DISNEY - HERBIE SET

This non-animation set of films put VW's on the map!!

THE LOVE BUG(1967):

The first movie, The Love Bug, was definitely the best
of the 4 original films. A race car driver, down on his luck,
ends up having to use Herbie, "the love bug", as his race car.
Buddy Hackett lends a very funny hand in this first film. A-

The second film, Herbie Rides again, has seen Herbie change
hands. Dean Jones is gone, and Herbie's new owner is Ken Berry.
With Helen Hayes in this film, it couldn't possibly miss! B+

The third movie, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, has Dean Jones
back, this time teamed up with Don Knotts (a decent enough
replacement for Buddy)! Still a good watch! B

The fourth flick, Herbie Goes Bananas, is quite thin! Not near
the same flavor as the other three, but what the heck, it's part
of Herbie History! C+

This savvy Disney hit from 1969 made a star of a Volkswagen
precisely when the car was becoming more popular than ever.
Dean Jones and Michele Lee head the cast in a story about a
VW bug with a mind of its own. Disney point man Robert Stevenson,
director of The Absent-Minded Professor, Mary Poppins, and lots
of other Disney live-action hits, makes the slapstick work perfectly
and keeps the laughs coming. Buddy Hackett is very funny in
a supporting role.

The first sequel, Herbie Rides Again (1974), is similar enough
to the first film's charm and raucous comedy that it works on
its own. Neither Dean Jones nor Michelle Lee are back, but a
nice cast of familiar pros including Disney vet Ken Berry) keeps
things moving along slickly. The story finds Herbie helping Helen
Hayes--yes, the First Lady of the American Theater--keep out
of the clutches of Keenan Wynn's villain.

Dean Jones came back to the fold for this third lap around
the block, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), which finds him
racing in the famed city while thieves plant a stolen diamond
in Herbie's gas tank. The plot is forced and conventional, but
the cast is the thing: the excitable Don Knotts (The Apple Dumpling
Gang) and the tormentable Roy Kinnear (Mr. Salt from Willy
Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) are good men to have in a
potboiler such as this.

The fourth movie, Herbie Goes Bananas (1980), is a wooden
story about Herbie's funny adventures heading toward a race
in Brazil. Charles Martin Smith and Steven W. Burns try hard
to bring some life into this project, but it just doesn't happen.
There is one good laugh in the whole thing, in a scene where
Herbie becomes a matador. Otherwise, even the picturesque,
south-of-the-border stuff doesn't help. Harvey Korman and
Cloris Leachman star. --Tom Keogh

TO CATEGORY LISTS OF DVDs:

COMPLETE LIST OF DVDs
LIST OF MOVIE DVDs
LIST OF ANIME/ANIMATION DVDs
LIST OF BOND DVDs
LIST OF DISNEY DVDs
LIST OF ELVIS DVDs
LIST OF MUSIC DVDs
LIST OF STAR TREK/STAR WARS DVDs
LIST OF SUPERHERO DVDs
LIST OF TELEVISION DVDs

TO PHOTO PAGES OF MOVIES:

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J-K
L
M
N
O
P-Q
R
S
T
U-V
W
X-Z

ANIME/ANIMATION
ANIME SUPERHERO
BOND
DISNEY
ELVIS
HOLIDAY
MUSIC
MUSICALS
OTHER
SERIALS
SETS #-M
SETS N-Z
STAR TREK/STAR WARS
SUPERHERO
TELEVISION A-B
TELEVISION C-D
TELEVISION E-F
TELEVISION G-H
TELEVISION I-K
TELEVISION L
TELEVISION M
TELEVISION N-O
TELEVISION P-Q
TELEVISION R
TELEVISION Gene Roddenberry
TELEVISION S
TELEVISION T
TELEVISION U-W
TELEVISION X-Z
TELEVISION STAR TREK/STAR WARS
TELEVISION SUPERHERO