User reviews

Amusing and entertaining first TV installment with the ¨Wolkswagen Love Bug¨ racing the tracks. Love Bug's entry in which Herbie is racing in competitions, it is full of pranks and car stunts that are great fun to see. Agreeable television's love bug Wolkswagen plenty of action, slapdash, laughs and entertainment. This hilarious Herbie story concerns about The Love Bug falls 'hood-over-wheels' for a classy chassis!. It deals with Herbie, the magical Volkswagen Beetle, being passed on to a new owner, a down-on-his-luck mechanic and race car pilot named Hank Cooper (Bruce Campbell). Together, they must battle a dastardly racer named Simon Moore (John Hanna) and his devil-car "Horace", a nasty Herbie. Later on, evil Moore wants Herbie back, but Hank refuses and Simon wishes to compete against Cooper in the races, then he sabotaged Herbie before a car race so, he can vanquish. As the backdrop in the race scenes results to be spectacular as well as funny. Then, a big race was coming up and Herbie, the Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own undergoes a dangerous car race. Fortunately, the couple of pilots have a sleeve in the form of Herbie, the fantastic car, as they take the magical Wolkswagen Bug with a mind of its own as both of them compete in the notorious race and attempt to beat. So the two rogue pilots (John Hanna, Dana Gould) resort to all manner of cheats, legal or otherwise, to get it and are now attempting to get them back. Aboard their many crazy car, dastardly Simon and his hoodlum devise nefarious plans to stop the Love Bug. There is one obstacle however: Herbie. Miraculous Herbie take them for a ride and stumbles into evil hoodlums who pursue through roads and race tracks. Herbie with the number 53 intervenes in the biggest car race, a challenge among top competitors and quickly slipping in the ranking.

This delightful car comedy displays great loads of amusement, fantastic race cars, slapstick, fun, giggles, chases are great fun to watch and being pretty entertaining. As always, Herbie the love bug, is helping the young couple -Bruce Campbell,Alexandra Wentworth- find romance but encountering all sorts of hilarious problems along the way. It's an enjoyable movie for kids and for those who enjoy cars racing round and round and bounds and leaps carried out by Herbie. Herbie The Love Bug was a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle deluxe ragtop sedan painted in Volkswagen L87 pearl White. Under normal circumstances, the interior would be a matching white. However, Herbie's interior was painted a special non-reflective grey color so the camera and studio lights would not reflect. The actors seem to enjoy immensely,such as Bruce Campbell, Clarence Williams II, Kevin J. O'Connor and the ordinary Dean Jones play of sympathetic manner; of course, there appears the mean-spirited villains performed by John Hanna, Dana Gould, both of whom are top notch. The latter roles bear remarkable resemblance to ¨Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines¨. Colorful cinematography though a perfect remastering is necessary and jolly soundtrack by Shirley Walker including a lively leitmotif. However, being the only Herbie movie without the George Bruns original and classic theme.

This is a delightful film, a particular remake to original entry titled ¨The love bug¨(1968) by Robert Stevenson with Dean Jones, Michele Lee, David Tomlinson, Buddy Hacket and Joe Flynn. This first version "Love Bug ¨ results to be the best one, it is amusing story with lots of laughs but is a family film. It's one of the best and funniest of ¨Herbie¨ series. It was followed by ¨Herbie rides again (1974)¨ also by Robert Stevenson starred by Ken Berry, Stefanie Powers and Helen Hayes; it's followed by ¨Herbie goes to Montecarlo¨ with Dean Jones, Don Knotts and Julie Sommers; followed by ¨Herbie goes bananas¨ (1980, or Herbie Torero) by Vincent McEveety starred by Charles Martin Smith and Cloris Leachman, among others and this 1997-for-television-movie with Bruce Campbell and John Hanna and a TV series; the most part were filmed by Robert Stevenson and Vincent McEveety and usually starred by Dean Jones. Furthermore, a recent version based on the characters created by Bill Walsh starred by Linsay Lohan, Justin Long and Matt Dillon, being directed by Angela Robinson. The motion picture was professionally directed by Peyton Reed, though with no originality and it has nothing to do with original film. Peyton is a prestigious actor, writer, producer and filmmaker who has achieved great successes such as ¨Bring it on¨, ¨The break-up¨, ¨Down with love and and especially ¨Yes Man¨. Rating: Acceptable, 5,5/10, worthwhile watching. Amusing and engaging film with effective combination of adequate special effects, live action, adventure, fantasy and humor. The children will get a kick out of this typical ¨Love Bug¨ film,it's a great fun to watch and there are loads of entertainment in this one.

And you thought Herbie movies died way back in the day! Boy were you wrong! In fact, Herbie is not dead, just out-of-style. There was no need to even attempt to make this film. The only reason I bought it (yes, I bought it) was for Bruce Campbell, but even his great cheesy one-liners could not save this film. In fact, the few one-liners he has aren't even in his cheesy style, making this movie quite a disappointment.

Well I was flipping channels and saw this on, and said "Hey, Isn't that B.C.?" Sure enough it was... Now here's where this is interesting, I was at a book signing in Ohio last year where Mr. C himself stated Hollywood isn't producing enough original movies (or something similar), and that they were taking the "Easy way out" and doing remakes of other movies. One that hey specifically targeted was Herbie Rides Again (with the formerly attractive Lindsey Lohan). Now, isn't this funny that he would state something like this when he himself was in a remake! Well, I guess if the money is there, we can't be beggars on the B list can we Bruce?

5th film in the Love Bug series (following The Love Bug, Herbie Rides Again, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, and Herbie Goes Bananas), incorrectly labeled a remake is actually a sequel despite it's title (a lot of the original film's plot is reworked but isn't that true of most sequels?) Dean Jones portrays original owner Jim Douglas in the odd numbered films, including this one but he is delegated to a much smaller part (but it does assure us this is a sequel and not a remake.) Bruce Campbell takes over as the new owner of Herbie (hey, if Ken Berry could do it?) Not as good as the first three (Dean Jones was in one and three and how can you beat Helen Hayes driving Herbie around a high rise ledge in number two?) but better than the fourth (which always seemed more like a Benji film to me), and better than the short-lived series that had buried the series for a long time. Apparently there were many changes of continuity in story line from the original and the VW's detailing (hey it's been 28 years and quite a few crashes, why not a little face lift?), but this isn't the type of film to worry about such things. Just have fun and enjoy. It's good to see Herbie working again and he's held up better than most of Hollywood's movie stars.

It is beyond me why this television movie is called 'The Love Bug' when it isn't about love, it's about a Volkswagen Beetle which also doesn't have much to do with love. If anything, it is like a Looney Tunes cartoon with a crazy title and a crazy plot that doesn't necessarily match the title name. But this is a television movie, and like most other television movies, it has flaws, among them poor acting, weak humour and the 'modifications' that 'Horace' has being totally unoriginal. (Sure, modification number 3, the laser beam that cuts 'Herbie' in half, is out of James Bond.) There are also some dry scenes, and just because "the love bug" is mentioned at the end doesn't mean that it makes an appropriate title. Although there are some good bits, they don't take up half of the movie, and so my opinion is that 'The Love Bug' has its 'bugs'.

This insulting TV movie makes Herbie Goes Bananas look classic. Horrible in every way. Every bit of wit, heart, class that was in the original, is replaced by obvious, unfunny, annoying. Trying to justify the magic of Herbie by creating some BS backstory of it being a scientific achievement? The writers/producers of this dreck simply didn't understand the original film AT ALL.

Herbie is apprehended by a new owner (Bruce Campbell) who is surprised that the unintimidating Volkswagen can win races and do amazing things. A malevolent rival (John Hannah), who initially mocked Herbie, now wants it and therefore hatches a scheme to use Herbie's creator (Harold Gould) to create a new version of the magical car, but the results aren't chippy. Kevin J. O'Connor plays the mechanic, Alexandra Wentworth a racing judge and Dana Gould the villain's associate.

"The Love Bug" (1997) is the fourth sequel to the original 1969 film and the fifth entry overall. It's limited by a TV budget, which can mostly be observed in the studio sets/locations and lack of extras, but the script is more compelling to prior endeavors, with the possible exception of the previous one, "Herbie Goes Bananas" (1980), which I enjoyed more than the first three (even though most fans look down on it).

Several highlights mark this one above the others: We learn how Herbie was created with a mind of its own (the explanations provided in the first two films were vague theories rather than concrete truths); there's an unexpected death/resurrection subplot; Dean Jones returns as Jim Douglas, now 65 years-old during filming; there's an Evil Herbie, called Horace; and Alexandra Wentworth is arguably the best female to be featured in the series up to this point, with Elyssa Davalos from the previous flick in close second (i.e. Melissa).

The film runs 1 hour, 28 minutes and was shot in Los Angeles.

GRADE: B

This was the first Herbie movie I saw. It was such a good movie it was about car who had feelings like a person and this movie had a very dark tone to it which was really good bring in an evil car that is created by the same person who created Herbie and seeing Herbie racing with Horace was just great battle between good and evil love and hate and the part I really like was when Herbie is cut into haft by a laser beam which was always the part I remember ever since I first saw it so I hope they bring this movie out on DVD some year I know that some Herbie fans are waiting for this movie to come out on DVD and I am one of the people so if we all put are heads together maybe this movie will come out on DVD fingers cross any who this was a good movie and I love it but the first one is way better and this will be never forgotten I love how this is haft a remake and great job on Dean Jones having a cameo so great job on this movie Disney All in All its not an outstanding artwork and does not beat the other Herbie movies like The love bug 1968 Herbie rides again and Herbie goes monte carlo but its better then Herbie goes bananas and its not best Disney movie of the 90s like the other Disney movies Toy story The lion king or other Disney 90s flicks but its still a good movie to watch I give this movie a 7.5 out of 10

I didn't see this feature when it originally aired. I caught it on television recently and loved it. If you like the classic beetle, you'll enjoy watching Herbie again. What's not to love about a Bug? They're so darn CUTE! It gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling to see Dean Jones, he helped bring the movie home for me. It's nice that he tied this movie to the first. The story was interesting, the way it explained how Herbie came about. Also, the creation of Horris, the Evil bug, and where his bad spirit came from. Sure it's corny, but so much is too serious now a days. I had some good laughs, a tear when it was appropriate, and a good feeling movie to add to my collection.

I have seen this movie twice, and I was surprised to learn that this was a 'made for TV' release. I would never have guessed.

I haven't seen the original "Love bug" but I'm sure this one could be just as good if not better than the original. It is great fun to watch, with some good special effects to go with. The all star cast really helps too. I can even remember almost crying at one stage.

Bruce Campbell is great in the lead role, even if this movie is different to his usual style, and Alexandra Wentworth is a great match. John Hannah is good in the bad guy role.

Overall, this movie is anything but a 'made for TV' movie and I'm giving it 7/10.

I Highly recommend it to people who are usually disappointed with Disney's usual straight to video sequels.

I wanted to say "Hail to the king", but it's not Bruce Campbell that impressed me in this movie. Bruce was okay, not great. The thing with this particular movie was: it made me cry. Now, you see, as an adult with a fable for "hardcore" horror movies like Evil Dead and stuff, that is quite embarrassing. And it's not the quality of the movie, that made me cry.

It could have, because it was pretty poor in some way, but the whole thing reminded me of the original Love Bug. And my childhood.

*Sniff*

Sorry for that. Let's face it, nobody wanted to know Herbies origin (which idea was very very... way off) and the special effects were just basic (although they convinced me in the half-driving sequence). The scene my eyes gone wet was of course ol' Jim Douglas reunited with our pal Herbie. Aaaaaooowwwwwwhhhhhh! Joy.

The score by Shirley Walker and Kristopher Carter (Batman Beyond(!)) was alright, although I wished to have this whistle theme from the original included.

Anyway, as one of the other reviewers said: a cute film. Or was it remake?

The race could have been faster... that's for sure!

Between the last feature length Herbie Film 'Herbie Goes Bananas' and the re-launch of the series 'Herbie: Fully Loaded' with Linsey Lohan, there was the short lived TV series 'Herbie the Love Bug'. This does not exist anywhere on video. I cannot view it so I cannot review it. I mention it to let the reader know the many lives of the beloved Love Bug. More importantly for the sake of this review is the fact that existing between these two films is 'The Love Bug'. This film is sort of a remake. Many similar story lines that were used in the first are used again here in the remake, but the film despite the same title is actually sequel. It is another film in the franchise. Doug Jones even appears in the film as Jim Douglas.

The film is only available on VHS. Interestingly enough there are Disney movies advertised on the VHS for certain movies that have either been released or will be released on VHS and DVD. So why was this never released on DVD if it has ads for films on DVD? Is it worth it? Lets See!

The acting minus the villain (John Hannah from the Mummy films) and the actors from the previous movie really are not that great. Even Bruce Campbell, though a good actor in other films, is not here. The acting brings the movie down several notches. I mean it looks like a TV movie, which it is. The film even has Mickey from The Monkees.

Despite several acting flaws the movie asks the right question. How can Herbie do the things he does? A car can't do wheelies? This question drives the action of the characters. That is good. The question results in finding the original maker of the car. We learn how Herbie got life. That is also good. We learn that Herbie adjusts to the person who owns him. His role in people's lives is explained and understood. That is also good. The name 'The Love Bug' is given to an article the main female character writes about Herbie. Jim Douglas hears this comment as an idea he has never heard before but finds interesting and satisfactory. We see Herbie's evil brother Horrace. Evil Brother? The maker of the car was found so he can make a car for the villain. He ends up making an anti-Herbie. An evil Herbie. This Herbie is named Horace as I said before. This evil Herbie ends up killing the good Herbie. But with help from Herbie's maker and a special guest appearance from Jim Douglas, he comes back to life. After Herbie is brought back to life, Doug Jones cameo is over and he says 'I'm not needed anymore' and walks off in the distance. What an interesting way to write someone off.

In order to control the Horace, the Irish villain puts a Wheel Lock on the steering wheel. I thought that was an interesting little bit. He then challenges Good Herbie to race Evil Herbie. Winner takes all. It is then interesting to watch Horace race Herbie. But it is not just a race, but a battle between good and evil.

As they race, Horace has been installed with all types of tricks he uses to cheat in the race. What happens in the race you'll have to fine a local library to view a copy. Or you can buy it at Amazon. The plot line and the concepts of this movie would make this worth adding to your library but only after getting all the other Herbie's first. Maybe this is a step above 'Fully Loaded'. I haven't yet re-watched the older ones but am sure they are excellent. They were when I watched them last, but I might have more sense now.

If the new 'Love Bug', had better acting and took more TLC into the production, it would be an outstanding film and would be on DVD. But alas they allowed the poor acting and underdeveloped script to proceed without taking more time to develop their really interesting premise. But the premise is enough to keep the film interesting enough and keeps the film from completely sucking. But what it could have been. It's a better made for TV sequel then 'The Parent Trap II' proving that not all made for TV sequels are not all bad.

One last thing. The villain utters the line in the end, "I'll get you and your little bug too.

When I was kid, I love the Herbie movies, even to this day. I even saw Herbie: Fully Loaded in the theaters. But, there is one movie that not many people have talked about. Which is the 1997 movie. I remember watching it on VHS, but one day, the tape got chewed. However, for whatever reason, my father fixed it. I saw it again to 2 more times, 1 viewing per-day. On the third day, the tape got chewed again. Damaged beyond repair. And I never saw it again for 13-14 years, due to not being on DVD. One day in December, my brother and I started watching the short lived TV show on YouTube, and I decided to put on the movie (due to a few people uploading it on YouTube). I enjoyed after all else years, and even my brother thank me for putting it on. In my opinion, this movie is a enjoyable installment in the franchise, and it deserves to be release on DVD, Blu-ray, or Disney+.

Herbie's creation story vaguely resembles that of "House Monster" the beloved tied to the car/house, cute, but it doesn't even remotely carry the charisma of the '68 version, despite the hapless evildoer Simon Moore III's beastly and malevolent character.... They recreate the classic car division scene, repeat a few simple jokes, a cute movie...

Basically this is a full-on TV film, but somehow manages to star one of the finest B-Actors ever to enter the movie industry. The whole fact it has the 'classic' love bug is merely lost as you are completely overwhelmed by the pure skill of Bruce taking over the screen. "Bruce" I hear you cry, but who is he? Well for all those of you who have lived on the moon for the last few years, Bruce Campbell is a cult legend, not only has he dabbled his hand in the horror-esque genre (Maniac Cop) and the completely superb classic trilogy of 'The Evil Dead' but he also starred in one of the finest movies to come out of Hollywood in a while, 'The Hudsucker Proxy.' Also starring John Hannah, who you might recognise from such films as 'Sliding Doors' and 'The Mummy' plays the evil ex-pro formula one driver(Simon Moore III) who just 'hates that little car!' Bruce walks through the film like a breeze until original star of the Disney 'Love Bug' movies Dean Jones or as many a film fan will know him as, 'JIM DOUGLAS!' Only here does Bruce have some real on-screen competition, but even then, you still feel Bruce is the master. As for the actual film, I'd say the novelty value outclasses the actual quality of the film, the acting is poor (aside from the two named above) the script is terrible and the end is really weird for no apparent reason. I wouldn't give the film an actual mark due to the fact as a TV movie, there is no way it can ever score above about a five so I'll leave it at that. One last thing, if you are a beetle car lover (and I know some of you are) the 'evil car' is top notch and an entertainment in itself.

As of this writing, this film has yet to be released on DVD. That's a shame, as many fans of Herbie would love to have a copy. Disney needs to release this film, as many other made for TV films are available. The story is much better than Herbie Fully Loaded, and this film has better acting (not a hard feat to surpass thanks to Lindsay Lohan).

The best part of the film is the back story of the origins of Herbie by a German scientist and how Herbie was created. Also, the fact that Dean Jones makes an appearance as Jim Douglas was a great touch. Bruce Campbell as Hank Cooper and John Hannah as Simon were great together.

Hopefully, soon, Disney will offer this film as part of their line of Exclusives in the Disney Movie Club.

Love Bug 1997 was fun to watch and I laughed at a lot of it, but mostly Bruce Campbell's humor (either written by him or ad lib). I loved the evil bug and wish I owned one. It looked like it was fun to make, and since it's about Herbie, you can't focus too much on things that couldn't really happen (like a car still functioning after being cut in half).

How disney roped Horror LEGEND Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, Xena) and Scottish bloke John Hannah (The Mummy, Sliding Doors) into this poor re-make of the kids classic is a question best not answered. However, the all star cast, including a cameo from Dean Jones (Jim Douglas in the original)make this into an eminently watchable film. Straight to video it may be, but if you're quite drunk, it's the best film ever made. Cue a witty John Hannah remark about 'the yanks'...

This movie was just wonderful! It brought so many memories flooding back to me that I cried all the way thru. Just as classic as the original Herbie movies. Having Dean Jones in the film made it that more special. Way to go Disney! We need more movies like this from you. The Love Bug Rides Again!

As a lifelong Herbie fan, this '97 sequel was a lot better than I had expected! Herbie is every bit as adorable as ever (right down to his cute little beepy voice, which actually seems to imitate words and phrases in some places!) I even kinda like Horace the Hate Bug - although he is evil & beats up Herbie!!! But Horace is still a Beetle, so he's kinda cute too, and he makes me laugh, so he's no worse than an overenthusiastic Rotweiller! I even cried at parts of this movie, where Herbie's owner deserts him & Herbie gets all depressed... One thing I really missed was George Bruns' music! Some of the lines were too similar to the original 1969 Love Bug (which is such a perfect film, it should never have a 'remake') and the Professor Stumpfel thing was a bit too unbelievable (I prefer to stick with Tenessee Steinmez!) Overall however, a brilliant way to bring the Love Bug towards the 21st Century!

Cute movie, not real deep, but fun to watch.

Disney, in making this movie, made lots of mistakes. First of all, the script was not at all like previous Herbie films. There was swearing and other bad words there. in addition, the "story" how Herbie was created was all lies. Everyone knows that Jim Douglas' friend Tennesee Steinmetz first named Herbie, and that all VWs had this peculiar quality (shown in Herbie Rides Again). This "Stumphel" thing was totally off. Also, Herbie himself was done wrong! Color, stripe color, sunroof color, interior, 53s, and other things too numerous. The only positive thing was Dean Jones, who was by far the best actor in that movie! I wish Disney would make another quality movie!

John Hannah is fun as the bad guy -in a satirical kind of way- but he's still no match for the antics of David Tomlinson in the 1969-original. Kevin J. O'Connor does his best in the part of the goodhearted hero sidekick - but, far from a match for memorable Buddy Hackett. And then there is Bruce Campbell who is so-so as the human hero of the story. Thank God the star of the original movie series -Dean Jones- turns up. He is the only real link between the original and this remake. And to a guy who grew up on Herbie-movies it is a surprisingly tear-jerking and emotional moment as Jones -30 years later- gets behind the wheel of his Wolksvagen-pal one last time, although he doesn't actually drive off. This time around the main competition in the movie comes from a second bug called Horace (but it should be nicknamed "The Hate Bug" ). Computer animations creates the basis for the effects, but the story however is what one would expect from the usual made-for-TV-Disney movie: barely average. Which is sad, because Herbie deserves more effort, and it doesn't take much to add more charm to the story of the Love Bug then what was managed here. For example in the music: One of the major assets of the original Love Bug-movie was it's charming catchy score -as lovable as the car itself. But composer Shirley Walker should have been kicked off the Disney-lot for this simple, below-by-the-numbers soundtrack. One would think it too was created by a computer! Would it hurt to keep some of the original music in the remake? In the end The Love Bug 97's only real asset is our love for the little car with a heart, and nothing else. If there is a next time: let Dean Jones STAR in the thing, and let him and Herbie win their last big race, before letting them deservedly drive off into the sunset together. And us Herbie-fanatics could weep and weep... goodbye Herbie! Goodbye...