The Love Bug (TV 1997)

Herbie, the magical Volkswagen Beetle, is passed on to a new owner. Together, they must battle a dastardly racer and his devil-car "Horace", an evil Herbie.

Director:

Peyton Reed

Writers:

Gordon Buford (earlier story), Bill Walsh (earlier screenplay),

Stars:

Bruce Campbell, John Hannah, Alexandra Wentworth

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Campbell	...	Hank Cooper
John Hannah	...	Simon Moore III
Alexandra Wentworth	...	Alex Davis
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Roddy Martel
Dana Gould	...	Rupert
Harold Gould	...	Dr. Gustav Stumpfel
Micky Dolenz	...	Donny Shotz
Burton Gilliam	...	Mecanic Race Announcer
Clarence Williams III	...	Chuck
Dean Jones	...	Jim Douglas
Andy Houts	...	1st Mechanic
Mike Wills	...	2nd Mechanic
Doug McCallie	...	Cocky Mechanic
Christin Hinojosa	...	Trendy Gal
Andrew Woodworth	...	Trendy Guy

Storyline

Herbie, the magical Volkswagen Beetle, is passed on to a new owner. Together, they must battle a dastardly racer and his devil-car "Horace", an evil Herbie.

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Plot Keywords:

volkswagen | driver car relationship | herbie the love bug | vw käfer | smart car | 

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Taglines:

Herbie's Back In A Brand-New Movie!

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Genres:

Comedy | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 November 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

A kicsi kocsi újra a régi

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Television, ZM Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The only Herbie movie without the George Bruns original theme.

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Goofs

When Herbie and Horace "trade paint" both cars dent their fenders up and Herbies looses a hubcap, but in the next shot both cars are fine.

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Connections

Features The Love Bug (1968)

User Reviews

Disney, oh dear why did you bother???

I watched this on TV and persevered to the end. Like most Herbie fans I saw the films as a kid and I'm watching this as a 30 year old, so maybe my feelings are a bit off. After watching the film I came away with the feeling more so that Disney was at fault for this disaster rather than Herbie not having any mileage.

The script is decent enough for a kids movie, but its the action sequences that are just so poor. The special effects are really bad and putting myself as a kid I'd have to say that they looked amateurish. In previous versions of Herbie there was a sense of believability about Herbies capabilities and that was lost in this version. Horace the Evil VW seemed under utilised, they should n't have killed him off. The most annoying thing for me was there was just no sense of speed or tension. When Herbie was split down the middle I just had no sympathy for my fave VW at all.

The acting is well, run of the mill. I guess most of the cast were not busy and it was money for nothing. I think this was John Hannahs first vehicle in the US market and he was reasonable. Liked his line where Herbie is split in two and he says 'oh a drivethru'. Bruce Campbell does it by the numbers. Dean Jones you can just imagine was the first person Disney phoned when they said they were going to make this. Still his attendance on this movie is needed and for fans of yester year well its a good touch.

The thing about this film is, if you had kids and they seen this first then it would be nigh on impossible to make them watch the early superior outings of one of the most famous cars in movie history.