Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

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

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are teenagers in San Dimas, California who are in danger of flunking out of high school. A guru from the future named Rufus (George Carlin) arrives to help them pass a vital history test, because their garage band holds the key to world peace and ultimate truth, and if they don't graduate, the band will never become successful. He lends them a time machine disguised as a phone booth, which they use to go meet historical figures such as Sigmund Freud and Napoleon Bonaparte to help them with a presentation they're not prepared for.

The film was released by Orion Films, written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, and directed by Terry Camilleri, Rod Loomis and California slang enjoyed a brief surge in popularity in the U.S. following the film's release.

The film was made in 1987, but due to the bankruptcy of the film's distributor, DEG, was not released until 1989. It was followed in 1991 by a sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. Two animated television series based on the film were also produced: the first, featuring the voices of Carlin, Winter, and Reeves, ran for 21 episodes in 1990 and 1991, while the second, with different voice actors, lasted just seven episodes in 1992.