Riding Bean
Riding Bean Liner Notes
Semmerling's name comes from the holdout gun she carries, according to Sonoda Kenichi: A .45 ACP Model LM-4, maufactured by the Semmerling Corp. of Boston, Massachusetts.
In case you are looking for stylish and safe outerwear, you might want to know that Bean Bandit's jacket and head-band are made out of a special titanium-mesh weave, overlaid with Kevlar. His gloves, pants, and boots are also made out of Kevlar.
Rally Vincent's handgun of choice is an old-model CZ-75 9mm Parabellum automatic, manufactured in (what was then) Czechoslovakia.
Buff the Roadbuster is a completely customized vehicle, based on a Porsche chassis and a Corvette Stingray engine block (either '71 or '72). It's only really fantastic pieces of equipment are the wheel-spikes (reminiscent of "Mach Go! Go! Go!," better known to Americans as "Speed Racer"). Buff is covered in 5mm battleship steel armor plate, with windows that are a combination of bulletproof glass and Lexgard plastic.It also boasts both four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering, and has a top speed of over 300kph, with engine performance in excess of 730 horsepower. The technology for everything except the aforementioned wheelspikes supposedly exists today. It gets lousy mileage; that, coupled with the fact that the estimated cost to build Buff (in 1989) was about US$1,000,000, is one reason Bean's rates are so high.
Sonoda Kenichi did extensive research on Chicago before doing the storyboards for Riding Bean, and according to our Chicago correspondents, with the exception of the truckstop, every location seen in the film actually exists. In addition, to give the soundtrack an authentic flavor, the producers hired some of the top studio musicians in Los Angeles to compose and perform the music.
There are many visual jokes in Riding Bean, starting with the license plate numbers. If something catches your eye, we encourage you to take a second look.
Japanese Production Staff
Executive Producer: Fujita Junji
Producers: Miura Tooru & Tazaki Hiroshi
Planning: Suzuki Toshimichi
Story, Supervision & Character Designs: Sonoda Kenichi
Mechanical Designs: Sonoda Kenichi, Yoshimoto Kinji,
Urushibara Satoshi, L. Lime & Fujita Yoshihisa
Artboards: Yumeno Ley
Technical Director: Ide Yasunori
Storyboards: Sonoda Kenichi, Ide Yasunori & Hasegawa Yasuo
Animation Directors: Tanaka Masahiro, Kamijoo Osamu (Outside),
Oohira Hiroya & Okuda Jun
Director of Photography: Konishi Kazuhiro
Art Director: Satoo Hiroaki
Audio Director: Matsuura Noriyoshi
Directed by Hasegawa Yasuo
Key Animators: Oohira Hiroya, Yamanaka Eiji, Iwataki Satoshi, Hashimoto Toshifumi, Kitajima Nobuyuki, Shimizu Yoshiharu, Nakao Keiichi, Hasegawa Kooji, Tsunoda Katsutoshi, Kanno Hiroki, Usami Toshikazu, Okuda Jun, Tomizawa Yuuzoo, Suganuma Eiji, Oogawara Haruo, Kishida Takahiro, Ikigame Nobuyuki & Tanaka Satoshi
US Production Staff
Subtitled Version
Producer: Robert J Woodhead
Director: Michael House
Editor: Roe R. Adams, III, KTJ
Translators: Michael House & Shin Kurokawa
Production Coordinator: Ueki Natsumi
Production Assistant: Nancy Powell
Production Managers (U.S.A.): Janice Hindle & Peter R. Haswell
O.B. (Office Baby): Ueki James Shiro
Dubbed Version
Executive Producers: Janice Hindle & Peter R. Haswell
Producer: Robert J. Woodhead
Translators: Michael House & Shin Kurokawa
Dialogue Editor: Roe R. Adams, III, KTJ
English Language Version recorded at
Southwynde Studios, Wilmington, NC
Voice Director: J. Randolph
Dubbing Production & Audio Engineering: Randy Drew & Chuck Agresta
Japanese Voice Actors
Bean Bandit: Tanaka Hideyuki
Rally Vincent: Matsui Naoko
Semmerling: Koyama Mami
Percy: Tomiyama Kei
Carrie: Hayashibara Megumi
Chelsea: Honda Chieko
George: Hazumi Jun
Chief: Yara Yuusaku
Dick (Percy's Assistant): Tobita Norio
Robber, Morris: Kobayashi Michitaka
Guards: Shioya Koozoo,
Tanaka Kazumi & Kosugi Juuroota
Waitress: Maruo Tomoko
English Voice Actors
Rally Vincent: Brennan MacKenzie
Bean Bandit: J. Patrick Lawlor
Semmerling: Barbara Lewis
Percy: David Kraus
Carrie: Susan McQueen
George Grimwood: David Arnold
The Chief: Timothy J. Walsh
Dick: Adam Guzman
Chelsea: Mary Boucher
Robber, Morris: Mark Garber
Guard: John Peckham
Waitress: Jean Hrdlicka
Hick: John C. Stuart
Theme: ROAD BUSTER
Music and Lyrics by
Phil Perry & David Garfield
Vocals: Phil Perry
Drums: Carlos Vega
Bass: Jimmy Johnson
Keyboards: David Garfield
Guitar: Mike Landau
Background Vocals: Phil Perry (section leader),
Paulette Brown, Leslie Smith & Kate Markowitz
Well, I move my cargo through the city
Anywhere it's gotta go, yeah
Don't matter to me, Cause you see, I'm the
Man in the streets that goes
See, I take my things down in the city
or bring 'em back, it's all right
Anything you wanna move, I'm your man
Call me day or night
Lord, I'm a hustler now
I'm a hustler
I'm the road buster
Yeah, I groove to and fro
to the city and back again
Got my thing together baby;
Ain't looking back for no man
Sometime it's hard dealin' with the way
I make my cash
Ain't no doubt about it baby
I'm the man that makes
a dash with your cash
I'm the hustler
Road buster now
I'm the tire for hire
I move through the city like a snake
Down the alleys I go
Don't feel so good about what I'm doin'
But I do it, you know
See, I got a dream I'm shooting for
And that takes up all my time
So to reach my goal, I gotta move
Anything, Anytime
Rally Vincent's Theme: BAD GIRL
Music and Lyrics by
Larry Klimas & David Garfield
Vocal: Andrea Robinson
Drums: Carlos Vega
Bass: Jimmy Johnson
Keyboards: David Garfield
Guitar: Mike Landau
Background Vocals: Phil Perry (section leader),
Paulette Brown, Leslie Smith & Kate Markowitz
I'm ready for action
I always concentrate
My finger's on the trigger
Cause you trouble
Hurt you double
Sexy like a woman
Strong like a man
Better not cross my path
I got a gun in my hand
She's such a bad girl
Don't mess around with me
She's so good with a gun
(Got her finger on the trigger)
I'm goin' to set you free
She's a bad bad girl
She's a bad bad girl
You better watch out for me
I'm strung like a wire
Just about to break
Better not push too hard
You'd be in trouble
I'll hurt you double
Looking for a victim
Don't get in my way
Or I'll shoot you down
Cause that's how I earn my pay
KING OF THE ROAD
Music and Lyrics by Ray Wolff
Vocal and Chorus: Phil Perry
Drums: Carlos Vega
Bass: Jimmy Johnson
Keyboards: David Garfield
Guitar: Mike Landau
They say that speed kills
But that's all I know
Get ready for cheap thrills
Because I can't run slow
Women, they love me
Sleek, black and mean, yeah
200 miles per hour
On the total race machine
Don't get too close to me
Don'tcha try and get past my door
The highway is mine, you see
I'm the king of the road
I can set my wheel afire
From any speed I please
Shift into over-drive
And the taillight's all you see
Others are gunning for me
But they have no chance
Zero to 163
In 2 seconds flat
Ending Theme: RUNNIN' THE ROAD
Music and Lyrics by Phil Perry & David Garfield
Vocal and Chorus: Phil Perry
Drums: Carlos Vega
Bass: Jimmy Johnson
Keyboards: David Garfield
Guitar: Mike Landau
Another job has come and gone
Another week that's ending,
Mmm it felt so long
Why can't I seem to understand
I'm just a highway kind of man
I'll take my place upon this lane
I'll try and find the peace
I needed time and time again
I've always searched but never found
that special place where love abounds
Runnin' on the road for me
It is hard you see but I will get by
Cause something deep inside of me
says I should be Runnin' on the road
I don't know if I'll ever find
the kind of happiness that
comes with peace of mind
I'm always running on this road
takin' my heavy load alone
Why can't I seem to understand
I'm just a highway kind of man
Runnin' on the road for me
It is hard you see but I will get by
Cause something deep inside of me
says I should be Runnin' on the road