Disc Details
Special Features:	Widescreen anamorphic format Chapter selection Audio Commentary with Buddy Hackett, Dean Jones, and Michele Lee Animated short: "Susie - The Little Blue Coupe" Deleted Scenes Featurette: That Lovable Bug Featurette: The Many Lives of Herbie Featurette: Herbie Mania Featurette: Lost Treasures: Searching for Herbie 1969 Disney Studio Album Production Gallery Behind-the-scenes Promo Love Bug day at Disneyland Featurette: That Man Who Gave Herbie His Voice Sound Studio 1: "Herbie on the Rocks" Sound Studio 2: "Thorndyke And The Bear" Production Stills: Production Photos, Concept Art, Storyboards Comic Book Advertising: Publicit, Posters, Merchandise, Press Book Rare Film-Related Documents Screenplay excerpt Radio spots Biographies Theatrical trailer
Video Format:	Anamorphic Widescreen (1.75:1) [SS-DL]
Languages:	English (Dolby Digital 5.1) THX certified
Subtitles:	English for the hearing impared.
Captions:	Yes
Casing:	2-Disc Keep Case

"The Love Bug" is a simple tale of Jim Douglas (Dean Jones), an angry race driver whose glory days have passed him by. Jim's roommate is Tennessee Steinmetz (Buddy Hackett), a Buddist metal sculptor and Jim's mechanic. Jim spots a nice set of legs on a woman posting a notice in a car dealership window. The legs are attached to Carole (Michele Lee). Carole works for the snobbish Mr. Thorndyke (David Tomlinson, the father in Mary Poppins). Thorndyke sells upscale cars. While in Thorndyke's store, a white VW Bug rolls up to Jim. Seems that Mr. Thorndyke had purchased the VW for a rich client's maid, but they sent the car back as there was something very wrong with it.

That something is the fact that the VW is 'alive.' Herbie, the name given the VW by Tennessee is a soulful machine in search for an owner to love. No one recognizes Herbie's special qualities except the enlightened artist/mechanic. Jim begins to race the car and win. Thorndyke sets his sights on getting the car back. Can Jim and the others find their spiritual center through the example of the loving car? You betcha!

"The Love Bug" is a fun romp with many great jokes for the grownups. Joe Flynn and Benson Fong make nice cameos. Loom close at the hamburger hippie scene. Star Dean Jones plays the hippie. Indy racer Andy Granatelli also appears in one scene. The unlikable hero may scare children at first, but his redemption through the love of Herbie makes the film worth seeing. Buddy Hackett is great as the sidekick. There is a lot of yelling in this film, but love, or should I say the Love Bug conquers all.

Picture Quality: 8/10
There is some shimmering at times. Also, many scenes were shot on soundstages and have that 'studio' look. No artifacts of pixilation noticed.

Sound Quality: 10/10
For sentimental reasons, I like the catchy, whistling 'Herbie theme." Nice balance between the ranges. No loss of dialogue. Great use of the surround sound feature.

Easter Eggs:
No Easter Eggs found during review.

Extra Features: 10/10
There may be more on this DVD than you really want to see. Disney unloads a ton of archived material for fans of the film.

The commentary track is fun. It's nice to hear Buddy Hackett remember the filming.

Extra highlights include the Disney cartoon short "Suzie-The Little Blue Coupe."

"That Lovable Bug" is a 45-minute documentary, which includes interviews with cast and crewmembers. It also includes much archived material. A nice behind the scenes look at the movie and the car.

Hugh Chitwood, of the famous stunt driving family shares his love of Herbie in an examination of "The Love Bug" and its three sequels in the 30-minute featurette "The Many Lives of Herbie."

"Herbie Mania" is a five-minute featurette including interviews with fans of the car who have built their own Herbies.

There is a lot more that I won't go into, but if you either but or rent this DVD the extra you must watch is "The Man Who Gave Herbie His Voice." This wonderful featurette looks at the career of Disney Sound Designer Jimmy McDonald. It is a great insight into the creation of sound effects, not just for "The Love Bug," but for many other films.

The Final Word:
A must have family film. One of the best Disney DVDs I've come across.

Rusty White