If you can believe it, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is one of those cult classics that is having its 30th Anniversary this upcoming February. We’re gearing up to deal with these two Excellent dudes with some TEAM UP love in July’s Loot Crate! Curious what you don’t know about Bill and his BFF Ted? We got you.
1. It took Keanu Reeves a long time to come to terms with the fact Bill & Ted is how he got his start and used to tell journalists that he was concerned about the fame. Remarking that he wasn’t sure how he felt about being known for the role, he admits he has now softened as he has gotten older and stated that such a sweet character isn’t a terrible way to be remembered.
2. Interestingly enough though, Alex Winter said that the reaction he got from history teachers and professors was a mixed bag when it came to the film and his character. Winter stated that while some applauded the fact it got kids interested in History, other teachers seemed more preoccupied by the language shift of kids parroting “Dude” every other word. Sorry, dudes — we’ve been doing that long before that movie!
(Orion Pictures)
3. Did you know that there was a Bill & Ted saturday morning cartoon that came out a year later? Not only did this exist, it actually had some really quirky and unique animation that I still remember fondly. Take a look!
4. The word “Dude” is used seventy times during the entire film. If you’re interested, “excellent” was used thirty. Maybe those teachers weren’t entirely wrong…
5. Originally, the concept was to make Bill and Ted look very dated for their early 90’s fashion, giving them 70’s t-shirts and flared bottom jeans. It helped towards the original draft where the guys were lamented by their peers for being ‘uncool’ and dated. However, the writers and director saw how cool Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter changed their minds. The thought was that they were just so cool by 80’s and 90’s standards that they didn’t want to do a disservice to their fashion types.
6. Both Keanu and Alex called the Phone Booth by the name of “The Death Box” because filming in it was hot, uncomfortable and could sometimes take hours cramped together.
(Orion Pictures)
7. San Dimas, California rather enjoyed being known for their inclusion in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. So much so that in 2010, their city had signs and banners up stating “1960-2010 – An Excellent Adventure” proudly.
8. Both Brendan Fraser and Pauly Shore had auditioned for Bill & Ted but didn’t make the cut. However, these same producers enjoyed them so much that a movie was later written for the two of them featuring Sean Astin. That movie? Encino Man.
9. Filming split between locations but the water park where Napoleon famously goes down the ‘Waterloo‘ is at the Sunsplash Water Park in Mesa, Arizona.
(Orion Pictures)
10. Producers were leaning into a more serious actor such as Sean Connery before landing on George Carlin. The thought was that having a comedian like George Carlin act more serious in a goofy comedy would come off more natural than a serious actor trying to mesh into their silly and lighthearted farce.
