Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

**Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure** is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film directed by Stephen Herek and written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. The first installment of the *Bill & Ted* franchise, it stars Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, and George Carlin. It follows Bill (Winter) and Ted (Reeves), who travel through time to assemble historical figures for their high school history presentation. It received positive reviews and was a modest box office success, grossing $40 million against a $10 million budget. Winter and Reeves reprised their roles in two sequels: *Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey* (1991) and *Bill & Ted Face the Music* (2020).

## Plot

In 2688, humanity exists as a utopian society due to the inspiration of the music and philosophy of the Two Great Ones: William "Bill" S. Preston, Esq., and Ted "Theodore" Logan. One of the citizens, Rufus, is tasked by the leaders to travel back to San Dimas, California, in 1988 using a phone booth-shaped time machine to ensure that the young Bill and Ted, two dim-witted high school students, successfully pass history class. If they fail, they won't graduate high school, and Ted's father, police Captain Logan, plans to ship Ted to a military school in Alaska, ending Bill and Ted's fledgling band, Wyld Stallyns, and altering history.

Rufus finds the two teens at a Circle K convenience store, struggling to finish their history report, in which they must describe how historical figures would view the present San Dimas. Rufus offers his help before another phone-booth time machine arrives and future versions of Bill and Ted step out. After assuring the present-day Bill and Ted that Rufus's claims are true and that they can trust him, they disappear in the time booth. Rufus shows Bill and Ted how to operate the time booth, taking them back to 1805 where they find Napoleon Bonaparte leading his forces against Austria. As Rufus, Bill and Ted return to the present, Napoleon is thrown by a cannonball explosion into their wake, and is dragged through the Circuits of Time along with them. Rufus explains that time will continue to progress normally for Bill and Ted and that they cannot miss their class presentation the next day; he then departs, leaving the empty time booth for them.

Bill and Ted leave Napoleon with Ted's younger brother, Deacon, while they use the time booth to collect other historical figures for their report. They abduct Billy the Kid from 1879, Socrates from 410 BC, Sigmund Freud, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Genghis Khan from 1901, 1810, and 1209 respectively, Joan of Arc from 1429, and Abraham Lincoln from 1863. Along the way, they also encounter their future selves at the Circle K, who remind them to "wind their watches" and give them advice. They also rescue two medieval princesses, Elizabeth and Joanna, from being forced into marriage by their father, the Earl of Preston. The princesses fall in love with Bill and Ted, who plan to return for them after the report.

However, things go wrong when the time booth malfunctions and sends Bill and Ted to the prehistoric era. They manage to fix it and return to the present, only to find that Deacon has ditched Napoleon at a bowling alley. They track him down to a water park, where they must pay for the damages he caused. They then realize that the historical figures have been left alone at the mall and have caused chaos. They are arrested by Captain Logan, who does not believe their story and threatens to send Ted to military school. Bill and Ted use the time booth to go back before the arrest and plant various objects and clues that help them escape from the police station, such as a tape recorder, a trash can, and a set of keys. They also leave a note for themselves to remember to do this later.

Bill and Ted arrive at the school with the historical figures, who they have dressed in more contemporary clothes. They give an elaborate presentation that impresses their teacher and the audience, using the figures to demonstrate how they would view San Dimas. Napoleon, for example, draws a map of the water park and declares it his own, while Lincoln urges the students to "be excellent to each other" and "party on, dudes". Rufus congratulates Bill and Ted and returns the figures to their respective times. He also reveals that he was the one who gave them the time booth in the first place, as well as the future versions of themselves. He then introduces the princesses, whom he has rescued from the medieval era and brought to the present. Bill and Ted form a romantic relationship with them and decide to include them in their band. Rufus gives them new electric guitars and tells them that they still need to learn how to play. He then departs, telling the audience that Bill and Ted's music will eventually create world peace and harmony.

## Cast

* Keanu Reeves as Ted "Theodore" Logan
* Alex Winter as Bill S. Preston, Esq.
* George Carlin as Rufus
* Terry Camilleri as Napoleon Bonaparte
* Dan Shor as Billy the Kid
* Tony Steedman as Socrates
* Rod Loomis as Sigmund Freud
* Al Leong as Genghis Khan
* Jane Wiedlin as Joan of Arc
* Robert V. Barron as Abraham Lincoln
* Clifford David as Ludwig van Beethoven
* Hal Landon Jr. as Captain Logan
* Bernie Casey as Mr. Ryan
* Amy Stoch as Missy / Mom
* J. Patrick McNamara as Mr. Preston
* Frazier Bain as Deacon Logan
* Diane Franklin as Princess Joanna
* Kimberley Kates as Princess Elizabeth
* William Robbins as Ox
* Steve Shepherd as Randolf
* Anne Machette as Buffy
* Traci Dawn Davis as Jody
* Duncan McLeod as Bartender
* John Clure as Tattooed Cowboy
* Jim Cody Williams as Bearded Cowboy
* Dusty O’Dee as Old West Ugly Dude
* Heather Pittman as Kerry
* Ruth Pittman as Daphne
* Richard Alexander as Bowling Alley Manager
* James Bowbitch as John the Serf
* John Karlsen as Evil Duke
* Jeanne Hermine Herek as Mother at Waterslides
* Jonathan Bond as Waterslide Attendant
* Jeff S. Goodrich as Music Store Salesman
* Lisa Rubin as Girl at Mall
* Marjean Holden as Student Speaker
* Claudia Templeton as Aerobic Saleswoman
* Carol Gossler as Aerobic Instructor
* James D. Nelson as Mall Photographer
* Marcia Darroch as Store Clerk
* Steven Rotblatt as Police Psychiatrist
* Ed Solomon as Stupid Waiter
* Chris Matheson as Ugly Waiter
* Mark Ogden as Neanderthal #1
* Tom Dugan as Neanderthal #2
* Ron Althoff as Security Guard Sandler

## Production

### Development

The idea for the film originated from a stand-up comedy act that writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon performed in college, where they played two clueless teenage time travelers. They later developed it into a screenplay with the help of producer Scott Kroopf, who had worked with Solomon on the 1986 film Critters. The original title was Bill & Ted's Time Van, and the time machine was a 1969 Chevrolet van, inspired by Doctor Who's TARDIS. However, the van was changed to a phone booth to avoid comparisons with Back to the Future, which also featured a time-traveling vehicle. The phone booth design was influenced by the works of H.G. Wells and George Pal.

Matheson and Solomon wrote the script in four days, and pitched it to various studios. They received several rejections, as the film was considered too weird and not mainstream enough. They finally sold it to Dino De Laurentiis, who agreed to finance and distribute it through his company De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG). The film was originally set to be released in the summer of 1987, but was delayed when DEG went bankrupt. The rights were then acquired by Nelson Entertainment, which made a deal with Orion Pictures to release it in early 1989.