Herbie: Fully Loaded

Herbie: Fully Loaded is a 2005 American family racing film directed by Angela Robinson and produced by Robert Simonds for Walt Disney Pictures. It stars Lindsay Lohan as the youngest member of an automobile-racing family, Michael Keaton as her father, Matt Dillon as a competing racer, Breckin Meyer as her brother, and Justin Long as a friend and mechanic.
The film features cameos by many NASCAR drivers, including Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Mark Martin. It was the first theatrical Herbie film since Herbie Goes Bananas in 1980. It would be the last Disney film with the participation of Lindsay Lohan until Freakier Friday in 2025.
==Plot==
The story focuses on Herbie, a Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of his own, and Maggie Peyton (Lohan), the youngest member of the Peyton racing clan. Herbie is towed to a junkyard after losing several races, and Maggie's father, Ray Peyton Sr. (Keaton), takes Maggie to the junkyard to buy her a car as a college graduation present.
After Maggie selects Herbie, Herbie takes her against her will to the garage where her friend Kevin (Long) works as a mechanic. Kevin persuades Maggie to take Herbie to a car show to buy parts for Herbie, but when they arrive, Herbie tricks Maggie into disguising herself in a racing suit and helmet and challenging NASCAR champion Trip Murphy (Dillon) to an impromptu race, which Herbie wins by a hair.
This delights Kevin, who tries to talk Maggie into racing again but worries Ray Sr., who has forbidden her from racing since she was hospitalized after a street-racing accident years ago. It also infuriates Murphy, who becomes obsessed with Herbie and his mysterious driver. Murphy organizes a local street-racing competition to lure Herbie back for a rematch, which Maggie and Kevin enter. Herbie easily defeats the other cars and qualifies for the final match with Murphy, but when Murphy talks Maggie into racing for pink slips, Herbie becomes jealous over Maggie's desire to win Murphy's stock car and intentionally loses the race. Maggie is publicly embarrassed, Herbie is towed away, and Ray Sr. scolds Maggie for racing without his permission.
However, encouraged by her friend Charisma, Maggie decides to race professionally. She tries to buy Herbie back from Murphy, but Murphy has entered Herbie in a demolition derby. Desperate to save Herbie from destruction, Maggie goes to the derby, runs onto the field while the derby is in progress, pleads with Herbie to help her, and wins the derby.
Meanwhile, the Peyton racing team may have to forfeit an upcoming stock-car race due to financial troubles and two crashes by the team's driver, Ray Peyton Jr. (Meyer), making him unable to race. Ray Sr. refuses to let Maggie drive for the team, but Ray Jr. decides on his own that she will take his place and sends the Team Peyton crew to help her and Kevin prepare Herbie for the race. At the race track, Maggie and Herbie have a heart-to-heart conversation, and Murphy ominously warns Maggie that the race will be dangerous.
Herbie starts the race slowly, but he eventually catches up and begins passing the other cars before Maggie makes her first pit stop. Meanwhile, Ray Sr., who has been watching the race at home, decides to join the crowd in person. On the track again, Herbie is soon boxed in by some other cars, but Ray Sr. arrives at the track and encourages Maggie over the team radio, and Maggie escapes the trap by driving directly over the car in front of her.
This damages Herbie's oil system, so Maggie makes another pit stop and Kevin hurriedly extracts a replacement part from the yellow New Beetle, which Herbie has been eyeing amorously throughout the film, owned by Sally, one of Team Peyton's few remaining sponsors. The jury-rigged oil system is fragile, and Murphy is intent on preventing Herbie from winning.
With Maggie, Herbie, and Ray Sr. now working together, Maggie and Herbie catch up to Murphy. Murphy tries to damage Herbie by pushing him into the track wall when Maggie tries to pass him, but he is caught off guard and crashes into the wall when she slams on the brakes during his next attempt. Herbie passes Murphy's car, now upside down on the track, by climbing onto the fence above the wall. After landing back on the track, Maggie and Herbie win the race.
Maggie is congratulated by her father and brother, and Murphy is driven away in an ambulance, raging furiously about Herbie, as Maggie and Kevin kiss. The film ends with a photograph of Herbie and Maggie's victory and a scene in which Ray Sr. warns Herbie and Sally's New Beetle (who is revealed to be sentient as well) not to stay out too long on their date.
==Cast==
*Lindsay Lohan as Maggie Peyton, a young auto racer whose love interest is Kevin
*Michael Keaton as Ray Peyton, Sr., Maggie's father
*Matt Dillon as Trip Murphy, driver of the Cheetos #82 Chevrolet NASCAR
*Justin Long as Kevin, a mechanic who likes Maggie and who is Maggie's love interest
*Breckin Meyer as Ray Peyton, Jr., Maggie's brother
*Cheryl Hines as Sally, one of Team Peyton's few remaining sponsors
*Jimmi Simpson as Crash, Trip Murphy's slow-witted sidekick
*Jill Ritchie as Charisma, Maggie's friend from college
*Jim Cody as Monster Truck Driver
Many racing professionals appear as themselves in cameo roles. These include announcers Allen Bestwick and Benny Parsons, ESPN broadcaster Stuart Scott, and drivers Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jarrett, and Tony Stewart.
Dean Jones was asked to reprise his role as Jim Douglas for a cameo appearance, but due to communication or scheduling errors, this was never followed through. Furthermore, Jones' character was never mentioned or directly referenced in the film.
==Reception==
===Box office===
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $12,709,221 million in 3,521 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #4 at the box office. By the end of its run, it grossed $66,023,816 domestically and $78,123,000 internationally, totaling $144,146,816 worldwide. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 42% "Rotten rating, saying "Herbie: Fully Loaded is a decent kids movie that is pretty undemanding for adult viewers."
==Awards==
At the 2005 Kids' Choice Awards, Lindsay Lohan won Favorite Female Actress for her role, and the film was also nominated for Favorite Movie, but lost to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
==Trivia==
*This is the last film in The Love Bug franchise.
*Michael Keaton, who portrayed Maggie's father Ray Peyton, Sr., would later voice Chick Hicks, the main antagonist of Cars who is another dirty racer racing for the Hostile Takeover Bank sponsorship and known for being second place to The King as well as cheating by causing a huge wreck in order to win the race. The character is also somewhat similar to Trip Murphy, as they both try to cheat the protagonist in order to win the race. Cars was still in production as Herbie: Fully Loaded was being released in cinemas and was later released in the following year 2006.
*The backside of the DVD cover is known to feature Maggie celebrating her victory after winning her first NASCAR race. This is coincidental as it is known to spoil fans who didn't watch the film in cinemas during its release.
*This movie seems to be a sequel to all the classic Herbie movies as it was revealed that Herbie would later lose races which resulted the Beetle being sent to the junkyard. The classic theme song could also be heard when Herbie takes Maggie to Kevin's garage.
*At one point, during the opening scene, Herbie has also met KITT, a Pontiac Firebird with artificial intelligence from the classic series Knight Rider. This presumably implies that the classic Herbie films and Knight Rider were in the same universe.
*Team Peyton's main sponsor is Bass Pro Shops while Trip Murphy's main sponsor is Cheetos. While Cheetos has never been a sponsor of a NASCAR team in real-life as of 2021, Bass Pro Shops has mostly been a real-life sponsor of NASCAR. Its recent driver being Martin Truex Jr.
*The stunt jump Herbie does to get back on the track after climbing on the fence to avoid a crash between Trip Murphy and Jeff Gordon would have a similar move in Cars 3, in which the characters Doc Hudson and Cruz Ramirez would do a turnover jump and get back on track when a racer tries to ram them.
*It is revealed at the end of the film that Sally's Volkswagen New Beetle also has a mind of its own. This simply implies that all Volkswagen Beetles aside from Herbie and Horace have human characteristics.
*On the occasion of this new Herbie film, a big Herbie parade took place on July 30, 2005 on the Straße des 17. Juni in Berlin, where a new record with 3000 VW Beetles and New Beetles was supposed to be set. However, this only became a new European record with around 1950 vehicles. Following the parade, Herbie: Fully Loaded premiered in Germany at the Waldbühne in the presence of the main actors and the original Herbie.
==Gallery==
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da:Herbie for fuld udblæsning!
pl:Garbi: Super bryka
pt-br:Herbie: Meu Fusca Turbinado
Category:Disney films
Category:2005 films
Category:Live-action films
Category:Herbie
Category:G-rated films
Category:Films featuring Sports
Category:Sequel films