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A parody film or spoof film is a subgenre of comedy film that lampoons other film genres or films as pastiches, 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. 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." J.M. Maher notes that the "difference is not always clear" and points out that "some films employ both techniques". 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. 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 190... ()
