Herbie Goes Bananas (1980)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Vincent McEveety

Writers:

Don Tait (written by)
Gordon Buford (characters creator)

Release Date:

25 June 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

Tagline:

Ole! It's south of the border disorder when.... [UK Theatrical]

Plot:

The adorable little VW helps its owners break up a counterfeiting ring in Mexico. |

Plot Keywords:

Language Barrier | Smart Car | Gadget Car | Fall Into Water | Panama Canal

Cast

Cloris Leachman	...	Aunt Louise
Charles Martin Smith	...	D.J.
John Vernon	...	Prindle
Stephen W. Burns	...	Pete (as Stephan W. Burns)
Elyssa Davalos	...	Melissa
Joaquin Garay III	...	Paco
Harvey Korman	...	Captain Blythe
Richard Jaeckel	...	Shepard
Alex Rocco	...	Quinn
Fritz Feld	...	Chief Steward
Vito Scotti	...	Armando Moccia
Jose Gonzales-Gonzales	...	Garage Owner (as Jose Gonzalez Gonzalez)
Ruben Moreno	...	Store Owner
Tina Menard	...	Store Owner's Wife
Jorge Moreno	...	Bus Driver

Also Known As:

Herbie dreht durch (West Germany) [de]
Herbie sbarca in Messico (Italy) [it]
Herbie vild och galen (Sweden) [sv]
Herbie, torero (Spain) [es]
La coccinelle à Mexico (France) [fr]
Riemukupla Meksikossa (Finland) [fi]
To katsaridaki paei sti Notia Ameriki (Greece) (TV title) [el]
To katsaridaki stis megales trelles tou (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

100 min | 93 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone Sound Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:G | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

Last screen appearance of Iris Adrian.

Goofs:

Continuity: Just after the bullfight, Aunt Louise knocks the shoulder ornament off Captain Blythe's uniform as they get out of the car. By the time we see Captain Blythe outside the car, the ornament is back in place.

Quotes:

D.J.: Let me ask you something. Why do keep calling this car Ocho? Can't you read the numbers?
Paco: Yeah. Five and three are eight. Anyone knows that.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Hercules Against the Moon Men (#5.10)" (1992)

Soundtrack:

Look At Me

3/10 **/5 ~ Beloved Bug Bites Bottom.

This third and last theatrical sequel to the classic Walt Disney Production The Love Bug (1969) brought the enormously successful franchise about a magical Volkswagen to a screeching halt. Herbie deserved a better send-off.

There's just no love left in the poor little disrespected cash-car. Filmed on the cheap in Mexico, this entry has none of the quality and charm of its original and trashes all that was good about the preceding sequels. Vincent McEveety, the weakest of Disney's three main directors during this period, was assigned the project after having done a fair job with Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, but makes no effort to elevate the project above the level of its poor script.

The frenetic, maudlin result is one of the worst Disney films. Talented comic performers Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman and Charles Martin Smith are wasted on unfunny material. Only the clever stunt and effects work save this mechanical destruction derby from oblivion.

The Love Bug was eventually revived for a brief TV series and made-for-TV movie, but Disney was flogging a dead V-Dub.