Kind of a Big Wheel: The 50th Anniversary of Disney’s “The Love Bug”

By Michael Lyons

The years following Walt Disney’s death in 1966 were some of the most challenging for the Studio that he had started.  Most of the films produced during this time were somewhat by-the-numbers family fare.

Most of these films starred actor Dean Jones, most of them featured slapstick humor and most of them concluded with a car chase.  One of these films that fits in this mold managed to not only stand out, but became one of the biggest box-office hits in the “post-Walt” years.

The movie was “The Love Bug,” the story of a Volkswagen Beetle car named Herbie with a very human-like personality, who (thanks to some snazzy special effects) helps race driver Jim Douglas (Jones) win a prestigious race.

The incredibly likable, fun film, which also stars Michelle Lee, Buddy Hackett, Joe Flynn and David Tomlinson, was released on March 13, 1969 and celebrates its 50th anniversary this month.

To commemorate this occasion what follows is a collection of fun facts about “The Love Bug.”  Consider it Herbie’s 10-point check-up:

 - Many think that “The Love Bug” was an original story, but it was actually an adaptation of a book called “Car, Boy, Girl” by author Gordon Buford.

 - The movie was directed by stalwart Disney director Robert Stevenson, who had helmed another Disney blockbuster in the ‘60’s: “Mary Poppins.”

 - It was Stevenson who chose Herbie’s number of “53,” which was also the number of Los Angeles Dodgers baseball player Don Drysdale.  Stevenson was a fan of the team and the player.

 - Herbie was a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle, although (other than two brief scenes), the VW logo never appears in the film, as the automaker did not give Disney permission to use the name.

 - “The Love Bug” was so popular that there were four other sequels: “Herbie Rides Again” (1974), “Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo” (1977),“Herbie Goes Bananas” (1980) and 2005’s “Herbie Fully Loaded.”  There was also an adaptation for Disney’s TV show “The Wonderful World of Disney.” There were a total of 100 VW Bug’s used in the films, as well as in promotions.

 - Dean Jones not only plays Jim Douglas in the film, but also has an unrecognizable cameo as a hippie.

 - Jones was a Disney mainstay, making ten films for the Studio, in additional to “The Love Bug,” among them: “That Darn Cat” (1965), “Blackbeard’s Ghost” (1968) and “The Shaggy DA” (1976). 

 - “The Love Bug” co-stars Buddy Hackett and Joe Flynn would go on to voice Disney animated characters.  Flynn was the villain sidekick Mr, Snoops in 1977’s “The Rescuers” and Hackett provided the voice of Scuttle the seagull in 1989’s “The Little Mermaid.”

 - To help promote the film, Disneyland hosted “Love Bug Day,” on March 23, 1969, an event in which 101 VW Beetles paraded down the park’s Main Street, USA.

 - Dean Jones purchased and owned one of the Herbie VW Bug’s used in “The Love Bug.”  Fitting that, even in real life,  Herbie would wind up with Jim Douglas.

Sources:

Disney Parks Blog

IMDb

Wikipedia

“In the Lilt of Irish Laughter:” Celebrating “Waking Ned Devine.”

By Michael Lyons

“Is there a greater twist of fate...to win half a million and the next minute die from the shock of it.”

This line of dialogue is the central theme of 1998’s “Waking Ned Devine,” a movie that looks at the ironies of life, how fragile life is and how we can create a wonderful legacy for others, once we leave this world.

Of course, “Waking Ned Devine” does all of this in a very funny...and very Irish...way.  With St. Patrick’s Day approaching, it’s one of the perfect films to help us celebrate.

Set in the small Irish village of Tully Moore, where everyone knows everyone, Ned Devine wins the national lottery and in a sad, morbid twist, dies of shock after finding this out.  Ned’s buddies soon discover that Ned has passed and they also learn of his lottery win.

The friends soon enter a pact: they will pretend that Ned is still alive, so that the money can be claimed, they can split it amongst each other and help themselves and their small village.

But, as Lottery officials come to the town, can the secret be kept and the plan pulled off? ‘Twould be a shame to give away any of the film’s secrets. 

Suffice it to say, the cover up of Ned’s demise leads to some hilarious misunderstandings and predicaments, one of which finds one of the older members of the town riding a Moped naked (you read that correctly).

It’s all put together deftly by director Kirk Jones, who shows a Billy Wilder-esque ability to blend pathos and comedy.

Since it’s debut almost twenty-one years ago, when it garnered nice reviews and great word of mouth attention, “Waking Ned Devine” has faded from popular view.

As a cultural slice-of-life, it’s such a well-meaning, smile on your face film, that everyone should take the opportunity to see it, no matter what the time of year.

Of course, if it means that as March 17th rolls around we shed a light on “Waking Ned Devine,” all the better.

Here’s a glass raised to this fine film!

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to All!

Sources:

IMDb