The Coneheads was originally a sketch on Saturday Night Live which starred Dan Aykroyd as father Beldar, Jane Curtin as mother Prymaat, and Laraine Newman as daughter ("Connie").

The Coneheads were an alien family, natives of the planet Remulak, who found themselves stranded on Earth. When questioned by Earth neighbors as to their strange behavior, they inevitably replied that they were "from Remula(c), a small town in France".

The Conehead's most distingushing feature was that the tops of their heads are shaped like large cones. Their unearthly appearance, however, was never strongly questioned -- a point from which much of the humor was derived.

Aside from their obvious physical differences, the Coneheads also had a very fast, nasal, monotone speech, and seemed to have much larger appetites than average humans. They would eat massive amounts of food during meals (which they referred to as "consuming mass quantities"), drink entire six packs of beer at once, and smoke whole packs of cigarettes at a time. Despite their distinctions, they were never suspected of being aliens by anyone who encountered them (even when accidentally referring to their neighbors as "Earthlings").

Much humor derived from the Coneheads' use of over-technical dialogue, such as referring to food as "consumables", and saying "I summon you" to ask to speak to another person. The somewhat popular term "parental unit" also came from the sketches. They engaged in strange behaviors, such as rubbing their cones together as a sign of affection, at which point a bizarre, theremin-like noise is emitted, presumably from the cones themselves. There is also a game they play involving tossing rings over each others' cones, which is somehow sexual in nature, and is considered taboo for the underaged Connie to play.

Dan Aykroyd said he developed the idea for the Coneheads based on the Moai, the mysterious and ancient stone statues of Easter Island, which had similarly conical heads.

Frank Zappa wrote a song based on the sketches, titled "Conehead". It appeared on his 1981 album You Are What You Is.

The concept was turned into an animated special, The Coneheads, in 1983 and a movie, Coneheads, in 1993, with Aykroyd and Curtin reprising their roles in both. Newman played Connie in the special, while Michelle Burke played her in the movie. Marvel Comics produced a comic book limited series, with all original stories set after the events of the film.

The term "Coneheads" became a familiar part of the legendary 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey team coached by Herb Brooks. Composed of three northern Minnesota college hockey players (Mark Pavelich, John Harrington, and Buzz Schneider), the trio instinctively knew how to maneuver together like no other line on the team, and Brooks would often use them when he needed a secret weapon. The U.S. team went on to beat Russia and Finland and capture the gold medal that year.

Coneheads is the title of a 1993 movie based on the Saturday Night Live sketches about the Coneheads. As was the case with the previous SNL skit-inspired film The Blues Brothers, Coneheads has been said to have made an "accidental" or "unintentional" political statement or social commentary about the nature of the immigrant experience in America, the filmmakers' ostensible intent being merely to entertain.

The film's plot premise: the adventures of the Conehead family--whose ship, as part of an advance scouting mission for an invasion, is shot down by a F-16 fighter-interceptor of the New Jersey Air National Guard, and they try to assimilate into American society and pursue the immigrant's American dream.

The film stars Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin as Beldar and Prymaat Clorhone (who later Anglicize their Remulakian surname to "Conehead"), parents of Connie (Michelle Burke, taking over the role played by Laraine Newman on SNL). Michael McKean and David Spade play INS officials; also appearing are Sinbad and SNL alumni Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Tim Meadows, Jon Lovitz, Peter Aykroyd, Tom Davis, Garrett Morris, Chris Farley, Laraine Newman, Kevin Nealon, Julia Sweeney and Adam Sandler.

Although they do not appear onscreen together, this film marked the first pairing of SNLers Farley and Spade. This comedy duo would later go on to enjoy success in Tommy Boy and Black Sheep.

Other supporting cast members include Jason Alexander and Lisa Jane Persky. Alexander's Seinfeld co-star, Michael Richards, makes a cameo appearance, as do Eddie Griffin, Joey Lauren Adams, Parker Posey, Ellen DeGeneres, Drew Carey, Dave Thomas, and Tom Arnold.

The movie largely took place in Paramus, New Jersey, with scenes also shot in New York City and the New Jersey slums of Jersey City, and Wrightstown.

The film was directed by Steve Barron and produced by Lorne Michaels.

An alien couple known as Beldar and Prymatt with cone-shaped heads from the planet called Remulak is mistakingly ditched on earth, during a scouting mission for planet conquest. While here, they dodge the INS, have a child and discover that life on Earth is quite good. But unfortunately they are being chased by the government who knows something is not quite right with the Conehead family. After they are rescued and taken back to their planet, Belder is told to come back and destroy planet Earth! Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}

An alien couple with cone-shaped heads (Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin) from the planet "Remulak" is mistakingly ditched on earth. While waiting to be recalled to their mother planet, they start a family and have a little daughter. They try to adapt to earth customs by living in middle-class suburbia. Meanwhile, their daughter grows up to be a teenager (Michelle Burke) who has difficulties fitting in with her peers or accepting the fact that at some point, she has to return to "Remulak" with the rest of the family. Written by Cedrus