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53-472: Herbie Goes Bananas was followed by the television film The Love Bug (1997). Picking up sometime after the Trans-France Race , Pete Stancheck has inherited Herbie from his uncle, Jim Douglas, and travels to Puerto Vallarta , Mexico with his friend Davy "D.J." Johns to retrieve the car. They get directions from Paco, a comically mischievous, orphaned pickpocket to the car lot. Unable to pay

106-492: A Godzilla -like robot version of Barbra Streisand . Maltin voiced himself in the Freakazoid! episode "Island of Dr. Mystico", in which the titular villain, Dr. Mystico, abducted him to make use of his film knowledge. Maltin was one of the few people to appear as a "guest star" on Mystery Science Theater 3000 during its original run; during a Season Nine episode, he joins Pearl Forrester in torturing Mike Nelson and

159-601: A date in Herbie after finishing up on a magazine article and photoshoot about the little car. The film was released on VHS format throughout the United States and Canada. So far, it is the only film of the Herbie franchise to not be publicly released on DVD or Blu-Ray. Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic , film historian , and author. He

212-909: A film festival called MaltinFest at the Egyptian Theater that spanned three days. Special guests included Laura Dern and Alexander Payne . Since 2018, Maltin has served on the advisory board for Legion M . In 2022, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences as part of the Member at Large branch. Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide has been praised by comedian Patton Oswalt who described it as "A paperback Kubrickian monolith of one man's massive and far-reaching tastes." Other admirers include Noah Baumbach , Alexander Payne , and Billy Bob Thornton . In The Simpsons episode " A Star Is Burns ", Marge says: "Did you know there are over 600 critics on TV and Leonard Maltin

265-517: A friend of hers at publisher New American Library who was looking for someone to edit a film guide and in September 1969, at age 18, Maltin edited his first book, TV Movies , a compendium of synopses and reviews, with the subtitle, "Everything You Want To Know About More than 8,000 Movies Now Being Shown on TV". In subsequent years, the book was regularly updated and then annually updated from October 1987 until September 2014, each edition having

318-465: A funeral, where Jim Douglas arrives with Dr. Stumpfel. After examining Herbie's remains, Dr. Stumpfel informs them that he can be rebuilt, provided they use all of Herbie's original parts. Hank gets Donny Shotz to reshape and repaint Herbie's sheet metal while Hank, Roddy, Alex, and Jim all work together to rebuild Herbie. Jim reminisces with Alex and Hank about his ownership of Herbie, including how he first met Carole, and Alex and Hank realize that Herbie

371-592: A lawyer and immigration judge, as part of a Jewish family, and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey . Maltin began his writing career at age 10, with a weekly magazine called The Bergen Bulletin . At 13, he started writing for the Pennsylvania-based 8mm Collector , with a column called Research Unlimited, where he answered film questions. He began writing a monthly column for a Canadian publication, Film Fan Monthly , edited by Daryl Davy, dedicated to films from

424-405: A living as a small-town mechanic who works in a local garage. His boss, Chuck, enters Hank into a junk-car race, where drivers select a jalopy and attempt to repair and race it. Hank ends up getting "last choice" and is forced to choose the only car left, the broken-down Herbie. Assisted by his "spiritually enlightened" but goofy artist friend Roddy, Hank manages to get Herbie started just before he

477-435: A rainstorm hits, the men retrieve a large gold disc from the ruins, planning to melt it down so they can hire equipment to get the rest. They abandon Paco to fend for himself, but Herbie finds him. After Paco explains the thieves' plans to Pete, Herbie chases after the men, catching the gold in his trunk. Herbie and the group travel to the next major town (using bananas as camouflage) where Blythe and Louise go to get help while

530-540: A ride, showing off Herbie's speed, and their relationship is re-kindled – with Herbie driving them to an isolated area and locking his doors (as he did with Jim and Carole Bennett in the first movie ). Meanwhile, Roddy tells Hank that he believes Herbie is special, but Hank shows resentment toward Herbie, still bitter at the outcome of his failed racing career. Roddy takes Herbie to an automotive art show, where Alex and Hank continue talking about their relationship, and Herbie, much to Hank's annoyance. Simon also sees Herbie at

583-529: A three-word movie review on Entertainment Tonight for that year's horror film spoof, Transylvania 6-5000 . The review begins with a silent Maltin swaying to a recording of the Glenn Miller Orchestra playing "Pennsylvania 6-5000", the instrumental melody interrupted by the sound of a telephone ringing (part of the original recording), after which the band chants the title of the song. In his review, Maltin timed it so that his review began with

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636-480: Is Spanish for eight. Paco looks at Herbie's "53" and remarks that 5+3=8. After that Pete, Davy, Aunt Louise, and Melissa have a toast for Herbie to win the Brazil Grand Prêmio, with Paco giving a thumbs up. The score for Herbie Goes Bananas was written by Frank De Vol . Two original songs appear in the film, both written by Frank De Vol, as well. Look at Me is played as Pete dances with Louise at

689-506: Is consequently loaded on the Sun Princess cruise ship, bound for Rio de Janeiro , where Pete and DJ plan to enter Herbie in the Brazil Grand Prêmio. En route , they meet an anthropology student named Melissa and her extravagant, eccentric aunt Louise, who is trying to find a husband for her niece. When Herbie wreaks havoc on board, Pete pretends to court Melissa, intending that her Aunt Louise will sponsor their race. Meanwhile, Paco

742-490: Is discovered by the crew and locked in the hold by Captain Blythe. Herbie (whom Paco calls "Ocho") helps Paco escape, and they ruin the ship's costume party while trying to escape the crew. Captain Blythe has Herbie dropped into the sea, while Pete, DJ, Melissa and Aunt Louise are ordered off at the next port. Paco evades the police sent to pick him up, ending up at an inlet, where he rescues the rusty Herbie when he resurfaces from

795-565: Is known for his book of film capsule reviews , Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide , published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film critic on Entertainment Tonight from 1982 to 2010. He currently teaches at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and hosts the weekly podcast Maltin on Movies . He served two terms as President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association , and votes for films to be selected for

848-544: Is named for her). In July 2018, Maltin announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease three and a half years prior. In 1998, Maltin settled a libel suit brought by former child star Billy Gray , of Father Knows Best fame, whom Maltin identified in his review of the film Dusty and Sweets McGee as a real-life drug addict and dealer. The statement had appeared in print in Maltin's annual movie guide for nearly 25 years before Maltin publicly apologized for

901-494: Is the best looking of them all?" Lisa replies "Ewwww!" In the 1995 video release of the original Star Wars trilogy, there was an interview with George Lucas conducted by Maltin before the start of the films. Maltin is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the world's shortest movie review; his two-star review of the 1948 musical Isn't It Romantic? consists of the word "No". Maltin voices himself in

954-400: Is towed off the track. In appreciation of Hank's kindness, Herbie manages to win the one-lap race, restoring Hank's confidence in his racing ability. The judges of the race – Donny Shotz, an auto customizer; Alex, an automotive journalist whom Hank used to date; and Moore himself – are astonished, and Alex challenges Hank to prove that he didn't use any tricks during the race. Hank takes Alex for

1007-562: The Mad magazine parody of Gremlins 2 , in which he protests being eaten as Roger Ebert gives a worse review of the film, only for the Gremlins to remark they are waiting until Thanksgiving to find Ebert, as "he will feed a family of 15!". Maltin was parodied in the South Park episode " Mecha-Streisand " (1998) where he (voiced by Trey Parker ), Sidney Poitier , and Robert Smith fight

1060-517: The Marx Brothers and Abbott and Costello . Maltin wrote program guides for the newly created Showtime network and went on to publish articles in a variety of film journals, newspapers, and magazines, including Variety and TV Guide . In the 1970s Maltin also reviewed recordings in the jazz magazine Downbeat . Maltin served as the film critic for Playboy for six years based on Roger Ebert 's suggestion. He has also wrote Behind

1113-659: The National Film Registry . He has written books on animation and the history of film. He has also hosted numerous specials and provided commentary for several films. In 2021, he released his memoir, Starstruck: My Unlikely Road to Hollywood . He received the Robert Osborne Award from Turner Classic Movies in 2022. Maltin was born in New York City, the son of singer Jacqueline ( née Gould; 1923–2012) and Aaron Isaac Maltin (1915–2002),

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1166-709: The School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California . In 1990, he took a look at the MGM years of The Three Stooges in a film called The Lost Stooges , available on a made-to-order DVD through the Warner Archive Collection . Maltin left Entertainment Tonight in 2010. His final appearance on the show as a regular correspondent was on July 19, 2010. He also wrote the introduction for The Complete Peanuts: 1983–1984 . In 1985, he delivered

1219-513: The Sun Princess , where Pete and DJ resume their plans to enter a repainted and restored Herbie in the Brazil Grand Prêmio, albeit with Paco as the driver (Pete conceding that Paco and Herbie have a better connection than Pete would have if he drove Herbie himself). Aunt Louise once again tries to get Blythe to notice her, but he is more interested in a passing schooner . DJ finally asks Paco why he keeps referring to Herbie as "Ocho", since that

1272-475: The "ingredients" of a picture of Simon, along with Herbie's stolen key. He names the car Horace, the Hate Bug - Herbie's evil counterpart. Simon orders Horace to find Herbie and destroy him, which Horace does, leaving Herbie a heap of crushed metal. Hank, now convinced Herbie is alive after previously refusing to believe Roddy, catches up with Herbie, but is too late to save him. Hank, Roddy, and Alex give Herbie

1325-693: The 1980s and 1990s, Maltin served on the advisory board of the National Student Film Institute . In the mid-1990s, Maltin became the president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and is on the advisory board of the Hollywood Entertainment Museum. For nearly a decade, Maltin was also on the faculty of the New School for Social Research in New York City . As of 2018, Maltin teaches in

1378-483: The 2016 BoJack Horseman episode "Brrap Brrap Pew Pew" where the titular character attends the Leonard Maltin Awards. The episode features two references to Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide on a cocktail menu that lists two of its items as "Isn't it Rum and Coke ? No" (a reference to Maltin's infamous review of Isn't It Romantic? ) and "Jaeger BOMB," with the second word stylized in the same manner as

1431-443: The 25 worst. He also wrote for Classic Images . He created a film society at Teaneck High School and graduated in 1968. Maltin later earned a journalism degree at New York University . While at New York University, Maltin became film critic and associate editor for the university's Washington Square Journal , as well as continuing to edit Film Fan Monthly . An English teacher at Teaneck High School suggested that Maltin meet

1484-729: The Camera , a study of cinematography published in 1971. Starting on May 29, 1982, Maltin was the film reviewer on the syndicated television series Entertainment Tonight for 30 years. He praised the Tournee of Animation (alongside the Los Angeles International Animation Celebration ) on the show at one point or another. He also appeared on the Starz cable network, and hosted his own syndicated radio program, Leonard Maltin on Video , as well as

1537-613: The National Film Board of Canada . Comedian Doug Benson 's podcast Doug Loves Movies features a segment called the Leonard Maltin Game, in which the guest must guess the name of a film based on a subset of the cast list in reverse order and a few intentionally vague clues from the capsule review of the film from Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide . Maltin appeared on the podcast in February 2010 and played

1590-413: The border' clichés and stereotypes." The film has a 40% rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes , while on Metacritic , it has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 based on 4 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". The prop Herbie dropped into the ocean was never retrieved. A total of 26 VW Beetles were used, by reason of the quantity of stunts and tricks. A paperback novelization of

1643-471: The bots with the film Gorgo . He was also mocked on the show for giving the film Laserblast a rating of 2.5 stars. After Mike and the Bots finish watching the movie, they express amazement at the rating while Mike reads off a list of well-known films that Maltin gave similar ratings to. Maltin hosted a compilation of National Film Board of Canada animated shorts, Leonard Maltin's Animation Favorites from

Herbie Goes Bananas - Misplaced Pages Continue

1696-533: The cruise ship's costume party. After Paco rescues Herbie who resurfaced after being dropped into the sea by Captain Blythe, I Found a New Friend plays as the two drive through the countryside. The song is reprised over the end credits. Herbie Goes Bananas was poorly received and is widely considered to be the weakest film in the Herbie franchise. Most film critics remarked that the series felt tired, and had run its course, with Leonard Maltin commenting that there

1749-550: The film a much darker tone than the other films. The film marks the first appearance of Herbie in fifteen years, following the television series Herbie, the Love Bug (1982), which ran for five episodes. The Love Bug was followed by the theatrically released Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005). The narrator, Jim Douglas, tells the story of Herbie the Volkswagen Beetle, and their adventures together. Cutting to

1802-690: The film was written by Joe Claro and published by Scholastic Paperbacks in July 1980 to coincide with the film's release. Herbie Goes Bananas was released by Walt Disney Home Video through VHS in November 1984, and was re-released on November 6, 1985. It was first released on DVD in Region 1 on May 4, 2004, and re-released on DVD on September 2, 2012, as part of Herbie: 4-Movie Collection with The Love Bug , Herbie Rides Again and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo . On June 30, 2015, Herbie Goes Bananas

1855-451: The following year's date. The book was later known as Leonard Maltin's TV Movies and Video Guide and eventually Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide . In 2005, many films released no later than 1960 were moved into a spin-off volume, Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide , to allow the regular book to cover a larger number of more recent titles. In 1970, his second book, Movie Comedy Teams , was published featuring teams such as Laurel and Hardy ,

1908-546: The game himself. He appeared on the show again in August 2010. In November 2010, Benson and Maltin played the game on Kevin Pollak's Chat Show . Maltin repeated his appearances on Doug Loves Movies in September 2011 with Jimmy Pardo and Samm Levine , in September 2012 with Chris Evans and Adam Scott and in November 2013 with Peter Segal , " Werner Herzog " and Clare Kramer . Beginning in November 2014, Maltin has hosted

1961-464: The golden age of Hollywood. In May 1966, Davy asked 15-year-old Maltin if he would take over as editor and sold the publication to him for $ 175. At the time it had a circulation of 400 in 11 countries. He expanded the circulation to 2,000 and continued to publish it until 1974. In the December 1968 issue of Esquire magazine, he wrote an article listing his 75 best movies shown on television and

2014-406: The holding fee due to Paco taking their wallets, the pair quickly leave in Herbie to find him. Elsewhere, Paco pickpockets one of the members of a trio of three villains who are planning to steal gold from some forgotten Inca ruins. The trio chase Paco after realizing the film showing the location of the gold is in the stolen wallet, but Pete and DJ catch him first. Paco hides in Herbie's hood, and

2067-615: The lowest rating Maltin would give movies. In the South Park episode " Mecha-Streisand ", a parody of Maltin comes to the small Colorado town and transforms into a giant robot to battle a mechanised Barbra Streisand . In 2020, a Leonard Maltin board game was released called King of Movies: The Leonard Maltin Game. Maltin lives in Los Angeles. He is married to researcher and producer Alice Tlusty, and has one daughter, Jessie, who works with him (his production company, JessieFilm,

2120-422: The men at a bullfighting arena, only for them to end up in the ring. After Herbie defeats the bull, he and Paco leave without Louise and Blythe, who are soon picked up by Pete, DJ and Melissa. Later at a café, Paco is grabbed by the men and taken aboard their plane. After failing to stop it from taking off, Herbie goes to find Pete and the others, who are stuck in a small village after the bus finally broke down. As

2173-425: The others take the disc to the local university, where they are overpowered by the men. Paco is outside selling the bananas to locals when he and Herbie see the men loading the disc into their plane. Herbie throws the bananas at them before chasing the plane and 'biting' its tail off. After Herbie wrecks the rest of the plane, the villains are defeated by Herbie and Paco and arrested by the police. The group reunite on

Herbie Goes Bananas - Misplaced Pages Continue

2226-458: The phone ringing: " Transylvania 6-5000 ... stinks!" Maltin also appeared as himself in Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), playing a film critic who blasts the first Gremlins film, but is attacked by the Gremlins. This scene echoed real life, as Maltin gave the first film a bad review, finding it mean-spirited, which affected his friendship with director Joe Dante . The scene was spoofed in

2279-570: The podcast Maltin on Movies . It began on Paul Scheer 's now-defunct Wolfpop network, with comedian and actor Baron Vaughn as a co-host. The two picked a topic generally based on what was currently in theaters and discussed three other movies within that topic: one that the two both liked, one that the two disliked and one they thought was a great lesser-known film, or " sleeper ", within the category. Topics included biopics, breakthrough performances and sequels. Maltin currently co-hosts with his daughter Jessie Maltin. From 2014 to 2019, Maltin hosted

2332-431: The present-day, Herbie is now owned by an egotistic race car driver and car dealer named Simon Moore III, who does not treat Herbie very well. During a race, Simon insults and calls Herbie a piece of junk, which causes Herbie to rebel against him, and they end up in last place. Simon is not pleased, and throws out Herbie in a junkyard. Meanwhile, Hank Cooper, himself an ex-racing driver and former rival of Moore's, now makes

2385-685: The quarterly Treasures From the Disney Vault on Turner Classic Movies . The last scheduled "Treasures from the Disney Vault" aired on September 2, 2019. Beginning in 2016, Maltin has served as the Honorary Head Juror of the Coronado Island Film Festival . In 2020, the festival named their top award The Leonard Maltin Tribute Award . In 2019, Maltin along with his daughter Jessie Maltin created

2438-458: The race, including the use of grenades, Herbie comes through to win even after being cut in half by Horace's laser beam. Furious, Horace tries to destroy Herbie again by ramming him off a cliff, but misses and ends up falling into a ravine, destroying himself. Simon and his partner Rupert are then arrested for illegally detonating explosives, driving an unregistered devil car and illegally dumping it. The film ends with Hank and Alex driving off for

2491-430: The show and attempts to discover why the car that failed him took Hank to victory. He discovers that Herbie was built by a German engineer named Dr. Gustav Stumpfel shortly after World War II, where a photograph of his wife fell into the vat of metal used to create Herbie, giving him life. Simon asks Dr. Stumpfel to repeat the process to build another car, resulting in the creation of another, black Volkswagen Beetle, using

2544-415: The storyline plots to follow Herbie Goes Bananas (1980). It premiered on ABC in the anthology television series The Wonderful World of Disney on November 30, 1997. The film stars Bruce Campbell and includes a special appearance by Dean Jones , star of the original The Love Bug , tying it to the previous films, while introducing an evil, black Volkswagen Beetle named Horace, the Hate Bug, giving

2597-475: The syndicated TV show Hot Ticket with Boston film critic Joyce Kulhawik (originally E! personality and game show host Todd Newton ). Maltin also hosted a television show called Secret's Out on ReelzChannel network. He also spearheaded the creation of the Walt Disney Treasures collectible DVD line in 2001, and continued to provide creative input and host the various sets. During

2650-510: The water. The two go into business with Herbie as a taxi . The gold thieves soon find Paco, and threaten to use an acetylene torch to cut up Herbie if Paco doesn't give them the film, which Paco put in Pete's wallet by mistake. Paco manages to get Pete's wallet, but as he and Herbie escape the men they are hailed by both Louise and Blythe. Melissa quickly commandeers a dilapidated bus so she, Pete, and DJ can go after them. Herbie tries to hide from

2703-551: Was "one amusing scene where the VW turns matador; otherwise, strictly scrap metal." Maltin (who rated the film 1½ out of 4) added that the plot dealt with its cast "encountering all sorts of 'hilarious' obstacles along the way." Phil Patton, author of the book Bug: The Strange Mutations of the World's Most Famous Automobile , observed that the Herbie franchise was "a game of diminishing returns: Herbie Goes Bananas ...is filled with 'south of

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2756-433: Was also doing the same thing for them. When they have finished, Hank gives Jim the honor of trying to start Herbie, which Jim accepts. Herbie starts on the first try and sounds his horn, assuring them he is still the same car they have come to know and love. Meanwhile, Simon discovers that Herbie has been rebuilt, and challenges Hank to a one-on-one race between Horace and Herbie. Although Simon makes every attempt to sabotage

2809-464: Was released on Blu-ray Disc as a Disney Movie Club exclusive title. The Love Bug (1997 film) The Love Bug is a 1997 American adventure comedy television film directed by Peyton Reed and written by Ryan Rowe. The fifth installment in the Herbie film series , the film is part remake and part sequel , in that the events of the original 1968 The Love Bug film are repeated while

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