The Love Bug

Click to Buy	Ratings Summary (Scored out of a maximum of five)
	Audio		Video
	Goodies		Interface
	Value

The Movie

Ah, The Love Bug. I have fond memories of watching this movie
as a youngster during a local theater “Summer Movie Days” a
long time ago. The theater would run two or three full-length family films
back-to-back, and my parents would drop me off with a couple of my friends
to spend the afternoon in a nice, cool theater throwing popcorn at each
other.

Along with other “summers of my youth” favorites like The
Incredible Mr. Limpet, Hot Lead and Cold Feet, and Condorman,
The Love Bug was a favorite because it involved race cars, a dastardly
villain, cool stunts, and a great little Volkswagen with personality named
Herbie. Watching it again brought back all those fun memories, and I was
pleasantly surprised to see my 4-year-old son enjoying the movie as much
as I was.

Promotional image © Disney.

I assume that you have probably seen at least one of the many Herbie
movies, and are familiar with the history behind the lovable little Bug.
However, for those that may not quite remember this initial movie, Dean
Jones stars as a down-on-his luck race car driver named Jim Douglas, who
reluctantly teams up with Herbie and gets back into the car racing circuit.
Douglas thinks his sudden winning streak is due to his skill, but his
sculptor roommate Tennessee Steinmetz (played by Buddy Hackett), insists
that there is more to Herbie than the eye can see.

Just as Douglas begins to finally realize what Herbie is all about, a
rather underhanded rival racecar driver (and the person who sold Herbie
in the first place) played by David Tomlinson (Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins),
plots to steal Herbie for himself. Of course, the movie builds up to a
big two-day race that pits the two competitors head-to-head, with the
ultimate prize being Herbie. It is simply classic Disney family entertainment
that both young and old can thoroughly enjoy together.

The Goodies

As with the recently reviewed 20,000
Leagues Under The Sea DVD set, The Love Bug was also intended
to be marketed as a Vault Disney collection
title, but had the collection name dropped at the last minute. If there
is any question, the list of bonus material in the sidebar should be an
indication of this set’s lineage. Between the two discs, you will find
everything you ever wanted to know about Herbie and the gang — and
you will not be able to get that catchy 1960s racing theme music out of
your head.

Disc One simply features the movie, the animated short “Susie –
The Little Blue Coupe,” and an audio commentary by Buddy Hackett,
Dean Jones and Michele Lee. The animated short is cute, and fits in with
the theme of the feature movie perfectly. As for the commentary, this
one is much less formal and structured than 20,000 Leagues, which
leads to some tangential conversations between the actors, especially
Hackett. Overall, it is an interesting and entertaining look back at the
movie with insights from the stars, but I found myself occasionally wondering
when they were going to return to the topic of the movie or a particular
scene.

Promotional image © Disney.

As with all of the other Vault Disney titles,
the bulk of the goodies reside on Disc Two. There are several entertaining
and informative featurettes, as well as the requisite and extensive production
galleries, audio-only features, theatrical trailer, and Disney Studio
Album. The featurettes and documentaries on this set are not quite as
extensive as some of the other Vault Disney titles, but after watching
the following ones, you will have the scoop on just about every aspect
of The Love Bug:

• That Lovable Bug (43 min) – Very nice and enjoyable production
  documentary with extensive interviews, production footage, still shots,
  etc.


• The Many Lives Of Herbie (13 min) – A run down of all
  the many incarnations of Herbie throughout the years, including all
  his theatrical, television, and public appearances. It is a very interesting
  and comprehensive look at the history of The Love Bug.


• Herbie Mania (6 min) – A quick look at a couple of major
  Herbie fans who have created replicas of the loveable VW.


• Lost Treasures: Searching For Herbie (7 min) – All of
  the subtle differences between the various years are highlighted. Do
  you know which hubcaps go with which movie? Do you know many colors
  Herbie’s ragtop has been? You will after watching this!


• Behind-The-Scenes Promo (4 min) – A short promotional short shot
  during production to give folks an idea of what The Love Bug was all
  about.


• Love Bug Day At Disneyland (12 min) – A fascinating look
  at what VW owners would do to their Bugs just to get into Disneyland
  in the late 1960s. The film footage was shot while touring the various
  Bugs in the Disneyland parking lot, so it has a very “home movie”
  feel to it. It is fun to see how Disneyland looked back then, as well
  as how everyone dressed, looked, and acted.


• The Man Who Gave Herbie His Voice (8 min) – Sound design
  showcasing Jimmy McDonald

Altogether, it is a nice goodie package for this classic family movie,
and I cannot think of anything that they missed. My only complaints are
identical to those I voiced in my 20,000
Leagues review: Disc
One still has autoplay previews, and the DVD insert is a cheesy one-page
listing of the movie’s chapter stops. As before, both of these are relatively
minor annoyances but should in no way dissuade you from your decision
to buy the set.

The Video, Audio and Interface

I have been uniformly impressed with the restoration efforts on the past
Vault Disney titles, and this transfer
does not generally disappoint either. While still exhibiting an occasional
artifact of age, like a dust blip here or there, the restored and remastered
anamorphic widescreen video transfer is clean and sharp throughout the
movie. The colors seemed to be a little lighter in a few scenes than I
had expected, but they are not washed out to the point of distraction.
Even with those very minor criticisms, the picture should look good on
just about anybody’s home theater system, especially given that the movie
is almost 35 years old.

Promotional image © Disney.

Along with the cleaned up video, the audio has also been restored and
remasterd. As with just about any movie made more than 15 years ago, the
soundtrack is just not as dynamic as a modern theatrical soundtrack designed
for surround sound. In some cases of remastering an old mono or stereo
movie into a 5.1 mix, the dialog and ambient audio tend to sound artificially
distributed around the various speakers. Fortunately, as with 20,000
Leagues, this new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is nicely balanced and natural,
and if anything, it is a bit center speaker heavy. On most systems, though,
the movie will sound quite acceptable.

The interfaces on both of these discs are perfectly suited for the content.
Disc One features plenty of animated menus and transitions, and, as I
mentioned earlier, the opening menu features Herbie’s spunky racing music,
which will stick with you long after the movie is over. Disc Two is structured
identically to the other Vault Disney discs, with the vault theme, and
even though there are six DVDs with this same interface, it is still fun
to use and look at.

Both of these interfaces are great ways to get into the tone and feel
of the movie and bonus material, and I commend the efforts exerted to
make these discs a little bit more fun and special than the others, as
they should be.

The Final Evaluation

If you are looking for a family movie that everyone will enjoy and a
DVD packed with extras, then this set is definitely for you. The movie
looks good, sounds pretty good, and is quite entertaining, and just about
all your questions about Herbie will be answered somewhere among the seven
or so featurettes, extensive still galleries, audio features, or commentary.
Like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, you can usually find this set
for about $18 at a warehouse store near you, and at that price, this is
a great deal and one that should not be missed.