Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

When I think of a flying car, the first thing that pops into my mind is "Back to the Future". For the previous generation though, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" was that car. I did get to see this film on the big screen as part of a weekly screening of classic family movies. The best part of this film is the songs by the Oscar-winning Sherman Brothers. I see "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" as a combination between James Bond and "Mary Poppins" with a hint of "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" even though that movie would be made a few years later. "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" will entertain mostly young children under the age of ten.

This film is obviously adapted from a book by James Bond creator Ian Fleming with a name like Truly Scrumptious. I like the running gag of Truly driving into the swamp. At the start of the film, there is conflict between Caractacus and Truly but it stems from a love they both have for the children. In fact, Truly is intrigued by Caractacus because of his inventions while Caractacus displays his small interest in Truly by helping her to start her car. All this makes it possible for Caractacus to pitch his toot sweets to Truly's father. Truly's willingness to help all the Potts shows that she did take a small shine to Caractacus. The beginning of the film has some scenes that allow us to feel sympathy for the Potts and this is important in the story telling. The beach scene is also vital because Truly's love for the children begins to affect her feelings for Caractacus. One great element of this film is that the audience is made to forget about the story within a story. Caractacus' story to the children becomes the story of the movie itself without us even noticing and the song “Lovely Lonely Man” accomplishes this. As Truly sings about her new love for Caractacus, we are led to believe that he has finished telling his story. Even though the two Vulgarian spies show up right after the song, we new accept them as real characters. I love the gag of "Vulg-air" by the way. Another way that the filmmakers were able to disguise this story within a story is the evil Child Catcher. Our love for the children allows us to believe that what we are seeing is really happening in the movie. The allusions to Nazi Germany are pretty apparent for adults. The climax is quite resolving but what I like most is that Chitty flies outside of the Vulgaria plotline. The movie needed that.

Julie Andrews was offered the role of Truly but she recognized the closeness to "Mary Poppins" and fortunately declined. I feel that for Dick Van Dyke to successfully play the lead actor, he had to perform next to a less famous person than Andrews. Sally Ann Howes was a good choice. I am amazed by their ability to portray life-sized toys. I noticed that Dick did not use a British accent due to the fact that his cockney on "Mary Poppins" was thought by many to have been poorly done. Another noteworthy actor is Robert Helpmann as the Child Catcher. The children who were cast as Jeremy and Jemima were very cute and that was important. This was the first Sherman Bros. film they did after leaving the Disney Studio. After Walt Disney's death, the place was not the same for them. They did bring "Mary Poppins" orchestrator Irwin Kostal with them. My favorite songs are the title song, "You Two", "Me Ol' Bamboo", "The Roses of Success" and "Doll on a Music Box". Producer Albert R. Broccoli, who made the first three James Bond films, wanted to make a movie for his kids and thus "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" was adapted for the big screen. The candy factory does remind me of a Bond villain's lair when I think about it. One might be surprised to know that Roald Dahl, the author of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "James and the Giant Peach", co-wrote the screenplay for "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". As another fun fact, Dahl is buried in the same area of England that the movie was filmed in.

This film has become part of pop culture in that it has been referenced in "Ace Ventura" on the big screen and on TV by Seth Macfarlane to name a few examples. "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" still affects kids today from what I have seen because when I saw this in the theater, a five-year-old girl next to me got a little scared when the car fell over the cliff. The songs will get stuck in your head, as do any Sherman Brothers songs.

3.5 Stars