The film starts off strongly, and its energetic comic pace works very well for the first hour or so. Co-stars Michele Lee, David Tomlinson (Mr. Banks from Mary Poppins), and Hackett all bring charm and breathe personality into their roles. As straight man, Jones does fine in his lead role, a position he got right again and again for Disney.

Nonetheless, The Love Bug proved to be hugely successful at the box office, becoming the top-grossing film of the year, even outperforming films like Butch Cassidy and Midnight Cowboy. In the thirty-four years since its release, three sequels, a TV series, and a Wonderful World of Disney telemovie remake have come, so a DVD has seemed long overdue.

VIDEOVideo quality is good, but not flawless. The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.75:1, enhanced for 16:9 televisions. A number of the shots in the film are inherently grainy, and contrast to the simpler, clearer-looking shots. Of course, the grain is part of the original film, so trying to even out the contrasting shots wouldn't necessarily have a point. In addition, there are some artifcats and print imperfections that pop up from time to time. Overall, video quality isn't as breathtaking as last year's Vault Disney titles, and those were older films.

Nonetheless, this is undoubtedly the best The Love Bug has looked on home video, and it looks rather good for its age, certainly better than most of Disney's catalogue output.

AUDIO

As is the case with last year's Vault Disney titles, The Love Bug receives a 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track, although it's doesn't provide a particularly dynamic aural experience. It does deliver a consistent, clear, and suitable soundtrack for the film, though, and the catchy theme tune comes through loud and clear.

EXTRAS

Even though the set is labeled as a Special Edition, make no mistake about it. The Love Bug is a Vault Disney title, identical in design to May 2002's four releases. The same elaborate menu design still proclaims "Vault Disney."

Disc One contains an audio commentary with starts Dean Jones, Michele Lee, and Buddy Hackett, and the 8-minute short "Susie - The Little Blue Coupe" (which can also be found on the Ichabod and Mr. Toad DVD.) Plus one sneak peek for a random selection of live action catalogue titles which have mostly been butchered for DVD release like Natty Gann and Muppet Treasure Island.

Less spectacular is "The Many Lives of Herbie," a 13-minute featurette hosted by one of the weak speakers from the documentary - Hugh Chitwood, "Herbie fan" (who's on the Disney payroll as a film archivist, according to his documentary credit). This individual's enthusiasm for all things Love Bug is ridiculous, irritating, and depressing all at once. Hearing him passionately discuss the specifics of the sequels ("the first evil Herbie", for instance) and his own Herbie passion (his closing statement!) is amusing, certainly.

Also amusing for not necessarily the right reasons is the 6-minute "Herbie Mania" which showcases two more Herbie enthusiasts who detail their collections and affinity for the film's car and themes.

The Disney Studio Album recalls the year 1969, covering all of the studio's projects from that year, and running just under 4 minutes.

Mr. Chitwood again appears in the Lost Treasure: Searching for Herbie (7:38), this time discussing his knowledge of the actual cars used in the Herbie movies, going into far more detail than you'll probably care, but it's short.

Onto the final section, the extensive Production Archives which houses a wealth of supplemental material. Galleries contains an extensive collection of production photos, concept art, storyboards (of which director Stevenson is described as being a thorough fan), stills from the comic book, detailed biographies and filmographies for actors Jones, Lee, Hackett, Tomlinson, and director Stevenson, posters, merchandise, promotional photos (and shots from the premiere), and frames from the press book (though these seem out of focus). It's a lot of material to go through, and there's some great shots within. The bios/filmographies are another great touch; it's a shame these are the only discs on which Disney includes them.

The two final galleries are Production Documents (paperwork from the film's production) and a Screenplay Excerpt ("Herbie Goes Over the Edge") with accompanying film clip.

Production Gallery (2:45) is a slideshow of self-explanatory stills. There is the Theatrical Trailer (3:15). The Behind-the-Scenes promo (4:45) is an amusing on-the-set piece, narrated by Dean Jones, which portrays Herbie as a prima donna who receives all the attention from the crew.

"Love Bug Day at Disneyland" is a 12-minute un-narrated featurette on March 23, 1969 when hundreds of Volkswagens from all over made their way to the park in decorated fashion. Some are really creatively-designed and it's quite fun seeing the people of the '60s really getting into the spirit of things ten days after the film's opening and a few months before the "Summer of Love" would bring Woodstock and the Amazin' Mets.

"The Man Who Gave Herbie His Voice" (8:35) focuses on Jimmy McDonald and the sound design of Disney films, and as with all sound design featurettes, it includes the creation of the "Casey Jr." Dumbo sequence from The Reluctant Dragon. Other works showcased include the "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" short, The Rescuers, Bambi, and of course, The Love Bug.

Two deleted "scenes" are included: "Used Car Lot" is a brief combination of a script excerpt and production still from an excised scene and "Playground" provides storyboards and script excerpt from a closing sequence which was never shot. Together, they run 2 minutes and 15 seconds.