Herbie Goes Bananas (1980)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Vincent McEveety

Writers:

Gordon Buford (characters)
Don Tait (written by)

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	...	Sheppard
Alex Rocco	...	Quinn
Fritz Feld	...	Chief Steward
Vito Scotti	...	Armando Moccia
Ruben Moreno	...	Store owner
Tina Menard	...	Store owner's wife
Jorge Moreno	...	Bus driver
Allan Hunt	...	Canal operator #1

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 System)

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:

Herbie The Love Bug was a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle deluxe ragtop sedan painted in Volkswagen L87 pearl white. Under normal circumstances, the interior would be a matching white. However, Herbie's interior was painted a special non-reflective grey color so the camera and studio lights would not reflect.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the costume party when Pete and Melissa are slow dancing, a black patch appears and disappears from Pete's racing outfit between shots. He never had it on before or after the dance with Melissa.

Quotes:

Paco: What's your name?
[Herbie beeps twice]
Paco: Que?
[he beeps twice again]
Paco: I just call you Ocho, okay?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Godzilla vs. Megalon (#3.12)" (1991)

Soundtrack:

Look At Me

Herbie stinks in this film

Herbie's motor was starting to sputter, so to speak, in "Herbie Goes Bananna's". It can be argued that this is the weakest in the series as far as plot, characters, and Herbie himself are concerned. The title is one of the major problems of the films. Bananna's were used in only a minute spot on the film. A better title probably would have been "Herbie Stinks in This Film". The thinly thought-out plot, if you can call it that, has no real direction and it's not clearly explained. You had to look really hard to tell what was going on and why. Characters are another major problem with this film. Panco was little more than a prop to hold up the story; he was at best a pain and of no real help to the film. The other characters were awful - they could have been used much better than they really were. The same goes for the crooks, too. Unfortunately, Herbie doesn't add a whole lot to the film either. Compared to his other films, there's barely any slapstick commedy and he doesn't really help anybody else out in this film, unlike his other ones. Herbie definitely wore out his welcome mat here in this film. The other three are a much better alternative to this film.