Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) is a comedy/science fiction film based on the idea of time travel.

Plot

Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Reeves), simply referred to as "Bill & Ted," are teenagers in San Dimas, California who are in danger of flunking out of high school. A guitar-playing guru named Rufus (Carlin) arrives from a future San Dimas to help them pass a vital history test, because their garage band ("Wyld Stallyns", pronounced "Wild Stallions") holds the key to world peace and ultimate truth but will not achieve its destiny if the duo fail the exam and Ted's authoritarian father carries out his threat to ship him to Oats Military Academy in Alaska. Rufus lends them a time machine disguised as a phone booth, which they use to meet?and "collect"?various historical figures: Napoleon Bonaparte, Billy the Kid, Socrates (comically pronounced by the duo as sO 'krAtes), Sigmund Freud, Beethoven (pronounced by the duo Beeth oven), Genghis Khan, Joan of Arc (or, as they called her "Miss of Arc"), and Abraham Lincoln, to help them with their vital history presentation.

Related Topics:
San Dimas, California - High school - Garage band - Wyld Stallyns - Authoritarian - Military Academy - Alaska - Phone booth - Napoleon Bonaparte - Billy the Kid - Socrates - Sigmund Freud - Beethoven - Genghis Khan - Joan of Arc - Abraham Lincoln

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Originally, the time machine was to be a 1969 Chevrolet van, but the idea was nixed as being too close in concept to the De Lorean in 1985's Back To The Future. Instead, the time machine was styled after a 1960s American telephone booth. In hindsight, this was quite similar to the time-travelling British police box of the BBC's television programme Doctor Who; however, the Bill & Ted telephone booth lacked the huge interior spaces of the Doctor's TARDIS. Nevertheless, they managed to get up to eight people in the booth at the same time.

Related Topics:
Chevrolet - De Lorean - Back To The Future - Telephone booth - Police box - BBC - Doctor Who - TARDIS

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It is interesting to note that Rufus never says what his name is. Instead, Bill and Ted tell their past selves that "Rufus is a great guy".

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In the original ending, Bill and Ted delivered their Oral report in the classroom, with the historical figures displaying their views on the blackboard. This was discarded in favour of a more spectacular ending.

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