Herbie Goes Bananas (1980)

one too many sequels

This is what happens when you make one too many sequels of a popular family movie. Eventually, there's the temptation to dumb it down.

The nephew of Herbie's original owner goes to Mexico to pick up the little car with a friend, hoping to take it down to Brazil to enter a race. Unfortunately, they run into a young pickpocket, Paco (Joaquin Garay III), and end up too broke to get to the race.

So on the cruise ship, they befriend a woman (Cloris Leachman) and her studious daughter, and the woman agrees to sponsor them.

Unfortunately, that's the closest Herbie gets to the racetrack in this movie.

Meanwhile, Paco's gotten into worse trouble, picking the wrong pocket, and Herbie befriends him, and most of the movie is hijinks with Herbie, now called "Ocho," and Paco.

The brightest spot in the movie is when the cruise ship captain (Harvey Korman) and Cloris Leachman's character join Ocho and Paco in a bullfight.

The kid, I suppose, was supposed to be cutely mischievous, but I just found him annoying (pickpocketing is cute?). I wasn't alone. My sons were very vocal in their dislike of Paco.

I never understand why they do this: putting a kid in the place of an adult role. It hardly ever works. The original movie and the first few sequels were good and very funny, had semi-realistic adult characters, and--*golly*--kids still liked them. I suppose it's a matter of taste--I don't seem to share Hollywood's fascination with obnoxiously precocious children. June 26, 2008

The Love Bug 4: Fiesta at Sea!

In his wildest adventure yet, "Herbie Goes Bananas" takes everyone's favorite little Volkswagen beetle south of the border and on a high seas adventure to protect a little orphan boy and save some ancient Incan artifacts from the clutches of greedy criminals! This 4th Herbie film, the 3rd and last of the "classic" Love Bug sequels, begins in Mexico, where we meet Jim Douglas's nephew Pete, a wanna-be racecar driver himself, and his mechanic, D.J., two young Americans just arriving in Puerto Vallarta. They're there to pick up Herbie, the VW racing sensation that Jim has turned over to nephew Pete in the hopes that the car and his new driver can help each other by becoming a winning racing team. Pete and D.J. intend to take the little car, via cruise ship, to win a big race in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Of course, upon seeing that Herbie is just a little `63 bug, their confidence sinks. It doesn't take long, however, for Herbie to show them his true potential, and Herbie is being loaded onto the S.S. Princess before we know it! Unfortunately, not before Pete has his wallet stolen by a poor orphan boy named Paco. Little Paco is a sweet and lovable kid that knows how to charm the tourists, but he also knows how to get into big trouble. Not only does he steal Pete's wallet, he pickpockets from some dangerous criminals as well! And, somehow, he gets the contents of the stolen wallets mixed up! Unknowingly, Pete and D.J. are walking around with some very incriminating film in their possession after Pete regains his property. Meanwhile, Paco has stowed away onboard the S.S. Princess in the front-end trunk of his new friend, Herbie the car!

While at sea, things get really crazy! Pete and D.J. get into a world of trouble with the captain of the Princess, Captain Blythe, when Herbie and stowaway Paco are caught causing trouble not once, but twice! The old-fashioned Captain is so angry at Herbie that he has the little car rolled off a plank and into the ocean, where it seems Herbie will be lost forever! Meanwhile, Paco is taken into custody, and Pete and D.J. are left at the first port of call along with a wealthy woman called Aunt Louise and her gorgeous but bookish niece, Melissa. The pair of female cruise passengers got caught up in the whole mess when D.J. convinced Pete to woo Melissa in a successful attempt to gain Aunt Louise's financial support as sponsor of their little racing car. Now, our entire cast is abandoned in South America, and everything seems pretty hopeless. That is, until Paco spots a rusty wreck of a Herbie floating in from the ocean. With the help of some untrustworthy locals, Paco brings Herbie in. The little car does not look well, but the pair manage to make a getaway before the villagers cut him up for scrap! Herbie is soon feeling better again, though he looks awful. Paco paints "Taxi" on his sides and the two prepare to start a humble life together, but their plans are cut short when the dangerous criminals finally catch up to the little boy. They're after their film and send Paco on a mission to get it back, or else they'll be the ones turning Herbie into scrap! Now, Paco has to find Pete and D.J. again so he can return the stolen film; stolen film that shows the location of a secret, unknown trove of ancient Incan treasures! Surprisingly (or not), Captain Blythe and the ladies are soon caught back into the mess as Herbie accidentally hijacks the captain and Aunt Louise during his escape from the vicious criminals! It's all a crazy and hilarious mix-up that doesn't end until an insane bullfight and a kooky airplane encounter get the better of the bad guys! And, yes, there are bananas involved!

"Herbie Goes Bananas" is easily my favorite of the "classic" Herbie sequels! Okay, this 1980 entry is the most "kids' movie" of the lot, made all the more obvious by the Sesame Street sounding songs in the background, but it also holds true as the funniest sequel of the bunch! How could it not be with the likes of Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman in the cast? Harvey really does steal the funniest moments as the irrepressible Captain Blythe, especially when staving off the hilarious romantic advances of lovestruck Aunt Louise (Cloris Leachman). In fact, a great cast is key to what makes all the Herbie films work so well, and this film has another excellent ensemble! Charles Martin Smith makes a great mechanic sidekick (a tradition in most Herbie films), and Stephen W. Burns's role as pretty-boy nephew to Dean Jones's "Love Bug" character, Jim Douglas, is not exactly rocket science, but Burns plays the prince-like Disney hero well and in a likeable way. John Vernon, Alex Rocco, and Richard Jaeckel make for some excellent Disney villains, and Elyssa Davalos is simply an angel as the introverted niece, Melissa, even in her librarian's best. We even get famous character actor Vito Scotti in a small but side-splitting role! The star of this film though, aside from Herbie the car, is Joaquin Garay III, who plays fast-talking and mischievous, but good-hearted, little Paco. Naturally, there's no shortage of great Herbie stunts in "Herbie Goes Bananas" either! Probably the most memorable is Herbie's legendary turn as a matador in a sold-out bull ring! If you're a fan of Disney's "The Love Bug," this is one sequel that you shouldn't miss, especially if you want to get your small children into the Herbie fan-base. In fact, I can only recommend the newest sequel, "Herbie: Fully Loaded," with more enthusiasm! Of course, my real recommendation is to pick up the entire "Herbie the Love Bug DVD Collection," along with "Fully Loaded" on DVD, and the pre-Fully Loaded TV sequel, "The Love Bug," available only on VHS. All are excellent films, but this one will always hold a special place in my heart from years of watching it on the Disney Channel as a kid and even seeing it in theaters! I even have a little Johnny Lightning "Herbie Goes Bananas" die-cast car with "Taxi" painted on the side and coated in painted on "rust." I love it! Unfortunately, this is another lackluster Disney DVD release with zero extras and fullscreen formatting. All the more reason to get the boxed set, since the extras on disc two of the original film do make occasional reference to all the pre-Fully Loaded sequels. Whatever you do though, don't hesitate to pick up "Herbie Goes Bananas" today! Yeah, a widescreen DVD would be nice, but we may never get one, and this film is too good to miss! March 2, 2006

Herbie Goes Banannas,

Herbie is back in this fun filled movie. I have liked most of the herbie films but i think this one could of been better. in this film it seems they took herbies personality a little bit sour. He dosen't seem the same happy little Bug that we all know. Don't get me wrong i like it but it could of been better.

Plot: Jim Douglas the previous owner of Herbie gives Herbie to his nephew. When Jims nephew picks up herbie then the fun starts. Herbie runs into this mexican child who is a pocket theif. the child accidently steals a important piece of papper from some very bad men. And now the men are after him, the child hitches a ride with herbie and they go on a little tour. Can herbie protect this child and stop the villians. Well you know what to do, Rent the movie and find out.

If you liked this movie check out the other Herbie Films
1. The Love Bug
2. Herbie Rides Again
3. Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo
4. Herbie Fully Loaded December 8, 2005

Nostalgic Fun

Jim's passed his car onto his nephew for the final of the original four Herbie movies. Pete and his partner DJ pick up Herbie in Mexico, planning to enter in a race in Brazil. What they don't plan on is getting mixed up with a pickpocket and stow away who has befriended their car. But Paco has crossed some bad men, accidentally stealing their film, the only clue they have to the location of Inca ruins they intend to steal. Can a little car save the day again?

Ok, I admit it. This is by far the weakest of the original Herbie movies. The plot is extremely far fetched with at couple of nice plot holes. So why the five stars? Because watching this movie never fails to bring a smile to my face. It's probably the one I watched the most growing up, and I just can't look at it with a critical eye. Beside, any car that would take on an airplane, and win, is ok by me.

The DVD leaves a little to be desired as well. Presented in full frame instead of wide screen, it's a movie only release.

This movie is best viewed through rose-colored glasses of childhood. Don't think about it too critically, or you'll find its flaws. Just sit back and let Herbie take over. April 4, 2005

The Car with a Personality

I like this movie because it provides humor,comedy, suspense and surprises. It is unpredictable,and also has great effects. The movie is about a car and a boy who are like bestfriends and they both would do anything to help the other. These two characters over come some of the worst obstacles possible.
This movie also exposes some cultural items as well. From time to time you can hear spanish being spoken, and you get to see some of the geographical areas as well. I would recommend this to anyone that is wanting to watch a good, clean family movie. This is a movie that can be watched over and over for generations to come.


November 13, 2004

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