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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :- Good – but not the best of the Herbie movies, 8 May 2002 Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK
Willoughby Whitfield comes to work for his uncle Alonzo Hawk in a development company. His first job is to force the owner of an old fire station to shift off land earmarked for development. However Willoughby makes friends with the owners, including their eccentric car Herbie, and finds out about his Uncle's dirty tricks to move the residents on and joins with them to stop his uncle.This is a late Herbie movie – but really his appeal never goes away (they just remade The Love Bug). However here much has changed since his original appearance. Here the story doesn't involve him that much until the last half – up till then it could easily be any movie, and his scenes feel forced into the plot. That's not to say it's not good – but the story isn't as interesting as his race-car incarnation. There are some funny bits, like the dream sequence of Mr Hawk, but even the silly stuff that has Herbie driving up suspension bridges will please kids!Also where `Herbie Goes Bananas' benefited from a good support cast – this has no one to speak of. Not only has Dean Jones left (a big, big loss to the film) but no-one is good enough to provide any human interest. Berry makes a dull figure who can't do comedy, and Stefanie Powers is only of interest because, well, because it's Stefanie Powers! The only interest comes from Wynn's bellowing bad guy and Hayes' sweet grandmother. Herbie is OK but he is in charge the whole time and has maybe lost a touch of the `lovable little guy' appeal that he had in The Love Bug.Overall kids will love it, and it isn't a bad Herbie movie – it's just not as good as the first couple. But really – you know what to expect and it delivers nothing more.
8 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :- tired and uninspired sequel, 2 July 2003 Author: mike from Stockton, CA
In the first movie, Herbie was a real personality and he could be jealous, angry, depressed or suicidal and even intoxicated. The viewer saw that there was a special bond between car and owner. But in this sequel, again set in San Francisco, the bond is with Helen Hayes and Herbie instead of the man. Stephanie Powers as the love interest is too violent and aggressive, and her character played against the wimpy Ken Berry comes across as downright harsh--there is no chemistry between them (unlike Dean Jones and Michelle Lee in the original film). In various scenes, she is seen assaulting Berry.In one scene they are having lunch at Fisherman's Wharf and she stands up and smacks him in the face with a lobster ("He's YOUR uncle?!") Is this really supposed to be funny?But in this uninspired sequel, the real star is Helen Hayes--not the car and certainly not with Ken Berry, who merely becomes a supporting character in this. Helen Hayes, as an old lady battling a developer, is seen in various life-threatening situations in the movie. In various surreal scenes, Haye's character is knitting while riding Herbie,impervious to the danger around her as Herbie scales a skyscraper or rides atop the Golden Gate Bridge. She is sickeningly sacharrin sweet but she plays her scenes well.The climax of this movie is weak, and it is really a collection of surreal scenes involving Herbie and Helen Hayes. There is no romance and no racing, both of which were key elements which made the original such a success. This movie was made in the transitional period, between the really great Disney classics like "Mary Poppins" and the excellent productions that Disney puts out today. The movie and plot are very predictable as is the inevitable outcome. Naturally, there's no way that the outcome is realistic as city zoning laws forbid houses in a district of skyscrapers.
7 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :- Just fun. Perfect for kids, 13 February 2005 Author: jtskiles from United States
I grew up on Herbie movies. I even "met" Herbie in the Panama Canal Zone during the filming of Herbie Goes Bananas. (Thank you Mrs. Kelstom!) I hadn't seen a Herbie movie in 25 years. They're exactly as I remember. These films were made back when Disney still had a keen eye on children's imaginations. Is the film cheesy? Absolutely. Intentionally so. How else could a movie about a "living" car turn out? Helen Hayes is charming. Stephanie Powers is spunky. Keenan Wynn is almost perfect in his role as the over-the-top Disney villain. OK - the flashbacks to Herbie's racing career are too long. But the film is strong enough to succeed despite that setback. This film is classic early Disney - full of impossible fantasy and magical inventions. If you have children - this film is a must.
3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :- not nearly as good as the original, 20 December 2001 Author: ekelton from kansas
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Warning - possible spoilers********************************* Sequels have a history of not turning out as great as their predecessor. This one is no exception. The replacement for Dean Jones, Ken Barry, while not poorly chosen, is definitely not as heartwarming or memorable as Dean Jones. Ditto for Stefanie Powers replacing Michelle Lee. Helen Hayes is good but she's just a little too sappy for my liking. Kenaan Wynn does the best job of all the actors in here. He's almost more enjoyable than David Tomlinson (Mr. Thorndyke)All the scenes were decent, but still not nearly as memorable as the original. Herbie's flashbacks to the first film is terribly boring and of not much value to the film. the feeble jousting scene seemed to be put there to show Herbie's racing value and was totally needless. The climbing of the Golden Gate Bridge scene was so obviously fake. Herbie did do more slapstick comedy and I did enjoy that part. Still, nothing like the original both in acting and in plot development.
5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :- Terrific movie, 11 March 1999 Author: Curly-18
Herbie Rides Again is a great family comedy. The funniest part in the movie was when Herbie and all of his volkswagen friends chased Alonso Hawke down the streets of San Francisco. That part is hilarious and priceless. Children and adults will love this movie and the other Herbie movies too. Go out and buy all of the Herbie movies. You won't regret it.
3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :- a good film, 7 July 2007 Author: atomius from australia
In this second Herbie movie, the car resides at an old ladys residence in an old fire station building. She is the only resident of a block not to give in to the demands of Alonzo Hawk, a developer planning the world's highest office tower. Whitfield, a relative of Hawk's and a newbie at being a lawyer, is given the mission by his new employer and uncle of convincing the woman to move so as to demolish her 'house'. Herbie and the woman's aeroplane hostess friend fight Whitfield over the matter until Whitfield is convinced that Alonzo is a no-good. Then Whitfield and the hostess fall for each other and with the help of Herbie stop the development. This is one of those interesting films from the 70s that uses older style movie making techniques to its advantage, not yet in the fast paced 80s but out of the experimental 60s, the film has a certain quality that is quite nice to the eye. The special effects and chromakey are used well, and at points a tad overused, but it is all in all a very enjoyable film.
3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :- a charming follow up that sadly didn't live up to the original, 3 October 2004 Author: krillin123 from NSW, Australia
The thing that brought this film down the most was that the only original character was the VW. I much preferred Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo for two main reasons. Firstly the main character (Jim Douglas) was there and secondly because the plot was more about the car. This film felt more like a regular comedy that happened to involve Herbie. I would've rather the film to be more about the car rather than just involving him (as the original and Monte Carlo were). Funny moments saved the film from total lameness, as did the amusing 1974 special effects (was there really as many special effects people involved as were listed in the credits to get these results?). Not all the charm of the lovable car was lost on the plot that didn't involve him as he still played his part when the chips were down. In terms of acting, Herbie was obviously the best performance followed (albeit by a large margin) by Keenan Wynn as the baddie. I think he actually did a better job as the baddie than David Tomlinson did in the original 1968 film The Love Bug.
4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :- Love that Volkswagon!, 12 June 1999 Author: Michael Rogers (miker@rochester.rr.com) from New York
Herbie the Volkswagon is one of my childhood favorites and this is the movie I discovered Him.Seeing this movie again, I ended up loving it all over again and think it is a pretty good family movie.A weird thing about this movie is that even though it was filmed in 1973, it looks like it was made in the mid sixties. I guess it was Stephanie Powers's character's sense of style and the heavy use of sets and rear projection.The Volkswagon beatle has always had a persona to it and the Herbie movies highlight it."The Love Bug" and "Herbie Rides Again" are great examples of the child like spirit of Disney at their best.
5 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :- The best of the series., 17 July 1999 Author: matt carpenter from Austin, TX
"The Love Bug" runs this entry a very close second, but the energy of "Herbie Rides Again" makes it perfect for kids. There are many great scenes and sequences that appeal to the younger set, and the normally 'bo-ring' opening credits are spiced up with stock footage of buildings being demolished. That immediately made me pay attention when I was a little whipper-snapper!Disney should have stopped this series at this point. The next film, "Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo," was pedestrian, and only saving grace was that it, A) features Don Knotts, and B) is 1,000 times better than "Herbie Goes Bananas," the only good thing about which is the whacky title.
Little charm, 5 July 2009 Author: implaxible from United States
The looong opening sequence of buildings being demolished, followed by a looong sequence of a corporate meeting, should have clued me in that this entry would have little charm that was in the original. (Phantom Menace, anyone? Trade disputes are always so exciting.) I hadn't seen it since it first came out, and only recalled a few things from it. Whereas The Love Bug kicks things into gear from the get-go, this thing drags on interminably. Herbie shows little personality in this one, and is merely a vehicle for bad process-shot special effects. (Most of the ones in the original were done practically, i.e. live.) The original characters Jim and Tennessee are disposed of with throw-away lines. I find it hard to believe that Jim would "go off to Europe to race foreign cars" (and leave Herbie?) when it was practically the entire premise of The Love Bug that Herbie was just as good, and better, than any of them.It may be "good for kids" but a good movie can get adults to enjoy it just as much.
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