So it was with suspicious trepidation that Love Bug lovers everywhere have greeted the latest attempt to revive the franchise with the new feature Herbie: Fully Loaded. The concept is a natural: what with the ever-increasing popularity among the masses of NASCAR racing, hitching the character to that wagon seems a perfect fit. And what better way to get the youth audience interested then to cast current teen queen (and Disney remake perennial) Lindsay Lohan as Herbie’s new owner.

But hard core Love Bug loyalists have not been amused by the film’s advance trailer, with a computer-enhanced Herbie seemingly running amuck, not to mention rough-shod over their cherished memories of their beloved VW. I too was hesitant at this this high-tech approach to the charmingly low-tech character, so I was pleasantly surprised by how well the spirit of the original has been integrated into the new entry. The CGI effects are distracting at times (as they most often are in recent films), taking the audience by the hand to be sure they know exactly how Herbie is “feeling�? at any given time. But over-all, this new Herbie is an enjoyable throw-back to simpler times, when family films didn’t traffic in the lewd and loud.