The Love Bug

That lovable Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own

A has-been racecar driver in San Francisco (Dean Jones) acquires a Volkswagen Beetle and his luck changes on the raceway. He, his mechanic (Buddy Hackett) and potential girlfriend (Michele Lee) start to see that the cute vehicle has a mind of its own. David Tomlinson and Joe Flynn are on hand as dastardly villains.

"The Love Bug" (1969) is a fun Disney racing-oriented fantasy that inspired three sequels by 1980, a television movie in 1997 and a 2005 theatrical sequel with Lindsay Lohan.

This is a good flick when youre in the mood for some innocent fun, but I feel the latter three movies are the best ones: Herbie Goes Bananas (1980), The Love Bug (1997) and Herbie Fully ...

David Tomlinson was always pretty reliable as the go-to comic English gent, and he delivers quite well here as the supercilious car dealer "Thorndyke". He only deals in the luxury end of the market, so "Jim" (Dean Jones) is a bit surprised to find a dilapidated old VW Beetle in his yard. There's something very special about this little car, and soon the down-on-his-luck driver and his mate "Tennessee" (Buddy Hackett) have bought him, repaired him and named him "Herbie". Magically, his racing fortunes take an about turn and pretty soon his erstwhile owner is after him back - and is prepared to go to just about any lengths as they prepare to compete in one trans-American race and - to the victor the spoils and the the scrapyard with "Herbie" ...