The Love Bug

"Herbie's Back In A Brand-New Movie!"

1997 1h 28m EN

😐

5.7

MID

⭐

5.2

IMDB

★5.7TMDB · 159★5.2IMDB · 1,538

FantasyAdventureComedyFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The inimitable VW Beetle is losing all his races and destined for the scrap heap until mechanic Hank takes him over and gives him a new lease of life. Soon, Herbie is winning again, to the fury of his previous owner, who builds a menacing black bug to challenge Herbie to the ultimate race.

“Herbie's Back In A Brand-New Movie!”

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Cast

Bruce Campbell
Hank Cooper
John Hannah
Simon Moore III
Ali Wentworth
Alex Davis
Kevin J. O'Connor
Roddy Martel
Dana Gould
Rupert
Harold Gould
Dr. Gustav Stumpfel
Micky Dolenz
Donny Shotz
Burton Gilliam
Mecanic Race Announcer

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peyton Reed
Writers: Gordon Buford, Bill Walsh, Don DaGradi
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Herbie Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peyton Reed, shot by Russ T. Alsobrook. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Chip Masamitsu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bruce Campbell and John Hannah and Ali Wentworth carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Herbie's Back In A Brand-New Movie!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0119571 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peyton Reed directs. Russ T. Alsobrook behind the camera. Chip Masamitsu cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
229 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Herbie Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Peyton Reed, shot by Russ T. Alsobrook. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Chip Masamitsu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Bruce Campbell and John Hannah and Ali Wentworth carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Herbie's Back In A Brand-New Movie!".
8IMDB entry: tt0119571 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Russ T. Alsobrook
Editing: Chip Masamitsu
Production design: Peg McClellan
Costume design: Tom Bronson
Makeup / hair: Kathryn Fenton
VFX supervisor: John Teska
Stunt coordinator: Ernie F. Orsatti
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Love Bug (1997)
IMDB rating: 5.2/10 · 1,538 votes
MPAA: TV-G

Part of

Herbie Collection

Herbie is an anthropomorphic 1963 Volkswagen Beetle, a character that is featured in several Disney motion pictures starting with the 1968 feature film The Love Bug. He has a mind of his own and is capable of driving himself, and is a serious contender in auto racing competitions. Throughout most of the franchise, Herbie is distinguished by red, white and blue racing stripes from front to back bumper, a racing-style number "53" on the front trunk lid, doors, and engine lid, and a yellow-on-black '63 California license plate that says, "OFP 857". One exception to this is his introduction in The Love Bug, where he initially appears as a nondescript white vehicle with a gray colored fabric sunroof (a.k.a. "ragtop"), the style of sunroof offered on VW Beetles made through 1963.

Also by

Peyton Reed

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2020-07-13
★ 7/10
TV budget but better story, plus the Dark Herbie (actually Horace) and Alexandra Wentworth 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

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