a flashback to Dr. Emilio Lizardo and Professor Hikita experimenting in a in a 1930s era Dr. Frankenstein like laboratory. |