Herbie Goes Bananas (film) While Pete Stanchek and his friend, Davie Johns, are transporting a VW (Herbie) via ocean liner from Puerto Vallarta to Brazil for an auto race, their lives are complicated by a stowaway in Herbie’s trunk—a loveable Mexican orphan, Paco, who’s made the mistake of stealing a map of golden Incan ruins from a criminal now hot in pursuit. The ensuing chase (which grows to include the ship’s captain and an unsuspecting man-hungry passenger and her niece) stretches across South America—from Panama to Peru to Brazil. Eventually, the gold is saved. Herbie emerges a hero and Paco is preparing to be Herbie’s driver in the Grande Premio do Brasil auto race. Released on June 25, 1980. Directed by Vincent McEveety. 92 min. Stars Cloris Leachman (Aunt Louise), Charlie Martin Smith (D.J.), John Vernon (Prindle), Stephen W. Burns (Pete), Elyssa Davalos (Melissa), Joaquin Garay III (Paco), Harvey Korman (Capt. Blythe), Richard Jaeckel (Shepard), Alex Rocco (Quinn). The songs “Look At Me, ” and “I Found A Friend” were written by Frank De Vol. Much of the action of the movie was shot on location in the Mexican cities of Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, and Tijuana, as well as in the Panama Canal Zone. The enormous amount of special effects in the film required meticulous storyboards, the mechanical techniques department headed by Danny Lee, 26 VW bugs, and three Cessna Centurian airplanes. The film was reissued in 1981, and released on video in 1984.
