User reviews

I love Herbie - it's hard not to. However I can recognise how the four movies gradually get worse. This was the worst one. Now I'm not saying it was terrible, and I don't agree with a comment above that says "make the kids watch something else", but it was a disappointing effort.

The Love Bug is by far the best, closely followed by Herbie Rides Again. Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo is OK, but Bananas is not very good at all. If you're not a fan of Herbie movies, you won't like this.

5/10

It was thought the Herbie phenomenon had finally run its course with Herbie Goes Bananas. It turned out only that the franchise just took a quarter century hiatus.

In this film Herbie has been given over to Stephen W. Burns and his mechanic Charles Martin Smith by previous owner whom we all know was Dean Jones. Of course he did it without telling nephew Burns or Smith about Herbie's capabilities. A bit of time with him and they really do believe that he can win the Grand Prix at Rio.

But before that the little bug gets involved with some counterfeiters played by John Vernon, Richard Jaeckel, and Alex Rocco, a little boy who calls him OCHO played by Joaquin Garay, and the pretentious captain of a cruise ship in Harvey Korman who has the best performance in the film. Burns gets himself involved in a shipboard romance with Elyssa Davalos who is accompanied by her chaperon aunt Cloris Leachman. Korman and Leachman get a little something going themselves though what she sees in him is beyond me. Maybe she just likes the uniform.

Herbie Goes Bananas has some nice location cinematography in the Panama Canal, Tijuana, and Guadalajara in Mexico. And it has two good scenes with Herbie walking the plank as per Captain Korman's orders and later on in a corrida facing a bull with Leachman and Korman inside. The rest of the time it moves at a snail's pace, odd for a Volkswagen that's supposed to win Grand Prix events.

By the way little Joaquin Garay calls him Ocho because he adds the five and three painted on Herbie's side and that's eight in Spanish. So why didn't he just call him Cincuenta Y Tres?

Okay I have something to say I am a big fan of Herbie I love the jokes and the tricks in the first film The love bug my favorite Disney movie and my favorite Herbie movie is the best in the series Herbie rides again was okay it was not that bad Herbie goes to Monte Carlo was pretty good it was not that bad of kids movie but this one I don't think so it did not make sense like in the first film Jim buys Herbie and Herbie Win so many races for Jim in the 2nd one Herbie try ed to save the old firehouse from Mr Hawk in 3rd film Jim returns to Herbie's life and takes him to Monte Carlo and where he feels in love with someone but this one is weak and the worst in the series it does not even light up to the first film because the characters in this one have no development and the hole plot was a big huge miss and hole movie with bananas was stupid I mean Herbie is race car and he should of had his normal paint job he only had it for about 20 mims or so and he was called Herbie once so the hole movie itself suck so if you are a big fan of the first three Herbie films like I am you are not going to not like this one but The love bug 97 TV movie put Herbie back up to his wheelies and Herbie fully loaded as well so I give this movie a 4 out of 10 because it does not light up the first film This movie is probably great for kids but if you want to see this movie to see how the adventure continued but don't count on it being a 5 stars in your book.

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.

Easily the weakest of the series, this is a film the Herbie franchise could have done without. Having a child as the nominal lead in an essentially adult role is a surprisingly common motif in children's movies; surprisingly, because more often than not it fails to work and it certainly fails here. Eight-year old taxi drivers? I think not, not even in Mexico. Our Paco is more annoying than lovable and I found myself rooting for the villains instead.

Clearly the writers are to blame for the mess - the cast is actually quite good, e.g. you cannot ask for much better villains than John Vernon, Alex Rocco and Richard Jaeckel, but they were fighting a loosing battle against a rotten script.

The best asset of the film is Harvey Korman who shows the right spirit, and is given the freedom to act out his madcap humour. Neither his routines nor his character fit very well into the story, but the story is so weak one does not care.

The only good joke in this movie is the inside one: when Cloris Leachman's character sends Herbie for help, Harvey Korman turns to her and says, "It's a car, lady, not Lassie!" Leachman was part of the cast of LASSIE in 1957-1958, playing the original Ruth Martin. One wonders if the joke was specifically inserted with her in mind.

Poor Herbie went through as many owners as Lassie, too. This one is particularly lackluster, although the child lead is cute. The two young men who now apparently own Herbie don't even have enough screen presence to overshadow a small boy. On the other hand, Leachman and Korman must have needed the bucks.

It's hard to deny the technical and general film-making flaws of this movie. "Money making cash in" is almost the perfect phrase for it, and the cheaper south American setting just makes it all the more tacky.

With all that being said I still like this movie, however it's pretty much for nostalgia reasons only. I used to adore the Herbie films as a boy in the early 1980s and this film was a regular video rental at the time. Even at just that I can easily watch and enjoy the movie just to soak up the memories.

Of course it's not awful to the point where it's it's excruciating. It's perfectly watchable and kids will probably love it, but it's cheesy beyond belief and some parts are so overly saccharine that it may make you puke. The acting is third tier and hammy at best and it's just one of those cheapo films made for the sake of being made. One also wonders just how heartless Jim Douglas became to just abandon his beloved and wondrous living car.

A plus point though is that Herbie is a lot more expressive in this film and we see him do a few new tricks tanks to some custom mechanics on the cars that were used to represent him.

To be fair, the film would have worked just as well without the boy Paco, and would have removed some of that aforementioned cringeworthy saccharine. However, I doubt I would have connected with it as much as a child had Paco not been in it so it's kind of a double edged sword.

It's a film that regularly comes back around on my watch list when I'm feeling nostalgic, and for me it's a good time, but if you are an adult and haven't seen it before then I seriously doubt that there will be any joy here at all.

I think children would still love it though, so it's a good option if you want peace for an hour or so.

Vincent McEveety directed this fourth entry that sees Pete(played by Stephen W. Burns) and D.J.(played by Charles Martin Smith) gain temporary possession of Herbie from Jim Douglas, and have plans to enter it in a Rio De Janeiro car race, but need financial backing, so enlist two women(played by Cloris Leachman & Elyssa Davalos) to help out, but get sidetracked by a crazy ship captain(played by Harvey Korman) who dumps Herbie into the sea(!) and then is rescued by an orphaned pickpocket, and pursued by a smuggling syndicate. Awful film is utterly unfunny, contrived, and pointless, not to mention stupid. Forgettable sequel, best forgotten, though a brief TV series followed.

Personally I don't know why so many people dislike this movie. I'm 27 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, this isn't my favorite one, but it's not my least favorite either. Personally my favorite is probably Herbie goes to Monte Carlo, and my least favorite is definitely Herbie Fully Loaded.

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. 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, selfish and 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. However I don't think the movie title should have been named after this.

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.

Herbie goes Bananas is a comedy adventure movie directed by Vincent McEveety and stars Late Stephen W. Burns, Charles Martin Smith, Cloris Leachman, Late Harvey Kerman, Elyssa Davalos and Joaquin Garay III.

To term the movie in simple terms we can call the movie as 'boring kid movie' with no plot and poor execution the movie is a bad movie.

The acting is average to bad and some of the actors are little loud, screenplay is tumultuous and can't hold the viewers for long. Climax is very predictable. There are few funny scenes here and there and doesn't excites much.

A boring movie with a very limited comedy.

"Herbie Goes Bananas" is way too underrated. Quite honestly, I don't see any reason why so many people dislike it. It's a light-hearted comedy in the old-fashioned Disney style, great fun and cute. It's a harmless movie, without violence or bad stuff. I know I'm in minority, but I consider this a classic.

Despite being one of the sequels, this one can be considered a movie apart. It is original and different from the 3 previous movies. It's not a "rip-off", which is a benefit. Plus, unlike the other movies (which are dated), this one has that timeless, nostalgic feeling. The movie is much better than its cheesy title suggests.

"Herbie Goes Bananas" takes us to exotic locations such as Mexico and Panama, but also to a cruise ship (the "Sun Princess"), a bullfight, Inca ruins, Panama's Canal...

Soundtrack is nice. "I found a new friend" is a very charming and cheerful song and I also like the instrumental musics.

About the characters, I generally like them. My favorite is Paco, along with Herbie. Paco is cute and lovable, but also comical and one of the nicest and smartest movie kids ever. He always keeps his cheery disposition. He is polite, cool, he really likes his car friend (Herbie) and he always says the car looks good (even rusty). He is so much different from the obnoxious Maggie Peyton from "Herbie: Fully Loaded" or even Jim Douglas himself in the beginning of "The Love Bug".

Captain Blythe is *very* surly yet hilarious. Imagine having an explosive captain like that aboard a ship...

Herbie, the lovable VW Beetle, is a charismatic car in the world of cinema, while the VW Beetle itself is a legend in car industry. I love how he's always there for Paco when he needs help and that Paco does the same for Herbie. I just love their friendship.

The bad guys are likable for villains. They always remain calm and delicate without showing signs of aggressiveness.

Joaquin Garay III steals the show. His performance as Paco is just so energetic, so lively and terrific. He must have had great fun making this movie. Other talents include Stephen W. Burns, Charles Martin Smith, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, John Vernon, Richard Jaeckel, Alex Rocco and Vito Scotti.

It's really cute that Paco calls Herbie "Ocho" ("eight" in Spanish) because he believes Herbie's 53 number means 5+3=8. The way Paco and Herbie communicate with each other is so cute. Not less cute is to see Paco acting like a taxi driver (Herbie is disguised as a taxi later) and the painting smiling flowers with the word "taxi" which Paco paints on Herbie. Curiously, Herbie's name is never mentioned in the movie, except one single time by the garage owner.

One of the most hilarious parts of the film is Herbie as a matador. The entire sequence is just so funny! Also, the part when Herbie throws bananas to the bad guys is just hilarious! But there are plenty of other moments as funny as these, of course...

This should definitely be on Top 250.

Amusing and funny following with the ¨Wolkswagen Love Bug¨ racing the tracks and going to South America . Love Bug's outing in which Herbie one again doing antics , it is full of pranks and car stunts that are great fun to see . ¨Herbie goes bananas¨ (1980 , or Herbie Torero) by Vincent McEveety starred by Charles Martin Smith and Cloris Leachman , among others results to be an agreeable though inferior Disney's love bug Wolkswagen plenty of action , slapdash , laughs and entertainment .Pete Stancheck (Stephen Burns) inherits from his Uncle Jim Douglas a race car being stored in Puerto Vallarta. With his friend Davy Johns (Charles Martin Smith) accompanying him to Pete is dismayed to learn that the car is an older model Volkswagen Beetle. But when Pete and his friend watch what the car can do and learn that it somewhat has a mind of its own, they decide to enter it into the Brazil Grand Prize formula one race. The adorable little VW helps its owners break up a counterfeiting ring in Mexico. The road to Rio has never been bumpier , as en route to Rio De Janeiro, Herbie gets the two friends have one problem after another as it attempts to help its new friend, a streetwise orphan named Paco (Garay) . Meanwhile , at a boat Pete fall in love for Melissa (Elyssa Davalos) and all of them are pursued by a trio of villains (John Vernon , Alex Rocco , Richard Jaeckel) .

¨Herbie goes bananas¨ is a delightful Disney comedy that displays great loads of amusement , fantastic cars antics , slapstick , fun , giggles , chases are great fun to watch and being pretty entertaining . It's an enjoyable movie for kids and for those who enjoy cars racing round and round and bounds and leaps carried out by Herbie . In the sequence where Herbie "walks the plank", a real Volkswagen Beetle was cast out into the sea , however it was never recovered. 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 . The actors seem to enjoy immensely , as Charles Martin Smith and Harvey Korman as a silly captain play of sympathetic manner and the mean-spirited villains performed by John Vernon , Alex Rocco and Richard Jaeckel are top notch . Colorful cinematography by Frank Phillips , being the only classic Herbie film to not be shot at the Golden Oak Ranch. Jolly soundtrack by Frank De val , Robert Aldrich's usual , including the lively leitmotif , usual in the Herbie's series. This is a delightful film , the original entry was ¨The love bug¨ by Robert Stevenson with Dean Jones , David Tomlinson and Buddy Hackett , followed by ¨ Herbie rides again (1974)¨ also by Robert Stevenson and starred by Ken Berry , Stefanie Powers and Helen Hayes ; it's followed by ¨Herbie goes to Montecarlo¨ with Dean Jones , Don Knotts and Julie Sommers ; followed by ¨Herbie goes bananas¨ (1980 , or Herbie Torero) by Vincent McEveety starred by Charles Martin Smith and Cloris Leachman , among others and a 1997-for-television-movie with Bruce Campbell and John Hanna and a TV series , the most part filmed by Stevenson and Vincent McEveety and usually starred by Dean Jones . Furthermore recent version starred by Linsay Lohan , Justin Long and Matt Dillon , being directed by Angela Robinson. This first version " Love Bug ¨ results to be the best version , it is amusing story with lots of laughs but is a familiar film . The motion picture was professionally directed by Vincent MacEveety . He's an usual craftsman from Disney productions and a filmmaker of several TV episodes such as ¨Diagnosis Murder , Colombo , Pensacola , Airwolf , Dallas , Cimarron , Star Trek , Gunsmoke¨ and many others . This ¨Herbie goes bananas¨ is an amusing and engaging film with effective combination of primitive special effects , live action , adventure , fantasy and humor . The children will get a kick out of this typical Disney film ,it's a great fun to watch and there are loads of entertainment in this one . Worthwhile seeing , typical Disney slapstick , though isn't of the best in ¨Herbie¨ series .

This was the last Herbie movie to my knowledge. If it wasn't the last, it was defintely the worst. What else do you call a movie when a Mexican child calls Herbie "ocho" ( he adds up Herbie famous number "53" and gets eight). Then this Mexican child does a horrible paint job and starts using Herbie to run a taxi service. In my humble opinion the only reason to watch this film is to see what sort cellouiod trash Disney was putting out before Michael Eisner took over.

The formerly jaunty little bug is dragged out for another run, this time a very feeble attempt at a franchise cash-in. It appears that the suits at Disney knew Herbie was due for the parts yard, and spent as little as possible to churn this out, hoping to make a quick buck off the few people who would see it on name recognition alone. Make the kids watch something else.

Jim Douglas has long retired and has left his car to Pete Staniczek as long as he collects it from South America. So Pete and engineer Davy Johns collect the car to enter it into a race, but they first have to contend with little pickpocket Paco. Despite the look of the car, they take it on the cruise ship with them when they leave – not knowing that Paco has sneaked onboard as well to escape the wrath of one of his victims who are part of a gang planning to steal Aztec gold.

This was supposedly the final entry in the series but I suppose that the new 2005 film means that it is number 4 of 5 (so far). The characters and locations have all changed but essentially the formula is still the same – physical comedy from Herbie, romance from the driver, a crime subplot although no race as such. In this regard it doesn't do anything particularly special or go anywhere other than you expect it to, but it is inoffensive and not annoying or boring. The comedy is so-so, with plenty of Herbie action for kids (apparently they went through over 20 cars making this) and acceptable humour for adults.

The cast are mixed – in some regards they carry the movie but in others they are terrible. The lead cast are mostly poor. Burns shows how enjoyable Jones was because he is totally lacking in charisma or screen presence. Smith does his best to impersonate the usual engineer sidekick (Knotts) by mugging and pulling faces but it never gets past the stage of impersonation to become his own work. Davalos is terribly dull, although her wooden, uninspired delivery does quite compliment Burns. Garay (the third, would you believe) is OK but if you hate "cute kids" in movies then you'll hate his squeaky little performance; however I suppose it is quite cool that the car gets to act opposite an orphan – very like Chaplin. Thank goodness for the support cast then, because they do a lot of the work that the lead actors fail to do; not saying that they are that good but at least they are lively and interesting. Korman overacts with little material to work with but he is very funny at times. Leachman is a lot more by-the-numbers and not as interesting. The criminal gang don't have much to do but the faces will be interesting for adults – Jaeckel and Rocco for example.

Overall, this is a fairly obvious entry in the series but it is still enjoyable. The overuse of the kid will put many adults off because it brings out some horrible, cloying sentiment but mostly the film is lively and quite enjoyable. Children will enjoy it and adults will be able to watch it without feeling bored.

Cute, Herbie's adventures leave the race station and cross all of America, leaving the USA, passing through Mexico, and arriving in South America by ship, and finally flow into Brazil for the Grand Prix, always cute, the little boy Joaquin Garay III, a Mexican (not so Mexican) steals the scenes, 26 Beetles were destroyed in the production of the film, which hurts...

this movie is point-less, taste-less and most importantly Herbie-less! that's right his name is only spoken once in the entire film and his original paint job is only seen for half an hour of the movie. the movie just isn't as original or lovable as the others. and don't fall for it the way i did i ran around the internet for 13 hours(no wait i think it was 14) looking for a review that says this movie was a success but it is not a success it's barley even a Herbie movie

what it is is a waste of time and money

my advice:

don't fall for this movie,skip this one, go right to Herbie:fully loaded

Jim Douglas' nephew (Stephen W. Burns) inherits Herbie, but has to pick the car up in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with his mechanic friend (Charles Martin Smith) wherein they meet a mischievous little pickpocket that Herbie takes a liking to. John Vernon and Richard Jaeckel appear as dastardly villains while Harvey Korman plays a nutty cruise ship captain with Cloris Leachman & Elyssa Davalos on hand as passengers.

"Herbie Goes Bananas" (1980) is my favorite of the original four Herbie flicks. The amusing story is more compelling than the previous three and the star-studded cast is noteworthy with everyone giving it their all, especially Korman and Leachman. The cast were having a good time and it shows. A highlight is that this one shows Herbie talking, albeit cute car-language, not English.

Meanwhile Elyssa Davalos is the most beautiful female to be featured in the Herbie franchise up to this point, plus there are several beauties in the periphery.

The next film would be the rebooted TV movie "The Love Bug" (1997), which is my favorite of the series, followed by the excellent "Herbie Fully Loaded" (2005). I favor the 1997 one because it's the most compelling plus features the Dark Herbie and Alexandra Wentworth.

The film runs 1 hour, 40 minutes and was shot in Mexico (Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara & Tijuana), Panama (Panama Canal & Panama City) and the Los Angeles area (Ventura and Burbank).

GRADE: B

I like the bit where Herbie ends up in a bull ring with an angry bull

I have another trivia for this title: as the kid never mention the name of Herbie on the movie and he calls Herbie "ocho", it is because ocho means eight in Spanish which is the result of Herbie's number (53) added (5+3=8)...:) that's my theory I don't know if it's true but it has sense...or what do you think??, i figured it out because my mother language is Spanish and my second is English, i didn't figure out when i was a kid because i didn't speak English at the time, i saw the movie like a month ago and it kept me thinking about this. By the way i bought some Herbie's movies in DVD and the quality is great, thanks Disney for bringing back the classics of my childhood.

This movie is very out of character with the previous movies.

I found all of the characters unlikable and annoying. They have no depth and they have few positive traits.

For example, Herbie protects a thief from police, and breaks things, causing his new owners to scam an old lady to pay for the damage.

This is the kind of behaviour I'd expect from Alonzo Hawk. What's going on here???

And I haven't even talked about the bad guys.

You know a movie sucks when you are rooting for the bad guys.