Ein Käfer geht aufs Ganze (1971) User Reviews

How it all started, but sadly not how it ended

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 2 August 2016]

"Ein Käfer geht aufs Ganze" or "Superbug" or " The Love Bug Rally" is a West German German-language film from 1971, so it has its 45th anniversary this year. The director is Rudolf Zehetgruber and the writer is Alexander de Callier, but I am actually not sure if this is Zehetgruber himself as he wrote all the other "Käfer" films, one of them also under an alias. And I already mentioned that there are more of these films. This one here was the beginning of the series and 3 more films followed in the next four years and a fifth film in the late 80s. In terms of German cinema, there is lots of good in the 1970s (Herzog, Fassbinder, Wenders for example), but there is also lots of trash and this one here is an example for the latter really. But I guess it must have been successful enough with audiences because otherwise Zehetgruber would not have made all these sequels. Oh yeah, Zehetgruber also acts himself in all these films, usually even in a lead role. So yeah, what else is there to say about this one. I guess the rally aspect is what it has and the sequels don't which is an advantage, but overall the story still was so forgettable and yet over the top that it was not an interesting watch at all. The film runs for slightly over 90 minutes and this is basically true for all the movies. I give it a thumbs-down. You need to loves Käfer cars really a lot to appreciate this film.

Dudu I: Across Africa

[unbrokenmetal · 4/10 · 21 August 2018]

The first of five movies director Rudolf Zehetgruber made about a yellow Volkswagen beetle with many gadgets. He played the driver himself, called Ben in this movie, but Jimmy Bondi in the sequels. Another difference is that there are considerably less gadgets in this first movie yet. This is a rather simple story about a race in Africa, entirely shot on location in Tanzania, where film-making was an adventure in itself almost 50 years ago. A hovercraft shall race against several racing cars, although it is obviously slower, but it is allowed to short cut the racing track across water to even the chances. Dudu, the yellow VW beetle, is only permitted as a support car, not as a full participant in the race, but the little car bravely faces the challenges of the African wilderness. This is a nice little race movie with some comedy elements, clumsily narrated and except for the Tanzanian locations, offering little to remember. Most of the sequels improved the concept a lot, I voted 4-7-6-5-3 for the five movies.

Awesome! ...For a German/Swiss adventure-film!

[payoguiri · 8/10 · 27 April 2006]

This film is the beginning of the mythic "Dudu-series"! Tansania, Africa is the location where Ben (in the following Dudu-films he's called Jimmy Bondie) meets with his ADAC*-Bug!

Why Tansania? It has been a German colony far in the past. In the 70ies there had been many so called "East-African-Safaries" and this film deals with one of those Ralleys through the whole country! Now there appears a greedy and ambitious Baron who is obsessed with winning the race for any price. His stupid wife, brought him "the fastest car in the world", the cheep Hollywood requisite "Herbie"!!! (here is built the connection between the famous 50ies/60ies "Herbie-Films" from Disney) But the Baron is disappointed, because the white bug with the number 53 only has scrap value! Anyway the Baron makes a road test through the Serengeti with the bug after having painted it yellow. But ex-Herbie has its own head and does what he wants, especially when it is insulted.

Dudu crashes against Ben's bike and stops when Ben shout "stop"! The Baron apologizes himself and changes the bug for the bike. Since then Ben is the new owner of Dudu, what means "bug" or "little insect" in Suaheli, the native language of Tansania. Ben decides to participate in the rally, but he only becomes the "Service-Car" of Mr. Buttler, a Scotsman who wants to win the race with a hovercraft! And because both motors are from Volkswagen Dudu is accepted to be the service car (therefore the allusion of ADAC, the famous German car insurance-company) Many times there appear some scenes of animal and rally documentations, which are mixed with the actual film. But I think that's done in a relatively good way although it often makes you smile anyway!

Maybe the plot is seems to be confusing, but in the German version it is almost clear and entertaining (later Dudu gets involved in a diamond smuggling problem etc.).

The cool thing is that Dudu becomes in the further films an own character or identity. He does not maintain the Herbie-Soul, but becomes a computer controlled car so that he stops being a total copy of Herbie!

I remember...

[Cactus-5 · 20 May 1999]

I remember seeing all of the Käfer-movies when I was a kid, and vaguely recall them being about a guy with his car Dodo or Dudde. This car has a computer controlling it, which means it talks, and drives a bit as it likes. I also remember I thoroughly enjoyed them, even though they were dubbed to english from german, because they were mad and had a lot of fun gags.