The Love Bug (1969)

Has-been professional race car driver Jim Douglas and his philosophical mechanic Tennessee Steinmetz find themselves in possession of a white Volkswagen Beetle that seems to have a mind and spirit of its own. Naming the car Herbie, Jim and Tennessee become the talk of the California racing circuit. Sports-car dealer and circuit contestant Peter Thorndyke tries to use his assistant to come between the friends and their car.^[13][14]

Herbie Rides Again (1974)

Alonzo P. Hawk is a mean-spirited property developer who has bought several blocks of land in the downtown district in order to build a gigantic shopping mall. There is one problem however; an elderly widow named Mrs. Steinmetz who won't sell the one remaining lot that Hawk needs to proceed with his scheme. So he resorts to all manner of chicanery, legal or otherwise, to get it. After they discover Alonzo's plans, it's up to Herbie to save the day and save Mrs. Steinmetz's home.^[15]

Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977)

Jim Douglas, reunited with Herbie, finds himself once again hitting the roads in a race car event. This time, Jim and Herbie, along with goofy mechanic Wheely Applegate compete in a French competition. Also involved in the automotive adventure are Quincey and Max, a pair of jewel thieves, and Diane Darcy, the beautiful woman who drives Giselle, a sporty female car and Herbie's love interest.^[16]

Herbie Goes Bananas (1980)

Jim's nephew, Pete and his friend D.J., board a cruise ship called the Sun Princess to Panama to enter Herbie in the Brazil Grand Primero. Unknown to them, a young pickpocket named Paco has stowed away in Herbie's trunk, as a trio of gold counterfeiters peruse the youngster in an attempt to retrieve the location of a source of ancient Inca gold.^[17]

Disney's The Love Bug (1997)

Herbie, the inimitable VW Beetle is destined for the scrap heap, until down-on-his-luck mechanic Hank Cooper takes him over and gives him a new lease of life, much to the fury of his previous owner, who builds a menacing, evil, black Beetle to challenge Herbie and Hank to a one-on-one race.^[18]

Released as a made-for-television movie, as a part of The Magical World of Walt Disney, this installment was marketed as a remake. Events of the film reveal it is in fact a sequel to the previous films.^[19]

Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005)

Maggie Peyton wants to become a NASCAR driver but her overprotective father, Ray Peyton Sr. won't hear of it. A former racer himself, Ray wants Maggie to take a lucrative television sportscasting job and leave the dangers of driving to her crash-prone brother. When Ray Sr. takes Maggie to a junkyard to pick out a car, she has no idea that the little Volkswagen Beetle, named Herbie, she takes home will change her life.^[20]

Live action

Animation

• Herbie has a brief appearance in the House of Mouse season 2 episode titled "Max's New Car". The character appears with other Disney vehicles. Herbie encourages Max Goof to talk to his father about buying a car.
• Herbie has a brief cameo in The Simpsons season 11 episode titled "Beyond Blunderdome". Released in 1999, the character appears alongside various other famous vehicles in the Movie Car Museum.^[25] Though the appearance was originally produced by 20th Century Fox Television, through acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company in 2019, the cameo is currently distributed by the latter company's subsidiary, 20th Television.^[26]
• Herbie has a brief appearance in the American Dad! season 13 episode titled "Stan Smith as Keanu Reeves as Stanny Utah in Point Breakers". Released in 2016, the character helps Stan escape from a collaborative attack from poachers and wolves. Similar to The Simpsons, American Dad! was originally produced by Fox, before the company was purchased by The Walt Disney Company. The show is currently distributed by its parent-company, Disney.^[27]

Box office and financial performance

Critical response

Audience survey company CinemaScore polled opening weekend audiences for Herbie: Fully Loaded and they gave the film a grade "A" on scale of A to F.^[49] The other films in the series were not polled upon their release by CinemaScore.

Notes

Themepark events and attractions

• Love Bug Day: An event held at Disneyland to celebrate the financial successes of the first and second films, which took place on two separate days in 1969 and 1974.
  • March 23, 1969 – The event had two main parts. In the first portion park visitors met in the parking lot, where they presented their own custom decorated VW Beetles in a competition to win a new one. During the second part of the occasion, the vehicles paraded from Main Street, U.S.A. town square, to the It's a Small World ride. Dean Jones greeted the contestants, and awarded car keys to the winner.
  • June 30, 1974 – The second "Love Bug Day" followed a similar series of events, while this time Helen Hayes was the film star to welcome and award the guests. This second occurrence featured as a part of the aired "Herbie Day at Disneyland" television special.^[51][52][53]
• Disney's All-Star Movies Resort: After previously appearing in various Disney Park parades,^[54][55] including Disney on Parade at Hong Kong Disneyland, the character now features at a hotel in Walt Disney World. Herbie is featured prominently in the Love Bug-themed section of the resort called Winner's Circle.^[56]
• Lights, Motors, Action!: Extreme Stunt Show (2005–2011): Herbie featured during the half-time show at Disney theme parks from the time the attraction opened on May 25, 2005. In 2011 the sequence was replaced with Lightning McQueen.^[57] The show was later cancelled on April 2, 2016, and replaced by Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.^[58]

Productions

• Disney on Parade (1969–1973): In 1968 the concept was conceived by Thomas Sarnoff and presented to his brother, Robert Sarnoff. Robert had served as President of National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and CEO of Radio Corporation of America (RCA), the prior of which was the network which had aired The Wonderful World of Disney.^[59] In developing the stage show, Walt Disney Productions worked with NBC to create a partnership subsidiary company called Nawal Productions. Four seasons of the show traveled, as separate editions. After the financial success of a trial run in Long Beach in 1969, the show evolved and thrived with the addition of producer/director Michel "Mr. G" Grilikhes. The first edition's run at Madison Square Garden made a record in advanced ticket sales with $400,000.00 total; while a run in Salt Lake City booked a total of 77,255 people in nine days (equivalent of 38% of the city's population). It later toured Europe, Australia, Asia and Latin America, earning $64 million worldwide.^[60][61] Herbie featured during the last three years, in the comedy acts:
  • "Goofy and the Love Bug" (1970–'71): The comedy comedic short, centered around Goofy working in an autobody shop, who comes into contact and contends with Herbie.
  • "Three's a Family" (1972–'73): Goofy once again meets Herbie. The plot featured the latter falling in love with a pink VW, and the pair have their own little Bug of their own.
  • "The Used Car Lot" (1973–'74). During the comedic skit, Goofy visits a used car lot and can't decide if he prefers a Ford Model T or Herbie.
• Walt Disney's World on Ice: In 1979, Mattel approached The Walt Disney Company to collaborate on an ice show centered around the latter's properties. The traveling show was developed by Irvin & Kenneth Feld Productions. The first series of shows debuted in 1981, while Herbie featured throughout the performances.^[62][63] The show eventually evolved into Disney on Ice, with Herbie featuring in various shows.^[64]
• Herbie and Friends Tour: In joint-commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the franchise and Volkswagen Group of America, Walt Disney Pictures in collaboration with VW America sponsored a roadtrip tour, featuring Herbie and various classic VWs. The trek included 25 VW dealership stops, impromptu mini-car shows, as well as promotional stays for the Herbie Fully Loaded film. Starting in San Francisco, California and ended New York City, the event lasted from May 13–31, 2005.^[65]

Marketing

Herbie appears in Disneyland's 50th Anniversary television commercial, where he is driven by Mickey Mouse and Goofy as they take a roadtrip get to Disneyland.^[66]

Video games

• Disney's Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005): A racing game developed by Climax Handheld Games, published by Disney Interactive Studios and Buena Vista Games as a Game Boy Advance exclusive release. The game is based loosely based on the 2005 film Herbie: Fully Loaded and features stills from the movie as in-game cut scenes.^[67] The player takes the role of Herbie throughout a series of races, though should they fail to place first in any race, they are shown a Game Over screen and booted to the menu to start over.^[67] The game was met with mixed reception, while its 3D graphics were widely praised.^[67][68][69]
• Disney's Herbie: Rescue Rally (2007): A racing game developed by Climax Handheld games, and published by Disney Interactive Studios as a Nintendo DS exclusive release. The game is based on the Herbie film series. It earned a positive critical reception with IGN stating: "...Herbie Rescue Rally is a good game. For a system that is seriously lacking in solid racing titles, it's refreshing to find one that is at least worth playing."^[70]