The Love Bug
An irascible car, Herbie was unleashed on American audiences in 1969′s “The Love Bug.” Enjoying a mind of his own, Herbie can drive himself. Most of the time, Herbie is shown as a grayish-white Beetle with red, white and blue stripes running from the front bumper to the back, and has a large number “53″ on his engine lid, hood and doors. The exception to this is when he first shows up in The Love Bug. Then, Herbie is a non-descript grayish-white Beetle with a gray sunroof. The sunroof suggests that Herbie is a 1963 model. In the movie, Herbie is named after the uncle of a mechanic.
The popularity of this lovable bug prompted a number of other movies. These include the 1974 Herbie Rides Again, 1977 Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo, 1980 Herbie Goes Bananas, a made for television movie in 1997 with the same name as the original film, and most recently Herbie: Fully Loaded in 2005. According to the story between the films, Herbie has been passed around between a number of owners. Herbie also starred in his own television series in the early 1980s. Of course, there were only five episodes, which aired in 1982, but they had a huge impact on audience.
Through each film, Herbie is unmistakable. However, in the 1997 television movie and recent film, Herbie: Fully Loaded, various things were changed about the appearance of the car, including the type face and placement of the number 53. It remains an older style Beetle, however, and has not been replaced by a new Bug, which some had feared. Between even the earlier movies, there are slight changes. For instance, the stripes in the 1969 film are different than those in later movies.
This beloved bug has had the good fortune to work with stars like Don Knotts, Buddy Hackett, Helen Hayes, Lindsay Lohan, Michael Keaton and Matt Dillon. There have been many different vehicles sporting the name, too. Over the course of the most recent movie, Herbie appeared in four different roles: as Junk Yard Herbie, Demolition Derby Herbie, Tricked Out Herbie, and NASCAR Herbie. Thirty eight different Volkswagen Beetles were used over the course of this movie. In the NASCAR racing scenes, some of these cars got up to over one hundred thirty miles per hour.
If you’re a big Herbie fan, there are a number of people out there just like you. You can join Herbie fan clubs, check out web pages, buy great toys and lots more. There are even lots of Volkswagen Beetle owners out there who’ve made their own version of Herbie, painting their cars up to look just like the famous bug. You can also add all the Herbie movies to your Disney movie collection. Choose the Herbie the Love Bug Collection and get all the older movies, then add the most recent one, too. You’ll be in for a lot of great fun and entertainment.
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