Film Review: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

So the first film that I'm going to post about reflects something that speaks volumes about my own personal nature. I'm referring to my "impulsive" nature to buy that odd random DVD. While browsing around my local Target store today I came across Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. A film that as a child did not leave a lasting impression upon me. As I stood there looking down at the DVD case, I noticed that the film stars Dick Van Dyke.


Dick is an actor whom I've always enjoyed. I have early memories of Dick starring in various Disney films, Mary Poppins, Never a Dull Moment, Dick Tracy, and many other various Disney programs over the years. Dick starred in a few TV series, most notably "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Diagnosis Murder." In 2006 I was pleasantly surprised when he played Ben Stiller's nemisis in "Night at a Museum"


As you can guess, I had already decided that this film, which was released in 1968 might be worth a look. There was more on the cover that intrigued me. I noticed that Chitty was written by Ian Fleming and produced by Albert R. Broccoli. Two names that even the most casual of James Bond fans should be familiar with. Roald Dahl (author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) is one of the films screenwriters. And although this is not Disney film, it does have a musical connection to the Disney family. The songs featured in the movie were written by the Sherman Brothers. Their work earned them Oscar and Golden Globe nominations



About the film itself:

The tag line for the film reads “The most fantasmagorical musical entertainment in the history of everything!” To me the word fantasmagorical sounds more like something a couple staying in a fantasy hotel suite is hoping to achieve. But hey let’s keep it clean shall we.

This is a rather long film and it takes awhile to get off the ground. (Pun intended)
I envisioned that Chitty was going to be this magical, amazing car right from the start. Wrong. In the opening sequences we track the winnings of an old time race car through a number of Grand Prix wins. The focus is clearly on the car and not its driver whose character is never really addressed. During a race in England a young girl runs onto the race track and the driver of the popular race car swerves to avoid hitting her. The car catches on fire; its days of racing are over.

The car is obviously going to become Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. So when they cut to the next scene and we see two kids playing on the broken down wreck I half expected that it was going to come to life. Perhaps like Herbie or Christine. (only less sinister) But no the car is simply a junker, rusting away. The present owner is willing to sell the car to get it off his property. As the kids are leaving they encounter Truly Scrumptious. Truly is the daughter of a famous candy maker in town.

The children Jemima and Jeremy belong to Caractacus Potts (Van Dyke) a poor local inventor. The kids tell their father about the car and how much they would really like to have it for playing on. Caractacus, (what a name) explains that he can’t afford to purchase the car.

One evening while feeling bad about not being able to buy the car, Caractacus notices that a carnival is pulling into town. This might be just the break he needs. So heading into town he brings one of his inventions along, a bicycle powered machine that will cut your hair. The first hair cut goes terribly wrong and the angered customer chases Caractacus all over the carnival and he eventually ends up in a tent with some performers that are going out on stage. In an effort hide himself he joins them. This leads into one of two songs that I really enjoyed during this show. “Me Ole Bamboo”



As you can see from the clip, enough money is raised to buy the car. (A car which we have not seen on the screen for nearly an hour.) After many days and nights Caratacus opens the barn doors and reveals the car shining like brand new. They decide a seaside picnic is in order and they invite Truly to join them.

As they drive along they decide to name the car Chitty Chitty Bang Bang because of the noises it makes. Again I’m thinking ok he’s an inventor and the car is suppose to fly, now the film may get more interesting. But nothing happens.

Everyone enjoys the days holiday and just when they are getting back into the car to call it a day, one of the kids looks out to sea and notices a ship. They speculate on what type of ship it is and finally Caratacus says it’s a pirate ship form Vulgaria.

Finally here is where the car becomes the focus of the show. Well sort of anyway. Instead of the car actually being this marvelous flying machine. We the viewers, learn its all just a story that Caratacus invents to entertain Truly and his kids. This new story line takes over the film and we are off on an adventure. Here the Roald Dahl influence is strong at work. The Vulgarians have outlawed children and they have even hired a creepy little guy to catch kids and lock them up as if they were dogs.

During the scenes with the Vulgarians I found myself thinking about how much George Lucas got slammed over the Viceroy in Phantom Menace. There was an outcry over the use of a Japanese accent in their speech. My mind made this jump because the Vulgarians were clearly German with very thick accents. I could not help but think that most likely no one in 1968 complained about that. And why should they, after all can anyone confirm for me that the Viceroy don’t really sound Japanese? Anyone?

In the end the kids are rescued and we find ourselves back on the beach. Upon arriving home Caratacus finds Truly’s father waiting for him. It’s seems that an earlier invention of his (the toot sweet pop) is a hit with the local pet population. Mr. Scrumptious makes the Potts family wealthy. It’s at his point that Caratacus who spent most of his time out in his workshop realizes he is in love with Truly and decides to tell her so. It does not make sense because there was no time for a romance to have ever really built. But hey after all it’s a musical. The film ends with Caratacus and Truly driving down the road in Chitty. As they come to the end of the lane Chitty begins to fly.


I should mention that Lionel Jeffries who plays Grandpa Potts is a real hoot to watch. He performs the second of the two songs I liked in this film. “Posh”



Would I recommend it?

As I said, this is a long film and can be slow moving. I’m not certain it would hold a childs interest today any longer that it held mine so many years ago. The two disc set I bought was $9.99 at Target and for me it was worth that. Key scenes are fun to watch.

On a scale of 1-5 I give it a 3.