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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
One Thursday morning, Arthur Dent discovers that his house is to be immediately demolished to make way for a bypass. He tries delaying the bulldozers by lying down in front of them; however, Arthur's friend Ford Prefect convinces him to go to the nearby pub. While there, Ford explains that he is an alien from the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and a journalist working on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a universal guide book. Ford warns that the Earth is to be demolished later that day by the extraterrestrial Vogons to make way for a hyperspace bypass.
As the Vogon fleet arrives, Ford rescues Arthur by stowing them aboard one of the alien ships. The Earth is then destroyed. Arthur and Ford are promptly discovered and tortured with Vogon poetry before being ejected from the vessel and left for dead. However, they are picked up by the starship Heart of Gold, aboard which they meet Ford's "semi-cousin" Zaphod Beeblebrox, the newly elected President of the Galaxy. He has stolen the ship along with Tricia "Trillian" McMillan, an Earth woman whom Arthur had met previously, and Marvin, a clinically depressed android.
Zaphod seeks the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything to match the disappointing answer once given by the ancient supercomputer Deep Thought: " 42 ". He believes the answer lies on the planet Magrathea, which is only accessible through trial and error using the Heart of Gold ' s improbability drives.
During one attempt, the ship arrives at Viltvodle VI, where Zaphod's opponent, Humma Kavula, resides. Kavula offers the coordinates for Magrathea in exchange for Zaphod recovering the Point-of-View gun, a weapon created by Deep Thought that enables the target to temporarily empathize with the shooter. Believing she is responsible for Zaphod's kidnapping, the Vogons abduct Trillian. Arthur spearheads a rescue mission with the others, journeying to the Vogon homeworld, Vogsphere. Before her rescue, Trillian learns that Zaphod personally signed the order for Earth's destruction, mistakenly assuming he was giving a fan his autograph.
The group escapes Vogsphere with Galactic Vice-president Questular Rontok and the Vogons in pursuit. The Heart of Gold arrives in Magrathea's orbit, triggering the planet's missile defense systems. Before they can strike, Arthur re-activates the improbability drive, which transforms the missiles into a bowl of petunias and a whale, allowing the Heart of Gold to land safely. Zaphod, Ford, and Trillian enter a portal leading to Deep Thought; however, Arthur and Marvin are stranded outside. Zaphod's party learns from Deep Thought that, after coming up with the Answer "42", Deep Thought's creators had it design another computer to come up with the Question: Earth. The group recovers the Point-of-View gun, and Trillian uses it on Zaphod to show him her resentment for his accidental destruction of the Earth. They are then captured by unknown entities.
Meanwhile, on Magrathea, Arthur is met by Slartibartfast, a planet builder. Slartibartfast takes Arthur to a pocket dimension, where he shows that a new version of Earth is near completion. Slartibartfast takes Arthur to his recreated home. Inside, the others are enjoying a feast provided by the mice: hyper-intelligent, pan-dimensional beings who created Deep Thought and commissioned the original Earth. With Arthur, who was on Earth up until its last minutes, the mice surmise that they can discover the Question by removing his brain. Arthur manages to escape and crush the mice under a teapot.
Questular and the Vogons arrive outside the home and open fire; during the barrage, Marvin is shot. While Arthur and his companions take cover, Marvin reboots and uses the Point-of-View gun to force the Vogons into a crippling state of depression. The Vogons are taken away, and Zaphod reunites with Questular. Arthur decides to explore the galaxy with Ford and Trillian, allowing Slartibartfast to finalize the new Earth without him. The Heart of Gold crew decides to visit the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.