The Love Bug

A down-on-his-luck racing driver, Jim Douglas, acquires a small white Volkswagen Beetle that turns out to have a mind and will of its own. Jim at first takes little interest in the car, but as it helps him win races he comes to understand its value, especially once a dishonest rival racer schemes to take the Beetle for himself. The car's history is followed from a showroom to the racetrack, with a salesman, a young woman who works at the dealership and Jim's mechanic friend all drawn into the struggle over the unusual vehicle.

The Love Bug is a Walt Disney Productions comedy directed by Robert Stevenson, the eleventh of the fourteen films he directed in chronological order, following That Darn Cat! and preceding Blackbeard's Ghost. Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi wrote the screenplay, and Walsh produced. Dean Jones plays Jim Douglas, with Michele Lee as Carole Bennett, David Tomlinson as Peter Thorndyke, Buddy Hackett as Tennessee Steinmetz, Joe Flynn as Havershaw and Benson Fong as Mr. Wu among a credited cast of 36.

Released in December 1968 and running 108 minutes, the film belongs to the comedy, family and fantasy genres and took about 51 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.5 out of 10 from some 17,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.6 out of 10 from several hundred votes. A critics' rating of 6 out of 10 from 18 reviews places it close to those audience scores.