New Film Documents the Magic of the VW Bug
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Image: The Grundmann 1938 Type 1 prototype is the oldest known Volkswagen in existence.
Chassy Media, a media company specializing in automotive content, this week released “The Bug: Life and Times of the People’s Car - opens in new window or tab..” Damon Ristau, a cinematographer whose former credits include “The Bus” and “The Best Bar in America,” produced and directed the film with help from historian Tory Alonzo and Volkswagen enthusiast Jason Willenbrock. “This film took just under three years to complete and was an absolute labor of love,” said Ristau.
The movie interweaves chapters of Beetle history - opens in new window or tab. with its producers’ personal stories of owning a Bug. We follow Willenbrock as he locates the perfect restoration project: a 1960 Beetle - opens in new window or tab. that has been sitting in a barn since 1990. Willenbrock had purchased the car from Corky Lord, whose husband died shortly after beginning to restore it.
The year-long restoration serves as the film’s spine. Willenbrock is not a professional restorer so we witness his frustration and joy as he conquers each step in a process of discovering the car and himself.
Original blueprints for the Volkswagen Beetle.
Jalopnik.com associate editor Jason Torchinsky narrates the Beetle’s history as only an enthusiast can, beginning with its origins during the Third Reich. Torchinsky delves into dark corners of the car’s origins, such as the story of Josef Ganz - opens in new window or tab., a Jewish car designer working in Germany prior to the Beetle’s introduction. Ganz’s greatest success was the Standard Superior, a two-door rear-engine car with a backbone chassis that bears remarkable resemblance to Ferdinand Porsche’s design for the Beetle.
The Beetle survives the War and the British occupation of Wolfsburg that follows, the factory providing much needed jobs for the denizens of the Volkswagen’s home town. In subsequent decades, the iconic car becomes a global sensation, uniting people of diverse cultures in a common bond.
Volkswagen celebrated manufacturing the millionth Beetle in 1955.
In America, the car was embraced by 1960s counterculture during the Summer of Love—and then went mainstream as the star of Walt Disney’s classic movie, “The Love Bug.” Its durable chassis made the Beetle the perfect platform for everything from dune buggies to Mexican taxi cabs, garnering legions of fans all over the world.
The easy-to-fix first-generation Beetle - opens in new window or tab. continues to be Volkswagen’s greatest success story, with production spanning 65 years. One could cite many reasons for the car’s long tenure: timeless design, good fuel economy (ahead of its time), and of course its affordable price tag.
But what makes the Beetle most special, and this movie a great documentary, is the human element. No car has cemented the love affair between man and machine more than the Beetle. As actor and Beetle enthusiast Ewan McGregor - opens in new window or tab. points out in the film, the Beetle is a window on the world.
Actor Ewan McGregor, in “The Bug.”
As the movie concludes, we circle back to Willenbrock, whose restored 1960 Beetle looks much the same as the day in 1959 when it rolled off the assembly line. The final touch: original 1960 Idaho license plates from the pile of restoration parts that came with the car. With the plates in place, Willenbrock drives his Beetle back to Clearwater Junction, Mont., where he bought it, so Corky Lord can see her husband’s dream of bringing the car back to life come to fruition.
That scene shows how the Volkswagen Beetle somehow has the power to makes friends out of strangers. After eight decades, its magic is as potent as ever.
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