Herbie | |
---|---|
Created by | Bill Walsh Don DaGradi |
Original work | The Love Bug (1968) |
Owner | The Walt Disney Company |
Years | 1968–2005 |
Based on | "Car, Boy, Girl" by Gordon Buford |
The Herbie franchise consists of American sports adventure comedy theatrical feature films, one television film, a television series, and other multimedia releases. [1] The overall story centers around the titular Herbie, a sentient anthropomorphic 1963 Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of his own and capable of driving himself. The vehicle is oftentimes a legitimate contender, though the underdog contestant in competitive races, but to a greater degree assists his human owners in bettering their lives.
The first film, notable for being the final live-action film produced under the supervision by Walt Disney prior to his death, was released in 1969. Based on a story titled "Car, Boy, Girl", the feature proved to be a critical and financial success for Walt Disney Productions. Upon its release, the movie was the second-highest-grossing film for the company, second only to Mary Poppins (1964). Its performance placed it fourth highest on box office returns, and spawned a franchise. [2] [3] Each of the subsequent releases were successes in their own right, but none received as much universal praise as the original.
The second film was met with generally positive reception from critics. [4] [5] [6] The third film was met with mixed reception, [7] while the fourth film was poorly received and is often classified as the weakest Herbie film. [8] [9] The television series was panned by critics, resulting in a cancellation following five episodes, with reviews calling it "domesticated", "mild", and "boring". [10] The fifth film was met with negative reviews, citing its inferiority to the original.[ citation needed ] The sixth film was met with mixed reception, and garnered the highest box-office returns out of all of the installments. Though the film was criticized for various aspects including the plot, it was seen as a return to form for the franchise. [11] [12]
In 1961, a short story titled "Car, Boy, Girl" was written by Gordon Buford. In an interview with a United States publication for Volkswagen owners titled Small World Magazine, Buford stated that the idea for his story came from growing up on a Colorado farm, where he witnessed how his parents treated their vehicles with a similar manner as they did their horses. As the story was not published, it is believed that it was presented directly to Walt Disney and had its film rights purchased by Walt Disney Productions shortly thereafter. The Love Bug was the last live-action film produced by Disney before Walt Disney's death. [2]
Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Love Bug | December 24, 1968 | Robert Stevenson | Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi | Bill Walsh | |
Herbie Rides Again | June 6, 1974 | Bill Walsh | |||
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo | June 24, 1977 | Vincent McEveety | Arthur Alsberg & Don Nelson | Ron Miller | |
Herbie Goes Bananas | June 25, 1980 | Don Tait | |||
Disney's The Love Bug | November 30, 1997 | Peyton Reed | Ryan Rowe | Joan Van Horn and Irwin Marcus | |
Herbie: Fully Loaded | June 22, 2005 | Angela Robinson | Thomas Lennon & Robert Ben Garant and Alfred Gough & Miles Millar | Thomas Lennon & Robert Ben Garant and Mark Perez | Robert Simonds |
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]
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]
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]
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 pursue the youngster in an attempt to retrieve the location of a source of ancient Inca gold. [17]
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]
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]
A television series based on, and a continuation of, the film series was developed and released from March 17 – April 14, 1982. [21] The series was released as a mid-season replacement to a cancelled show, and was given the 8:00 P.M. time slot. Developed and executive produced by William Robert Yates, the television show was written by Arthur Alsberg, Don Nelson, and Don Tait. The production was produced by Walt Disney Productions, and distributed by Buena Vista Television. The series, which aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System, did not receive a second season. [22]
Nº | Title | U.S. airdate | Director | Written by | Producers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Herbie the Matchmaker" | March 17, 1982 | Charles S. Dubin | Arthur Alsberg & Don Nelson | William Robert Yates and Kevin Corcoran |
2 | "Herbie to the Rescue" | March 24, 1982 | Vincent McEveety | ||
3 | "My House is Your House" | March 31, 1982 | Bill Bixby | Don Tait | |
4 | "Herbie, the Best Man" | April 7, 1982 | Vincent McEveety | Arthur Alsberg & Don Nelson | |
5 | "Calling Dr. Herbie" | April 14, 1982 | Bill Bixby |
Jim Douglas, a former racing driver, owns and runs a driving school, along with his sentient VW Beetle, Herbie. Jim stumbles upon an attempted bank robbery, and with Herbie's help rescues a hostage. Later, the driving school is closed down after Herbie interferes with a motor vehicle inspection. Jim begins a relationship with a divorcee named Susan MacLane. Together with her daughter and two sons, Jim and Susan begin to build a family unit, to the disdain and envy of her ex-boyfriend/fiancé Randy.
When the pair become engaged, Randy attempts to sabotage the relationship. Jim's ex-girlfriend shows up to his bachelor party, while Randy kidnaps Herbie and replaces him with a look-alike vehicle. After his plans to ruin the wedding are stopped, with the assistance of Herbie, Jim and Susan are married. Together, they sell her vehicle and purchase a family-sized station wagon. Herbie joyfully gains a larger family, with the new additions of Susan, Julie, Robbie, and Matthew.
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in franchise.
Character | Film series | Television series | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Love Bug | Herbie Rides Again | Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo | Herbie Goes Bananas | Disney's The Love Bug | Herbie: Fully Loaded | Herbie, the Love Bug | |
Herbie | Appeared | ||||||
Jim Douglas | Dean Jones | Dean Jones | Dean Jones | Dean Jones | |||
Tennessee Steinmetz | Buddy Hackett | ||||||
Carole Bennet-Douglas | Michele Lee | ||||||
Peter Thorndyke | David Tomlinson | ||||||
Havershaw | Joe Flynn | ||||||
Mrs. "Grandma" Steinmetz | Helen Hayes | ||||||
Willoughby Whitfield | Ken Berry | ||||||
Nicole Harris-Whitefield | Stefanie Powers | ||||||
Alonzo Hawk | Keenan Wynn | ||||||
Wheely Applegate | Don Knotts | ||||||
Giselle | Appeared | Flashback | |||||
Diane Darcy | Julie Sommars | ||||||
Bruno Von Stickle | Eric Braeden | ||||||
Claude Gilbert | Mike Kulcsar | ||||||
Inspector Bouchet | Jacques Marin | ||||||
Detective Fontenoy | Xavier Saint-Macary | ||||||
Pete Stancheck | Stephen W. Burns | ||||||
Davy "D.J." Johns | Charles Martin Smith | ||||||
Paco | Joaquin Garay III | ||||||
Melissa Trends | Elyssa Davalos | ||||||
Aunt Louise Trends | Cloris Leachman | ||||||
Prindle | John Vernon | ||||||
Quinn | Alex Rocco | ||||||
Shepard | Richard Jaeckel | ||||||
Hank Cooper | Bruce Campbell | ||||||
Roddy Martel | Kevin J. O'Connor | ||||||
Alex Davis | Alexandra Wentworth | ||||||
Horace | Appeared | ||||||
Simon Moore III | John Hannah | ||||||
Rupert | Dana Gould | ||||||
Dr. Gustav Stumpfel | Harold Gould | ||||||
Peter Spears Y | |||||||
Maggie Peyton | Lindsay Lohan | ||||||
Ray Peyton, Sr. | Michael Keaton | ||||||
Ray Peyton, Jr. | Breckin Meyer | ||||||
Kevin | Justin Long | ||||||
Trip Murphy | Matt Dillon | ||||||
Crash | Jimmi Simpson | ||||||
Susan MacLane-Douglas | Patricia Harty | ||||||
Julie MacLane | Claudia Wells | ||||||
Robbie MacLane | Douglas Emerson | ||||||
Matthew MacLane | Nicky Katt | ||||||
Bo Phillips | Richard Paul | ||||||
Randy Bigelow | Larry Linville |
Film | Crew/Detail | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Composer(s) | Cinematographer(s) | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing company | Running time | ||
The Love Bug | George Bruns | Edward Colman | Cotton Warburton | Walt Disney Productions | Buena Vista Distribution | 1hr 48mins | |
Herbie Rides Again | Frank Phillips | 1hr 28mins | |||||
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo | Frank De Vol | 1hr 44mins | |||||
Herbie Goes Bananas | Gordon D. Brenner | Leonard J. South | 1hr 38mins | ||||
Herbie, the Love Bug | Frank De Vol & Tom Worrall | Jack A. Whitman Jr. & Jack Swain | Gordon Brenner, Marsh Hendry & Ron Honthaner | Buena Vista Television, Columbia Broadcasting System | 2hrs 40mins | ||
Disney's The Love Bug | Shirley Walker | Russ Alsobrook | Chip Masamitsu | Walt Disney Television | Disney–ABC Domestic Television | 1hr 28mins | |
Herbie: Fully Loaded | Mark Mothersbaugh | Greg Gardiner | Wendy Greene Bricmont | Walt Disney Pictures, Robert Simonds Productions | Buena Vista Pictures | 1hr 41mins | |
Film | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Budget | Worldwide Total income | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All-time North America | All-time worldwide | ||||
The Love Bug | $51,264,000 | — | $51,264,000 | #1,733 | #2,757 | $5,000,000 | $46,264,000 | [28] [29] [30] |
Herbie Rides Again | $38,229,000 | — | $38,229,000 | #2,689 | #3,778 | $5,000,000 | $33,229,000 | [31] [32] |
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo | $29,000,000 | — | $29,000,000 | #2,944 | #4,092 | $5,000,000 | $24,000,000 | [33] [34] |
Herbie Goes Bananas | $17,000,000 | — | $17,000,000 | #4,004 | #5,426 | $5,000,000 | $12,000,000 | [35] [36] |
Disney's The Love Bug | — | — | — | — | — | Information unavailable [a] | Information unavailable [b] | |
Herbie: Fully Loaded | $66,023,816 | $78,123,000 | $144,146,816 | #1,263 | #1,225 | $50,000,000 | $94,146,816 | [37] [38] |
Totals | $201,516,816 | $78,123,000 | $279,639,816 | ~$70,000,000 [c] | ~$209,639,816 [d] |
Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
---|---|---|
The Love Bug | 76% (17 reviews) [39] | 48/100 (7 reviews) [40] |
Herbie Rides Again | 80% (5 reviews) [6] | 49/100 (5 reviews) [41] |
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo | 60% (10 reviews) [7] | 38/100 (4 reviews) [42] |
Herbie Goes Bananas | 40% (5 reviews) [43] | 55/100 (4 reviews) [44] |
Herbie, the Love Bug | — | — (0 reviews) [45] |
Disney's The Love Bug | — (2 reviews) [46] | — |
Herbie: Fully Loaded | 40% (144 reviews) [47] | 47/100 (31 reviews) [48] |
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.
Keenan Wynn appears as the primary antagonist in Herbie Rides Again (1974), named Alonzo P. Hawk. Wynn previously portrayed the same character in The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and Son of Flubber (1963). Hawk is a villainous, dishonest, and scheming businessman character in each respective film. [50]
Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Absent-Minded Professor | March 16, 1961 | Robert Stevenson | Bill Walsh | Walt Disney | |
Son of Flubber | January 16, 1963 | Bill Walsh & Don DaGradi | |||
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]
Goofy is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is a close friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, and is Max Goof's father. He is normally characterized as hopelessly clumsy and dim-witted, yet this interpretation is not always definitive; occasionally, Goofy is shown as intuitive and clever, albeit in his own unique, eccentric way.
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A Goofy Movie is a 1995 American animated musical comedy-adventure film produced by Disney MovieToons and Walt Disney Television Animation. Directed by Kevin Lima, the film is based on The Disney Afternoon television series Goof Troop created by Robert Taylor and Michael Peraza Jr., and serves as a standalone follow-up to the show. Taking place three years after the events of Goof Troop, the film follows Goofy and his teenage son Max as they embark on a misguided cross-country father-son fishing trip across the United States.
The Love Bug is a 1969 American sports adventure comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson from a screenplay by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, based on the story "Car, Boy, Girl" by Gordon Buford. The film is the first installment in the Herbie film series.
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Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo is a 1977 American sports adventure comedy film directed by Vincent McEveety and written by Arthur Alsberg and Don Nelson. The film is the third installment in the Herbie film series and the sequel to Herbie Rides Again (1974). In the film, Dean Jones returns as champion race car driver Jim Douglas, joined this time by his somewhat cynical and eccentric riding mechanic Wheely Applegate. The film follows Douglas, Applegate, and Herbie as they participate in the fictional Trans-France Race, a road race from Paris, France, to Monte Carlo, Monaco.
William Crozier Walsh was a film producer, screenwriter and comics writer who primarily worked on live-action films for Walt Disney Productions. He was born in New York City. For his work on Mary Poppins, he shared Academy Award nominations for Best Picture with Walt Disney, and for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium with Don DaGradi. He also wrote the Mickey Mouse comic strip for more than two decades.
Herbie: Fully Loaded is a 2005 American sports comedy film directed by Angela Robinson from a screenplay by Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, and Smallville developers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The film is the sixth and final installment in the Herbie film series, following the television film The Love Bug (1997), and the first theatrical film since Herbie Goes Bananas (1980). It serves as a direct sequel to the previous films. The film stars Lindsay Lohan, Justin Long, Breckin Meyer, Matt Dillon, and Michael Keaton. It features cameo appearances by many NASCAR drivers, including Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, and Dale Jarrett.
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Herbie, the Love Bug is a sentient 1963 Volkswagen Beetle racing car which has been featured in several Walt Disney motion pictures starting with The Love Bug in 1969. He has a mind of his own, being capable of driving himself and often becoming a serious contender in auto racing. Throughout most of the films he is distinguished by red, white, and blue racing stripes from the front to the back bumper, a pearl white body, a racing-style number "53" on the front luggage compartment lid, doors, engine lid, and a yellow-on-black 1963 California license plate with the registration "OFP 857".
Herbie Rides Again is a 1974 American comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson from a screenplay by Bill Walsh, based on a story by Gordon Buford. The film is the second installment in the Herbie film series and the sequel to The Love Bug (1968). It stars Helen Hayes, Stefanie Powers, Ken Berry, and Keenan Wynn reprising his villainous role as Alonzo Hawk.
Herbie Goes Bananas is a 1980 American adventure comedy film directed by Vincent McEveety and written by Don Tait. The film is the fourth installment in the Herbie film series and the sequel to Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977).
Herbie, the Love Bug is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from March 17 to April 14, 1982. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on a series of films about Herbie, a white 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own.
The Love Bug is a 1997 American adventure comedy television film directed by Peyton Reed and written by Ryan Rowe. The fifth installment in the Herbie film series, the film is part remake and part sequel, in that the events of the original 1968 The Love Bug film are repeated while the storyline plots to follow Herbie Goes Bananas (1980). It premiered on ABC in the anthology television series The Wonderful World of Disney on November 30, 1997. The film stars Bruce Campbell and includes a special appearance by Dean Jones, star of the original The Love Bug, tying it to the previous films, while introducing an evil, black Volkswagen Beetle named Horace, the Hate Bug, giving the film a much darker tone than the other films.
Superbug is a West German children's comedy film series released between 1971 and 1978, each concerning the adventures of a sentient Volkswagen Beetle and his driver companion. The eponymous film series, and its protagonist, is essentially similar to Disney's Herbie the Love Bug franchise which also concerned the exploits of a seemingly intelligent car, but unlike Herbie which uses magic to show off anthropomorphism, the Superbug instead uses modern technology to display signs of sentience. The Superbug series appeared to be an attempt by director and main actor Rudolf Zehetgruber to bring the "Love Bug" concept to Germany, where the Beetle originated, while giving it the flair of James Bond's gadget-equipped vehicles. The main human character is named Jimmy Bondi. In the first film, which is mainly set in Africa, Bondi inherits a yellow 1963 VW Beetle, which he names "Dudu", the Swahili word for insect or beetle.
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway is a trackless dark ride located in the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, and in Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. The attraction, the first Mickey Mouse-themed ride-through attraction at a Disney theme park, features an original story based on the stylized world from the Paul Rudish television series.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Herbie's audience was comprised of families, and they seemed to like it, grading it an "A," according to CinemaScore.