Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Directed by: Ken Hughes
Screenplay by: Roald Dahl, Ken Hughes
Based on: Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang; by Ian Fleming
Produced By: Albert R. Broccoli
Starring: Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, Benny Hill, James Robertson, Justice Robert Helpmann, Heather Ripley, Adrian Hall
Music by: Songs; Richard M. Sherman Robert B. Sherman Background Score; Irwin Kostal
Production Companies: Warfield Productions and Dramatic Features
Release dates: 16 December 1968 (London – premiere), 17 December 1968 (United Kingdom), 18 December 1968 (United States)

Plot:
In the mid-1910s[citation needed] in rural England, Jemima and Jeremy, the two young children of widowed unsuccessful inventor Caractacus Potts, become enthralled by the wreck of a champion race car When they learn the car is due to be scrapped, they return home ("You Two") and beg their father to save it. To raise money, he attempts to sell one of his inventions, a musical hard candy, but the candy's whistle attracts a horde of dogs, ruining his sales pitch ("Toot Sweets"). That evening, Caractacus sings his children a lullaby ("Hushabye Mountain") before going to a carnival, where he attempts to raise money with another of his inventions, an automatic haircutting machine. It malfunctions, ruining the customer's hair, and, in order to escape the furious customer, Caractacus joins a spirited song-and-dance act ("Me Lo' Bamboo"). He earns enough money in tips to buy the car and rebuilds it, naming it "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" after its unusual engine sounds.

For their first trip in the car ("Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"), Caractacus and the children go to a beach to have a picnic. They are joined by Truly Scrumptious, the wealthy heiress to the candy company, and, though she and Caractacus have previously had heated encounters, everyone has a pleasant time ("Truly Scrumptious"). At the beach, Caractacus tells the children a story, beginning an extended fantasy sequence.

End of Spoilers

Review:
To begin with; the movie is different from the book. In the book Caractacus Potts is married. The plot follows that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the name of the flying, floating, driving-by-itself automobile that takes the Pott family on a riotous series of adventures as they try to capture a notorious gang of robbers. This is a story filled with humour, adventure, and gadgetry that only a genius like Fleming could create. While in the movie Caractacus Potts is a widower who is raising two children. As well as his many failed inventions and silly misadventures.

Overall the movie is a wonderful fun filled family flick. Well worth enjoying with kids of all ages.