History YMMV / BillandTed

** When Freud is coming on to some girls, he tells them that they "seem to be suffering from a mild form of [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar hysteria]]."

** According to Literature/TheBible (specifically Revelation 20:14), "Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire" during the Apocalypse. Here, Death was essentially banished to Hell when he snuck Bill and Ted into Heaven in the second film. What happens decades later? ''TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.''

* ValuesDissonance: When Bill and Ted hug, they always push each other away and humorously shout "Fag". This was okay for an 80's movie that was rated PG. That term is less acceptable now. The same goes for the sequel, where the guys attempt to talk the Evil Robot Usses out of killing them by saying "We love you!", prompting the [=ERUs=] to say "Fags!" and then kill them anyway. Though that might have slipped under the radar because [[{{Mondegreen}} it kind of sounds like a sarcastic "Thanks!"]]
** Acknowledged by one of the writers, Ed Solomon, who confirmed on his Twitter that the third movie won't continue the gag.

* PoorMansSubstitute: Had not Music/DavidNewman would have score the first two films, David's predecessor who was still working around those times Music/HenryMancini would have score those installments if the filmmakers could have afford him.

* FairForItsDay: Casual homophobia aside (see ValuesDissonance), the films had a subtle point about womens' right to consent. The Princesses choose Bill and Ted over their arranged marriages and their "happy ending" is being able to marry for love. In the sequel, the Evil Robot Bill and Ted are shown not respecting the Princesses and demanding they put out, and Bill and Ted are shown to be disgusted by this behaviour.

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: While the titular duo are messiahs who usher in a peaceful utopia with their music, they get to that point by using time travel to manipulate their lives for the better, making this a benign but still prevalent case of UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans.

* CriticalResearchFailure: The RunningGag about Bill's full name being "Bill S. Preston, Esq.", implying that he's [[HiddenDepths more genteel and well-bred than he appears]]. But the honorific title "Esquire" specifically denotes that someone is an ''attorney''. So either our favorite teenage wastoid secretly has a law degree, or the writers just didn't bother to look up what "Esquire" actually means. Or (most likely) Bill himself didn't know/care and just thought it sounded cool.
** He's not really wrong. While in the U.S. it's mostly used by attorneys who want to sound pretentious (since it's not an actual legal credential), the term originally referred to someone who was part of the gentry, just below knighthood. In the United Kingdom, it remains a formal courtesy title, which makes this not Research Failure but simply a personal case of AwesomeMcCoolName.

** It also helps that, with the real Bill and Ted at least, they don't seem to have any hurtful intent with the use of the word and it's just one of their many jokes between them. Even today using offensive terms jokingly between friends who know each other well enough to not be offended is not uncommon.
** Another theory is that Bill and Ted are closeted [[HoYay Homosexuals]] or given their being okay with having wives [[BiTheWay Bisexuals]], and the use of the slur was a form of projecting. This theory [[https://twitter.com/alxwinter/status/1003112126813048833 has some approval from Alex Winter]], [[https://twitter.com/alxwinter/status/1003069416160940032 who in the same comment chain]] [[https://twitter.com/shanedawson/status/1003108077577441281 expressed regret over ever saying it.]]

* CriticalResearchFailure: The RunningGag about Bill's full name being "Bill S. Preston, Esq.", implying that he's [[HiddenDepths more genteel and well-bred than he appears]]. But the honorific title "Esquire" specifically denotes that someone is an ''attorney''. So either our favorite teenage wastoid secretly has a law degree, or the writers just didn't bother to look up what "Esquire" actually means. Or Bill himself didn't know/care and just thought it sounded cool.

* CriticalResearchFailure: The RunningGag about Bill's full name being "Bill S. Preston, Esq.", implying that he's [[HiddenDepths more genteel and well-bred than he appears]]. But the honorific title "Esquire" specifically denotes that someone is an ''attorney''. So either our favorite teenage wastoid secretly has a law degree, or the writers just didn't bother to look up what "Esquire" actually means. Or Bill himself didn't know or didn't care (or both).

* CriticalResearchFailure: The RunningGag about Bill's full name being "Bill S. Preston, Esq.", implying that he's [[HiddenDepths more genteel and well-bred than he appears]]. But the honorific title "Esquire" specifically denotes that someone is an ''attorney''. So either our favorite teenage wastoid secretly has a law degree, or the writers just didn't bother to look up what "Esquire" actually means.

** The references to ''The Seventh Seal''.

** That scene where Napoleon's thrown out of the bowling alley? Instantly familiar to anyone who's seen the 1927 film ''Napoleon''.

** When they pick up UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc, Ted briefly mimics the well-known picture of God and Adam from the Sistine Chapel.

* TheScrappy: Captain Logan. He has so little faith in Ted, that he already signs him up for Oats Military Academy without even giving him a chance to take his history exam. Needless to say, [[MissingMom if Ted's birth mother divorced him]], it's not hard to see why. He gets worse in the sequel, where the boys turn twenty one and he invites along Colonel Oates to their party, who immediately threatens Ted with being recruited to the Academy - despite Ted now being of the age where his father couldn't send him unwillingly.

* CrazyAwesome: The actual makeup of the band:
** Lead singers/guitarists are time traveling rock and roll messiahs.
** Bass player is [[TheGrimReaper Death]]. Literally.
** Bongos played by the most intelligent being in the universe, which happens to be two (sometimes) Martians.
** Drummer and Keyboardist are [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses medieval princesses]]
** Backup dancers are super-strong robot versions of the leads, built by the bongo player(s).
* EnsembleDarkhorse: William Sadler as Death, constantly struggling to hold on to the remains of his shattered dignity.

* HarsherInHindsight: There is a scene at the end where Billy the Kid shoots one of the lights in the school auditorium. This is a bit problematic to watch now that school shootings are sadly a major issue.
* HilariousInHindsight: How ironic that Jim Martin of FaithNoMore, "founder of the Faith No More Spiritual and Theological Center", ''quit'' Faith No More only two years after his appearance in ''Bogus Journey''.
** William Sadler plays Death in the second film and performs a HeelFaceTurn when Bill and Ted defeat him. A few years later in ''Film/DemonKnight'', he plays TheChosenOne that battles the forces of Hell to stop them from conquering the universe.
** A duo of kids manage to get the Grim Reaper in servitude after beating him in a children's game. [[WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy Why does that sound familiar]]?

* ValuesDissonance: When Bill and Ted hug, they always push each other away and humorously shout "Fag". This was okay for an 80's movie that was rated PG. That term is less acceptable now.
** The same goes for the sequel, where the guys attempt to talk the Evil Robot Usses out of killing them by saying "We love you!", prompting the [=ERUs=] to say "Fags!" and then kill them anyway. Though that might have slipped under the radar because [[{{Mondegreen}} it kind of sounds like a sarcastic "Thanks!"]]
*** The sequel might actually be [[LampshadeHanging hanging a lampshade]] on the word not being acceptable to use. After all the ones using it are the ''evil'' Bill and Ted, who are overall more immature and [[{{Jerkass}} mean]] than the real thing. The real Bill and Ted hug in the sequel without a real problem, indicating they've grown up a bit.
* TheScrappy: Captain Logan. He has so little faith in Ted, that he already signs him up for Oats Military Academy without even giving him a chance to take his history exam. Needless to say, [[MissingMom if Ted's birth mother divorced him]], it's not hard to see why.
** He arguably gets worse in the sequel, where the boys turn twenty one and he invites along Colonel Oates to their party, who immediately threatens Ted with being recruited to the Academy - despite Ted now being of the age where his father couldn't send him unwillingly.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The sequel. Take a lighthearted, family-friendly TotallyRadical comedy and add lots of terror along with a PlayedForLaughs - yet still effectively morbid - DisneyDeath plotline, heavily ramped up profanity, sexual dialogue and incest references, and quite a few instances of HoYay as well, and you've got something that probably didn't sit nearly as well with the original film's target audience.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The sequel. Take a lighthearted, family-friendly TotallyRadical comedy and add lots of terror along with a PlayedForLaughsï - yet still effectively morbidï - DisneyDeath plotline, heavily ramped up profanity, sexual dialogue and incest references, and quite a few instances of HoYay as well, and you've got something that probably didn't sit nearly as well with the original film's target audience.

** Sigmund Freud's corndog-on-a-stick gag.

** When they pick up JoanOfArc, Ted briefly mimics the well-known picture of God and Adam from the Sistine Chapel.
** GenghisKhan is shown forcefully making out with a servant girl - why do you think he supposedly has descendants across half of Asia?