The Volkswagen Beetle is one of the best-selling cars of all time. The car was also extremely popular among the general public. As such, it featured in many movies. However, in a few movies it took centre stage, entertaining populations across 6 decades. Here’s a look at a few of its best-known appearances.
The most popular appearance of a Beetle in a movie is arguably as Herbie in ‘The Love Bug’. Herbie is a 1963 Beetle, which is sentient and able to drive itself. Herbie is also a racing car. It first appeared in the 1969 feature film, ‘The love bug’ and has subsequently appeared in five movies, three TV shows and two video games. While the movie wasn’t extremely well-received, people loved Herbie and many bought VW Beetles and had them repainted to look like Herbie. The movie’s racing story also cause Beetles to become extremely popular race cars, due to their affordability and ease of modification.
Another popular appearance for the Beetle came in Footloose, in 1984. This was a movie about teenage rebellion, where a boy named Ren moves to village where he can’t do his favourite things. In the movie, the car is owned by the lead character, played by Kevin Bacon. Although this car didn’t have any powers and wasn’t sentient, it became an instant hit amongst teenagers, many of whom bought or were given Beetles as their first cars. The movie helped associate the Beetle with a feeling of freedom, which is something every young adult craves.
The Beetle’s most recent appearance on the big screen occurred in the 2018 movie Bumblebee. This movie works as a prequel to the Transformers movie, where Bumblebee is a Chevrolet Camaro. However, in this movie Bumblebee is a Volkswagen Beetle, albeit still in the classic yellow and black color scheme he has in every other Transformers movie. The Beetle was used since the movie is set in the late 1980s, when the Beetle was becoming less popular, but it was still an extremely popular car. The nostalgia factor was huge, and the Beetle saw a small boost in sales.
These three accounts show that the Beetle has been a part of pop culture for longer than any other car. From its first appearance in a movie in 1965, to 2018, the Beetle has entertained and inspired many generations of cinemagoers, and hopefully it will continue to inspire many people in the future.
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