Ze plane! Ze plane!
Encyclopedia
Ze Plane! Ze Plane! is a cultural reference to the typical opening of Fantasy Island
, a television series which aired in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Each episode began with the diminutive Tattoo (played by Hervé Villechaize
), one of the main characters, spotting the seaplane approaching the island and running up a tower and excitedly yelling, with a French accent, "Ze Plane! Ze Plane!" and ringing a bell.
seaplane, US registry N4453. It was manufactured in France under license from Grumman with 200 hp engines which were later replaced with seven cylinder 300 hp Lycoming radial engines in what was called a Masandorf conversion. Ze Plane! Ze Plane! was one of the few Grumman Widgeons manufactured with radial engines, and Ze Plane is often mistaken for a Grumman Goose
.
It was rented from a local charter company by a contract production company, and almost all of the footage of the plane used throughout the series and films was shot in one day and recycled over the entire run. It is speculated that Hervé Villechaize never actually saw "Ze plane! Ze plane!". During the filming of the actual episodes, the guests climbed out of a paper-mache and plywood mock-up of the back of the plane. If you look closely at the size of the plane when it lands and the number of guests, it's apparent that that number of people could not have all arrived in the plane at the same time. For example in one episode, seven adults and two children come out of the six-seat seaplane. In another episode, there is a pile of luggage on the dock which viewers are to believe came out of the plane which may be larger than the inside volume of the plane, and which the current owner speculates would probably have made the seaplane sink.
Prior to being owned by the charter company, the plane belonged to author Richard Bach
, which he mentions briefly in his book The Bridge Across Forever (although he does not mention the television series by name, he makes it clear from the context that he is indeed talking about Fantasy Island). The aircraft was later rented or sold to parties who later used it to smuggle drugs into the United States, and it crashed in a swamp on at least one occasion. It was confiscated by the DEA and sold by the U.S. Marshals Service at auction. It again fell into the hands of other drug smugglers and was eventually confiscated and sold again. It was involved in a gear collapse accident in the 1990s and repainted deep red, so it is not as recognizable as Ze Plane of the television series when it was painted white. Ze Plane! Ze Plane! has at times been on display on the airshow circuit in the American Midwest, and is currently owned by the Ozarks Auto Show, Inc., a regional antique dealer, of Hollister, Missouri
, and is hangared at the M. Graham Clark Field, Taney County Airport
near Branson, Missouri
along with several other special interest aircraft.
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
, a television series which aired in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Each episode began with the diminutive Tattoo (played by Hervé Villechaize
Hervé Villechaize
Hervé Jean-Pierre Villechaize was a French actor who achieved worldwide recognition for his role as Mr. Roarke's assistant, Tattoo, in the television series Fantasy Island...
), one of the main characters, spotting the seaplane approaching the island and running up a tower and excitedly yelling, with a French accent, "Ze Plane! Ze Plane!" and ringing a bell.
Ze Actual Plane
The actual aircraft used in the series was a Grumman WidgeonGrumman Widgeon
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Donald, David. The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997. ISBN 0-7607-0592-5....
seaplane, US registry N4453. It was manufactured in France under license from Grumman with 200 hp engines which were later replaced with seven cylinder 300 hp Lycoming radial engines in what was called a Masandorf conversion. Ze Plane! Ze Plane! was one of the few Grumman Widgeons manufactured with radial engines, and Ze Plane is often mistaken for a Grumman Goose
Grumman Goose
The Grumman G-21 Goose amphibious aircraft was designed as an eight-seat "commuter" plane for businessmen in the Long Island area. The Goose was Grumman’s first monoplane to fly, its first twin-engined aircraft, and its first aircraft to enter commercial airline service...
.
It was rented from a local charter company by a contract production company, and almost all of the footage of the plane used throughout the series and films was shot in one day and recycled over the entire run. It is speculated that Hervé Villechaize never actually saw "Ze plane! Ze plane!". During the filming of the actual episodes, the guests climbed out of a paper-mache and plywood mock-up of the back of the plane. If you look closely at the size of the plane when it lands and the number of guests, it's apparent that that number of people could not have all arrived in the plane at the same time. For example in one episode, seven adults and two children come out of the six-seat seaplane. In another episode, there is a pile of luggage on the dock which viewers are to believe came out of the plane which may be larger than the inside volume of the plane, and which the current owner speculates would probably have made the seaplane sink.
Prior to being owned by the charter company, the plane belonged to author Richard Bach
Richard Bach
Richard David Bach is an American writer. He is widely known as the author of the hugely popular 1970s best-sellers Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, and others. His books espouse his philosophy that our apparent physical limits and mortality are merely...
, which he mentions briefly in his book The Bridge Across Forever (although he does not mention the television series by name, he makes it clear from the context that he is indeed talking about Fantasy Island). The aircraft was later rented or sold to parties who later used it to smuggle drugs into the United States, and it crashed in a swamp on at least one occasion. It was confiscated by the DEA and sold by the U.S. Marshals Service at auction. It again fell into the hands of other drug smugglers and was eventually confiscated and sold again. It was involved in a gear collapse accident in the 1990s and repainted deep red, so it is not as recognizable as Ze Plane of the television series when it was painted white. Ze Plane! Ze Plane! has at times been on display on the airshow circuit in the American Midwest, and is currently owned by the Ozarks Auto Show, Inc., a regional antique dealer, of Hollister, Missouri
Hollister, Missouri
Hollister is a city in Taney County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,426 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Branson, Missouri Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, and is hangared at the M. Graham Clark Field, Taney County Airport
M. Graham Clark Field, Taney County Airport
M. Graham Clark Field, Taney County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile northeast of the central business district of Point Lookout, in Taney County, Missouri, United States. It is one mile southwest of Branson, Missouri and a few yards west of the old downtown...
near Branson, Missouri
Branson, Missouri
Branson is a city in Taney County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s....
along with several other special interest aircraft.
Cultural references
- In 1992, Hervé Villechaize referenced his famous catchphrase in a Dunkin' DonutsDunkin' DonutsDunkin' Donuts is an international doughnut and coffee retailer founded in 1950 by William Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts; it is now headquartered in Canton...
commercials, where he requested "De plain! De plain! Donuts!" - The phrase is also commonly used in many other contexts, such as articles about midgets and aircraft.
- The entire opening sequence of the Fantasy Island series contained other repeated cultural references. Tattoo would run up a tower and ring a bell. "Smiles, everybody, smiles!" was said by Mr. Roarke to the beautiful Hawaiian Native ladies workers and came before he said "Welcome to Fantasy Island!" to the guests. Each is recognizable as a cultural reference.