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
Allan Hunt	...	Canal Operator #1
Tom Scott	...	Canal Operator #2
Hector Morales	...	Mexican General
Iris Adrian	...	Loud American Wife
Ceil Cabot	...	Mrs. Purkiss
Pat Van Patten	...	Cigarette Guest (as Patricia Van Patten)
Jack Perkins	...	Loud American
Henry Slate	...	Off-Watch Officer
Ernie Fuentes	...	Native
Antonio Trevino	...	Pigeon Owner
Dante D'Andre	...	Dr. De Moraes
Alma Beltran	...	General's Wife
Dolores Aguirre	...	General's Daughter #1
Aurora Coria	...	General's Daughter #2
Alex Tinne	...	Local #1
Don Diamond	...	Local #2
Warde Donovan	...	Maitre d'
Ray Victor	...	Guard Attendant
Bert Santos	...	Policeman #3
Buddy Joe Hooker	...	Chef
Steve Boyum	...	Panama Policeman
Kenny Endoso	...	Mexican Policeman
Mario Cisneros	...	Puerto Vallarta Policeman
Jeff Ramsey	...	The Matador
John Meier	...	Ship's Officer (as John C. Meier)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alejandro Alemán	...	Kid in bus (uncredited)
Raúl Gómez	...	Jeep Driver (uncredited)
Herbie The Love Bug	...	Itself (uncredited)

Directed by
Vincent McEveety

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

Produced by
Kevin Corcoran	....	co-producer
Ron Miller	....	producer
Don Tait	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Frank De Vol

Cinematography by
Frank V. Phillips		(director of photography) (as Frank Phillips)

Film Editing by
Gordon D. Brenner

Art Direction by
John B. Mansbridge
Rodger Maus

Set Decoration by
Norman Rockett
Roger M. Shook

Makeup Department
Gloria Montemayor	....	hair stylist
Nadia	....	makeup artist
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
Anuar Badin	....	production supervisor: Mexico
John D. Bloss	....	production manager (as John Bloss)
César Armando Jiménez	....	assistant production manager: Mexico (as Cesar A. Jimenez)
Danny McCauley	....	unit production manager
Sergio David Prieto	....	assistant production manager: Mexico (as David Prieto)
Mario Cisneros	....	assistant production manager: Mexico (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mario Cisneros	....	assistant director: Mexican production staff
Christopher Disney Miller	....	second assistant director (as Christopher D. Miller)
Michael J. Dmytryk	....	second unit director (as Michael Dmytryk)
Stephen McEveety	....	second assistant director (as Stephen M. McEveety)
Win Phelps	....	assistant director
Peter L. Bergquist	....	first assistant director: second unit (uncredited)

Art Department
Enrique Estévez	....	set decorator: Mexican production staff (as Enrique Estevez)
Agustín Ituarte	....	art director: Mexican production staff (as Agustin Ytuarte)
Richard J. Bayard	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Ben Hendricks	....	sound editor (as Ben F. Hendricks)
Bud Maffett	....	sound mixer (as Henry A. Maffett)
Herb Taylor	....	sound supervisor
Bill Wylie	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Art Cruickshank	....	special effects
Danny Lee	....	special effects
Gary D'Amico	....	special effects (uncredited)
Mike Edmonson	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
Hans Metz	....	special effects supervisor (uncredited)
Mike Reedy	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
Ken Speed	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Constantine Ganakes	....	matte artist

Stunts
William H. Burton	....	stunt player (as Bill Burton)
Steve M. Davison	....	stunt player (as Steve Davison)
Bill Erickson	....	stunt player
Donna Hall	....	stunt player
Billy Hank Hooker	....	stunt player (as Hank Bill Hooker)
Buddy Joe Hooker	....	stunt coordinator
Hugh Hooker	....	stunt player
Bobby Porter	....	stunt player
Art Scholl	....	stunt player
Steve Vandeman	....	stunt player
Richard Wright	....	stunt player
James M. Halty	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ken Speed	....	stunt driver (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Mike Sweeten	....	additional photography
Lloyd Ahern II	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Carl Boles	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Robert LaBonge	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Jim Luske	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
Annie McEveety	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)
Jeff Miller	....	second assistant camera: second unit (uncredited)
Randall Robinson	....	first assistant camera: second unit (uncredited)
Jim Rose	....	gaffer: second unit (uncredited)
León Sánchez	....	camera operator: second unit, Mexico (uncredited)
Mike Sweeten	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)
Joe Valdez	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)
Harry Young	....	assistant camera: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mary Dye	....	costumer: women
Milton G. Mangum	....	costumer: men
Jack Sandeen	....	costume supervisor

Music Department
Evelyn Kennedy	....	music editor
Albert Woodbury	....	orchestrator (as Al Woodbury)

Transportation Department
Mario Simon	....	transportation co-captain (uncredited)

Other crew
James W. Gavin	....	helicopter pilot: second unit (uncredited)
Ken Speed	....	diver (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Walt Disney Productions (presents)

Distributors

• Buena Vista Distribution Company (1980) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1987) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Walt Disney Productions (1981) (France) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Home Video (video)

Other Companies

• City of Guadalajara  our thanks to (as the City of Guadalajara)
• City of Puerto Vallarta  our thanks to (as the City of Puerto Vallarta)
• Republic of Panama  our thanks to (as the Republic of Panama)
• Secretary of Communications and Transport Ferry Service (Mexico)  our thanks to
• State of Jalisco, Mexico  our thanks to (as the State of Jalisco, Mexico)

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:

A total of 26 Volkswagen Beetles played the part of Herbie in this film due to the enormous number of stunts.

Goofs:

Continuity: Though the ship scenes are supposedly set on the Sun Princess, at least three different ships' exteriors are shown during the course of the movie. Herbie is shown being loaded on to the actual Sun Princess in the beginning, but later aerial shots of the ship are actually of the Island or Pacific Princess (aka The Love Boat), which, while still a Princess ship, has a differently-shaped funnel. When Herbie is dispatched into the drink, the scene is set on an entirely different ship all together: you can see two orange funnels in the background, when in fact the Sun Princess has only one aft funnel with Princess' trademark Seawitch on it.

Quotes:

Captain Blythe: I can't believe this. Thirty years at sea, and I'm going to die in a bullring.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Adam and Joe Show: (#2.4)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Look At Me

A great movie once you get used to it

Personally I don't know why so many people dislike this movie. I'm 23 and don't usually like fairytale type stories much anymore, but I find Herbie goes Bananas to be a lot of fun and usually very enjoyable. Some things about it are rather ridiculous, like a kid driver and other items, but after all, it's a fantasy movie just like all the other Herbie films for that matter. Some parts don't exactly fit together or make sense, like how Herbie knows where Paco is when he's left behind in the jungle, why Herbie would be let up into the Pannama Canal, and other things. But if you just forget about the parts that wouldn't work in real life and enjoy the story and events that take place it's a lot of fun. Of the now 5 main Herbie movies, The Love Bug, Herbie Rides Again, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, Herbie Goes Bananas, and Herbie Fully Loaded, I wouldn't say this is my favorite, but I don't think it's my least favorite either, they're all pretty good.

I admit that when I first saw it there were plenty of things that didn't seem right, but after seeing it a few times and getting used to it I got to really liking it. Some things I found to be a bit unpleasant, confusing and sort of mixed up. I didn't like it that Herbie rusts in the water and nearly drowns, but after all this isn't the first time Herbie is damaged and later fixed. Sometimes it's confusing all the different items going on at once. I do think it could have been better with perhaps a few less characters and a few less stops between the main events. There are plenty of things that could have been better, I wouldn't argue with that at all, and it is considerably different from the other movies. But after watching it a few times and getting the feel for it I learned to really like it. I think it just takes some getting used to, the more I watch it the more I enjoy it. One of the only things that I never like is the rude, annoying behavior of the pirate like Captain Blythe.

Many parts I find to be very funny, especially the scene that the movie is named after, where Herbie is throwing Banana's at the crooks near the end. Maybe it's just my opinion, but I find this to be hilarious. I don't think the movie title should have been named after this though.

Anyways, I think it's a great movie once you get used to it. Some parts could have been better, but I find it to be just as good as the other Herbie movies.