Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Danny Leiner

Writers (WGA):

Jon Hurwitz (written by) &
Hayden Schlossberg (written by)

Release Date:

30 July 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

Fast Food. High Times.

Plot:

Harold Lee and Kumar Patel are two stoners who end up getting the munchies. What they crave the most after seeing a TV advertisement...

Plot Keywords:

White Castle | Police | Police Officer | Stoner | Raccoon

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

John Cho	...	Harold Lee
Ethan Embry	...	Billy Carver
Robert Tinkler	...	J.D.
Fred Willard	...	Dr. Willoughby
Kal Penn	...	Kumar Patel
Steve Braun	...	Cole
Dan Bochart	...	Extreme Sports Punk #1
Paula Garcés	...	Maria (as Paula Garcès)
Mike Sheer	...	'I'm So High' Kid
Christopher Thompson	...	'Don't You Wanna Be Cool' Kid
David Krumholtz	...	Goldstein
Eddie Kaye Thomas	...	Rosenberg
Angelo Tsarouchas	...	Mean Tollbooth Guy (as Angelo Tsachouras)
Anthony Anderson	...	Burger Shack Employee
Siu Ta	...	Cindy Kim
Bobby Lee	...	Kenneth Park
Dov Tiefenbach	...	Hippie Student
Kate Kelton	...	Christy
Brooke D'Orsay	...	Clarissa
Albert Howell	...	Security Guard
Errol Sitahal	...	Dr. Patel
Shaun Majumder	...	Saikat Patel
Ryan Reynolds	...	Male Nurse
Boyd Banks	...	E.R. Patient
Christopher Meloni	...	Freakshow
Malin Akerman	...	Liane
Neil Patrick Harris	...	Neil Patrick Harris
Rick Sood	...	Indian Cashier
Sandy Jobin-Bevans	...	Officer Palumbo
Gary Anthony Williams	...	Tarik
Brad Borbridge	...	Officer Martone
Frank Spadone	...	Officer Reilly
Jordan Prentice	...	Giant Bag of Weed
Gary Archibald	...	Nathaniel Brooks
John Boylan	...	Officer Brucks
Dan Warry-Smith	...	White Castle Teenager
Thea Andrews	...	Female Anchor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
J. Blake Fichera	...	Extreme Sports Punk #4 (uncredited)
Jennifer Hill	...	Blonde Party Girl (uncredited)
Jon Hurwitz	...	Tony (uncredited)
Jamie Kennedy	...	Creepy Guy (uncredited)
Melissa Papay	...	Billy Carvers Girlfriend (uncredited)
Hayden Schlossberg	...	Hayden (uncredited)

Directed by
Danny Leiner

Writing credits (WGA)
Jon Hurwitz		(written by) &
Hayden Schlossberg		(written by)

Produced by
David Brewington	....	executive producer (as J. David Brewington Jr.)
J. Miles Dale	....	co-producer
Joseph Drake	....	executive producer (as Joe Drake)
Hanno Huth	....	executive producer
Nathan Kahane	....	producer
Carsten H.W. Lorenz	....	executive producer (as Carsten Lorenz)
Jim Miller	....	associate producer
Luke Ryan	....	executive producer
Greg Shapiro	....	producer
James D. Stern	....	executive producer

Original Music by
David Kitay

Cinematography by
Bruce Douglas Johnson

Film Editing by
Jeff Betancourt

Casting by
Cassandra Kulukundis

Production Design by
Steve Rosenzweig

Art Direction by
Bob Sher		(as Bobby Sher)

Set Decoration by
Jeff Fruitman

Costume Design by
Alex Kavanagh

Makeup Department
Allan Cooke	....	key prosthetic artist
Susan Exton-Stranks	....	key hair stylist
Matthew Galliford	....	prosthetics assistant
Paul Jones	....	special makeup designer
Shauna Llewellyn	....	makeup artist: second unit
Diane Mazur	....	key makeup artist
Liz Moro	....	prosthetics assistant
Candice Ornstein	....	assistant makeup artist
Andrea Tranmueller	....	assistant hair stylist (as Andrea Traunmueller)
Shane Zander	....	prosthetics assistant

Production Management
Victoria Harding	....	unit manager
Kevin Lafferty	....	production manager
Jack Schuster	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jennifer Haufler	....	trainee assistant director
Terry Ingram	....	second unit director
Jennifer Kiefaber	....	third assistant director
Laurie Mirsky	....	first assistant director
Pierre Ouellet	....	second assistant director
Ryan Keller	....	trainee assistant director (uncredited)
Siegfried Kopp	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Jamie Burke	....	construction coordinator
Cynthia Chau	....	third assistant art director
Jayne Couch	....	first assistant art director (as Jayne S. Couch)
Ric Fernandez	....	head carpenter (as Rick Fernandez)
Deborah Gibson	....	art department coordinator
Jason Herriott	....	head painter
Kenny Meinzinger	....	property master
Andrij Molodecky	....	property master
Sara Mukherjee	....	second assistant art director
Shane Richardson	....	art director: second unit reshoots
Jennifer Heimpel	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Tim Young	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Andrew Bock	....	assistant sound editor
Suhail Kafity	....	sound effects editor (as Suhail F. Kafity)
Jeff Kushner	....	sound designer
Jeff Kushner	....	supervising sound editor
Michael Lyle	....	foley artist
Robb Navrides	....	sound effects editor
Eric A. Norris	....	sound effects editor
Philip Rogers	....	adr recordist
Roy Seeger	....	first assistant sound editor
Paul Silverstone	....	foley artist
James Stewart	....	boom operator
Kelly Vandever	....	sound re-recording mixer
Rich Weingart	....	foley mixer (as Richard Weingart)
Kelly Wright	....	sound mixer
Wendy Czajkowsky	....	adr mixer (uncredited)
Geordy Sincavage	....	adr mixer: TV lines (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Michael Innanen	....	special effects foreman
John LaForet	....	special effects coordinator
Ron Stefaniuk	....	animatronic animals and puppets creator
Jon Davis	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Paul Arion	....	digital compositor
Michael Becki	....	digital compositor (as Mike Becki)
Mike Borrett	....	visual effects production manager: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Francisco Chaigneau	....	lead animator
Joshua J. Clark	....	digital compositor
Drake Conrad	....	scanning recording
Bret Culp	....	visual effects supervisor: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Paul DeOliveira	....	digital effects artist
Adrian Dimond	....	lead visual effects artist
Jason Giberson	....	scanning and recording
Kory Jones	....	visual effects supervisor: Reality Check Studios
Shant Jordan	....	digital effects artist
Andrew Loschin	....	visual effects editor
Wolfgang Maschin	....	digital compositor
Samara Melanson	....	visual effects producer: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Matthew Oldfield	....	visual effects (as Matt Oldfield)
Sarah Ruddle	....	visual effects production manager
Joel Skeete	....	digital compositor
Jay Stanners	....	digital effects artist
Mark Thomas-Stubbs	....	lead digital effects artist
Martin Tori	....	assistant on-set supervisor (as Joseph Tori)
Tim M. Townsend	....	digital compositor
Mark Tureski	....	film scanning and recording
Leo Vezzali	....	digital compositor
Terry Whiteside	....	visual effects producer
Alphonso Young	....	digital effects artist

Stunts
Brittney Banks	....	stunt double (as Brittany Banks)
Brad Bunn	....	stunt double
Tom Farr	....	stunt performer
Jamie Jones	....	stunt coordinator
Jeffery Ong	....	stunt double
Jeffery Ong	....	stunt performer
John Stoneham Jr.	....	stunt driver

Camera and Electrical Department
Mir Toofan Afdasta	....	camera trainee
Christopher Ball	....	aerial photographer
Peter Battistone	....	focus puller: second camera
Randy Brown	....	generator operator
Bob Davidson	....	gaffer
Sophie Giraud	....	still photographer
Brian Heller	....	director of photography: New Jersey
Mitch Holmes	....	key grip
Reni Hoz	....	focus puller
Kevin Michael LeBlanc	....	camera operator
Chris Livingstone	....	dolly grip
Mike Macauley	....	best boy electric
Chris Morsby	....	grip
Eric Moynier	....	director of photography: second unit
Kevin Neshevich	....	assistant camera
Christopher J. Toudy	....	best boy grip
Mark Willis	....	camera operator
Paolo Perin	....	rigging key grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
John Barba	....	casting associate
Robin D. Cook	....	casting: Canada
Barbara Harris	....	voice casting
Nicole Hilliard-Forde	....	casting: Canada

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Brenda Broer	....	wardrobe shopper
Leslie Kavanagh	....	wardrobe truck assistant
Jennifer Lantz	....	wardrobe buyer
Stephanie Lees	....	assistant costume designer
Midori Nagai	....	wardrobe set supervisor
Lerelynne Phillips	....	wardrobe assistant (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Mato	....	color timer
Mark Scovil	....	assistant editor
Kenn Elliott	....	colorist: HDTV dailies (uncredited)

Music Department
Bob Bowen	....	music executive
Kim Blackburn Bowen	....	music clearances
Peter DiRado	....	music editor
Eric Gardner	....	producer: music video
Dave Jordan	....	music supervisor
David Kitay	....	conductor
Brian Richards	....	music editor
Mark Skillingberg	....	assistant music editor
Eric Speier	....	composer: additional music
Jim Stimpson	....	producer: music video
Jojo Villanueva	....	music coordinator
Dan Wallin	....	music scoring mixer (as Danny Wallin)
Ralph Sall	....	soundtrack album producer (uncredited)

Other crew
Tobin Adams	....	assistant: Mr. Lorenz
John 'Frenchie' Berger	....	armorer
Lisa Burling	....	script supervisor
Kate Clark	....	second assistant accountant
Cristin L. Cornett	....	production coordinator
Winston Emano	....	publicist
Robert Ferguson	....	assistant: Mr. Leiner
Tracy Gilmore	....	assistant: Mr. Dale
Anthony Grosse	....	first assistant accountant (as Anthony J. Grosse)
Lindsay Hoffman	....	assistant production coordinator (as Lindsay S.E. Hoffman)
Jane Kim	....	production assistant
Brenda Kulvietis	....	production accountant
Steven Lewis	....	production attorney
David Magdael	....	publicist
Eleanor Mendes	....	production secretary
Frank Meschkuleit	....	puppeteer: raccoon
Kal Penn	....	production assistant: second unit, New Jersey (as Kalpen Modi)
Matias Rivera	....	title designer: main titles
Patricia Rivera	....	assistant: Mr. Drake
Laura Sevier	....	rights and clearances
Lisa Shamata	....	unit publicist
Matt Shroyer	....	production assistant
Ron Stefaniuk	....	puppeteer: raccoon
Warner Strauss	....	assistant location manager
Dina Valenzuela	....	post-production accountant
Andrew J. Wahlquist	....	assistant: Mr. Kahane
Eardley Wilmot	....	location manager
Michael Barnes	....	financial legal services (uncredited)
Daniel Villagomez	....	credits administrator (uncredited)
Amy Wright	....	choreographer (uncredited)

Thanks
Adam Barker	....	special thanks
Brendan Garst	....	special thanks
Ben Ross	....	thanks (as Benjamin Ross)
Nathan L. Smith	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Endgame Entertainment
• Harold & Kumar
• Kingsgate Films
• New Line Cinema
• Senator International

Distributors

• New Line Cinema (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• AQS (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Amero PT (2004) (Indonesia) (theatrical)
• Audiovisual (2005) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Aurum Producciones (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Bioscop (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Constantin Film (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Monolith (2004) (Poland) (theatrical)
• Noah Films (2004) (Israel) (theatrical)
• RCV Film Distribution (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Sam Film (2004) (Iceland) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Shaw Renters (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Tiga (2004) (Thailand) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2005) (South Africa) (theatrical)
• West Co. (2004) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Compagnia Distribuzione Internazionale (CDI) (2004) (Italy) (all media)
• Europa Filmes (2005) (Brazil) (all media)
• Gativideo (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2005) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Gulf Films (Middle East)
• Highlight Film (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• New Line Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• New Line Home Video (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• Provision (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
• RCV Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Worldwide Entertainment Group (WEG) (India)

Special Effects

• Paul Jones Effects Studio (special effects makeup)
• Performance Solutions (special effects)
• Stefaniuk FX Studio (animatronic effects)
• C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures (digital visual effects and animation)
• Reality Check Studios (visual effects and opticals)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Entertainment Clearances  rights and clearances
• Hand Prop  props supplied by
• Heavenspot  animation
• J.R. Post  negative cutting
• Pivotal Post  Avid editing equipment provided by
• Reality Check Studios  main titles and opticals
• Reelcraft Services  craft services
• Toybox  high definition transfers (as Toybox Toronto)
• Universal Studios Sound Facilities  post-production sound services provided by (as Universal Studios Sound)
• William F. White International  chapman camera dollies (as William F. White International Inc.)
• William F. White International  grip and lighting equipment

Also Known As:

Harold & Kumar Get the Munchies (Europe: English title) (UK)
Harold et Kumar chassent le burger (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language, sexual content, drug use and some crude humor.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA | Canada | Germany

Language:

English | Hindi

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate no. 40416) | USA:Unrated (DVD) | New Zealand:R16 | Iceland:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:18 | Canada:18A (Alberta) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) | Norway:15 | South Africa:16 | Norway:11 (DVD rating) | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Czech Republic:15 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Singapore:M18 | UK:15 | Argentina:13 | Spain:13 | Italy:T | Ireland:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | France:U

Filming Locations:

Caledon, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Endgame Entertainment

Trivia:

WILHELM SCREAM: When Harold and Kumar are riding the cheetah and Harold is hit by a tree branch.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Harold and Kumar almost crash into Goldstein and Rosenberg, when the two approach the car, Kumar rolls the window down all the way. Then in the next shot where you see Kumar get out of the car the window is slightly up.

Quotes:

[first lines]
J.D.: Billy boy! Get your ass ready. It's almost 5:00 and this bad boy needs to get his drink on. No, no, no. Give me that.
Billy Carver: Don't.
J.D.: I'm gonna burn it once and for all.
Billy Carver: Stop it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Art of the Fart (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Also Sprach Zarathustra

If stoner comedy has a place in the satire canon, this is one of the best.

If two chicks sitting in stalls playing 'Battleshits' while the two Indian and Asian 'heroes' hide between them suffering the sounds and smells of scatological low humor sounds funny to you, then you should consider seeing 'Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.' My last stoner movie, the remake of 'Starsky and Hutch,' was indeed Sunday school by contrast.

Director Danny Leiner ('Dude, Where's My Car?') has taken this genre and made a classic, not just because it exploits every possible ethnic stereotype with zeal equaled only by 'Bad Santa's' decimating the Christmas formula. 'Castle' has such fun imitating the roguish good will of the Hope/Crosby road pictures while commenting on the egregious weaknesses of parents and police that almost anyone who doesn't mind a breast or two bared in the name of satire can laugh heartily at modern adult pretensions and youthful indiscretion.

Harold and Kumar are trying to find an all-night White Castle after experiencing the sudden yearning that afflicts almost anyone who has had a 'slider' burger. Like that little square of fat and calories, the pot and girls are just too good not to indulge now and then. The two early twenties students, one a serious stock analyst and the other a lazy pre-med genius, are like Hope and Crosby in their witty repartee and canny ability to escape harm. Being delivered from the wrath of seriously deformed 'Freak Show' and his siren wife doesn't deter them from considering the affections of the battling babes or idolizing Neil Patrick Harris in a cameo playing himself as a lethal womanizer.

More serious is the multicultural subtext about stereotyping (Asians are nerdy number crunchers and Indians are overachieving medical doctors, for instance) overturned by, for instance, morphing a seemingly 'Joy Luck' club gathering into a raunchy party or exposing a gang of mouthy skinheads as 'girliemen.' It's all pop-cult fun at our own expense, something akin to actually enjoying the articles in 'Playboy' even if they weren't our reason for buying the mags.

My grandson Cody and I bonded once again, this time just laughing at the silliness, enjoying the satire, and figuring how we could get his dad to allow his young brother to see it, despite the lurid spots that give spice and lend naughtiness to our increasingly dangerous lives.

If stoner comedy has a place in the satire canon, this is one of the best.