You can tell it's a Broccoli production. Its got all the hallmarks of a Bond film. A beautiful women A gadget armed car Exotic locations An eccentric villain A deformed henchman OTT sets And the ending involves the good guys storming the villains base
Yes. I am old enough to have seen this at the cinema. Forgotten now is that when Chitty drove off the cliff... it was a real cliff hanger. The film stopped for an intermission. So you were left queuing for ice cream for 20 minutes with no idea how they'd get out of it!
Same here. My grandmother took me to see it when it was still in the theater. I saw it again a couple of weeks ago and it was like discovering it all over again.
I didnt see it in the cinema for obvious reasons but i do remember watching the Dvd that also has that intermission that lasts some time and also feeling that
This film will always have a significance to my family as our family home was the nearest to a next-door neighbour for the windmill used in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. My parents worked at Ibstone Manor, and my mother used to push me in my pram down to the windmill to watch Dick Van Dyke and the rest of the cast shooting the various scenes.
@@calvindyson My daf showed it to me and my siblings a couple years back. I fell off my chair twice: Once when I found out it was written by Ian Fleming, second when he said he didn't like it. It has the perfect amount of ridiculous whimsy for me
I remember watching this movie on VHS as a boy and later during the beginning of my James Bond fandom, I was delighted to discover that Ian Fleming wrote the novel on which this movie is based and Albert R. Broccoli made the movie with many of the same cast and crew he worked with on the Bond movies. Glad that I got the two disc special edition of this movie when I did, since I had wanted to know more about how the movie came to life and it had been years since I had seen it. I also highly recommend the novel, I read it about two years ago and I was pretty impressed with Ian Fleming's writing. A lot of the imagination he brought to the Bond novels, is present in his writing here. Especially when he goes into detail about Chitty and her abilities.
Merry Christmas, Bond fans! Fun Fact: The Potts’ house in real life is just down the road from Stonor Park, which was used as the MI6 safe house in ‘The Living Daylights’, and also very near the village used in ‘The Vicar of Dibley’. And not too far from where I live which is how I know these things. Also, apparently Phil Collins (yes, that Phil Collins) appears in this film as one of the Vulgarian children. I’m so glad you covered this film, I love it to bits. I watched it back when I was 3-4, and I assumed it was a Disney film because I assumed it was made by the same people who made ‘Mary Poppins’ because the two were so similar. Either way, I then moved on to other films, then watched it again this year as a 23 year old when it popped up on Netflix and couldn’t help but be bowled over by its charm. Yes the plot is very much two halves as opposed to a complete whole, but it’s too much fun to care. And those songs - my favourite’s got to be POSH, even if the whole Port Out Starboard Home acronym is an urban myth, I just love the Grandpa character. And Dick Van Dyke. And Gert Frobe. And everything!
I use to love this movie as a kid, but now that I know that many people from the bond franchise were a part of this movie it makes me appreciate it even more.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is one of my favorites introduced to me by my mother. We still have the tape movie. I think it would be phenomenal to show it again in theaters so younger audiences could see it. I never grow tired of it. Brings me to my childhood 😂
Two things. You blew my mind with all these connections to James Bond. And two, this was one of the films my brother and I would play again and again because of how much we liked it.
That would explain why the child catcher was so creepy, it was Truly getting revenge on Potts for telling the part about her pining for him by making Potts kids get kidnapped by a child predator
I loved this film so much as a kid, still do now lol. When I learned that it was made by the Bond team it just made so much sense why I loved it, although I can't believe I didn't recognise the metal slide is the one from YOLT, it always looked familiar but I could never put my finger on it, so thanks for pointing it out :)
Honestly, I'm far too fascinated with the editing of that slide sequence in YOLT so I know that short segment really well and when I saw the slide here too I was rather shocked!
As a kid I always figured that the story part actually did come true and that things just got that weird. Later I decided that they were taking turns telling the story.
Good review, Calvin. I saw this movie recently in a theatre in Hong Kong packed with kids. They loved it, laughing and cheering all the way through. Can you imagine, in this day and age? I agree, one of the best family movies ever made. And one of the most underrated.
Calvin was lucky when he was six, he could fast forward through Truly Scrumptious' solo song! When I was six, fifty years ago, I saw 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' on TV once a year by CBS when it was shown in prime time on Thanksgiving evening. When her song came on it was time to use the bathroom or grab a snack 🥨😂
Thank you for this! I've been having kind of a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang revival, watching some videos and some (quite negative reviews). The movie is a favorite of mine, having come out when I was 5, which meant I got to see it in all its glory on the big screen. Like you, I get a little teary over Hushabye Mountain, which is such a beautiful and haunting song. I used to sing it to my children when they were small.
Saw this wonderful film in the cinema in 1968 - magical memories of being a young child and being enthralled! The diecast model car was my favourite toy for years :-). Loved your review Calvin - all the best for the Christmas Holiday and a happy, healthy and prosperous 2020 (with a 'happy' emphasis on April!).
Fun fact from what I’ve read in many articles is that Peter Hunt actually directed the main title sequence for this movie shortly before taking a lot of his unit to shoot OHMSS
Recently rewatched this film again, I was extremely worried it would be one of those childhood movies that you wouldn’t be able to view through rose-tinted glasses, but boy I was wrong. Ended up writing an extremely long review of this film on Letterboxd because of it and ended up hunting down the 2013 soundtrack release to listen to the music again.
Amazing review Calvin! This film, along with Mary Poppins and the Sound of Music, made up most of my childhood. I'm so happy to see someone give this movie the praise that it deserves! I never realized how much connection there was between this film and the Bond series. It wasn't until a few years ago that I even knew that Ian Fleming wrote the original novel that the film was based on. Thanks for such a great review as always!
Acording to this book about Aston Martins , the car is based off a Bramford and Martin ( a predecessor to Aston Martin) and I can kinda see what they mean but the cars you mentioned make more sense as a basis.
Just saw this for the first time today at the age of 25, and very annoyed to have not grown up with it. I thought while watching, “It’s like a mix of Mary Poppins, Willy Wonka and James Bond, which makes sense with the involvement of Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl and Dick Van Dyke...” but wow, I didn’t know there was _this much_ connection to those things. You know what the most painful part is? I knew this movie was existed when I might have been the perfect age for it. My grandma had a VHS of it in her basement, but when I was left alone down there I elected to watch _The Lion King II_ instead. Oh, woe of misspent youth...
A proper childhood favourite for me. Even now, this film kind of brings me together with friends I’ve mostly lost contact with. It definitely reminds me of a certain time in my life which I have immense fondness for.
It was one thing when I found out that this was based on a children's book by the creator of James Bond; pretty cool. When I found out that the villain was Goldfinger, 🤯 mind-blown!
Frau Hoffner: Who am I? Mata Bond: Frau Hoffner. Frau Hoffner: Never heard of her. You're insane, my child, quite insane. Mata Bond: I think she's right!
W Allen it’s my favorite dialogue from the film xD I regularly tell friends « you’re insane, kvight insane » and they have no idea what I’m referring to^^
The Berlin sequence is the highlight of that movie. The chair, the exploding phonebooth, B.Cribbins as London cab driver:” East or West?” Everything red on the east side.
I know the grandpa songs weren't necessary, but oh man they are 2 of the best. The grow the roses one is so great because of all the guys in old ass makeup and all the things they do during the song. Plus grow the roses was the one that really got stuck in my brain. The main chitty chitty song did as well but grow the roses for some reason got way more stuck than the main theme. The child catcher though is single handedly one of the best and creepiest characters ever put to film. He was my favorite despite how terrified I was by him! 😂😂
Just passing through and stoped by to hear your very enthusiastic fast passed review, during a fit of my own nostalgia. Though this film never had good critical reviews,ever! who cares, everyone liked back then and still do , to this very day.. I don’t know of anyone who has seen this movie from 10 years old to over 65 who can’t hum or flat out sing at least one song from this movie with joy, and who had not fallen in love with Chitty.
And it always was the best Bond car :) One wonders if Van Dyke's daughter in this inspired the casting of the girl for Gilliam's Baron Munchausen - there is a very similar look and attitude of character.
Thanks Calvin, another very enjoyable review. Did I pick up on a bit of Lenin sneaked in there as well? (I think that may be the first time in 15 years that having done Politics at university has proved to be of use!)
My parents did show me this film as a kid, and I guess it’s fitting that they’re pretty big James Bond fans. And I adore this film, I really do, I need to find my copy and watch it again fully one of these days. Also yes, you are correct, the Child Catcher is indeed terrifying.
Calvin, Great review of the film. I love this film as much as you do! Well-crafted, great cinematography, unique characters, the iconic vehicle itself, and a sumptuous Sherman Bros. score. Totally with you on the "Lovely Lonely Man" song. Several years ago, I picked up a Corgi version of CCBB with removable figures and spring-loaded wings. Also, on occasion, you can find a Toot-Sweet maker on eBay. Favorite line: "Coggins, 'im down the road? Why, he wouldn't light your pipe if his house was on fire..." One minor point on the 2 spies...I'd compare them more closely with Abbott & Costello than Laurel & Hardy. Overall, though, great piece. Thoroughly enjoyed your review. Totally spot on. Will share with my older brother who loves this cinematic masterpiece, too! Best, Paul+
Great Review Calvin Keep Up The Good Work As Always And Also By The Way Claudine Auger Aka Domino Derval From Thunderball Passed Away A Few Days Ago At Age 78 And She Was And Always Will Be One Of The Most Beautiful Bond Girls Of All Time And She Will Be Missed By All Of Us Including Yours Truly,Colton
I agree with everything you said and nodded so much I thought my neck might get sore! This is one of my favorite movies ever, especially the music - I think special notice should go to whoever arranged/orchestrated the pieces, it's truly genius, the xylophone choir in Me Old Bamboo, the flute choir in Toot Sweets, the music box effects in Hushabye Mountain with that fantastic key change when Truly takes over in the cave (yes, brings a tear to my eye too, such a beautiful song with a similar chord progression to Chim Chim Cheree but SO much better). I saw this when it first came out in the days when you could sit for more than one feature, I would stay practically all day, I've seen it more times, in a theater, than I've seen any movie since. It also used to fascinate me that the carnival scene was done in a theme of browns and oranges and the birthday scene was in purples, first time I ever started noticing stuff like that. And to this day I think Sally Ann Howes in this movie is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. In my opinion a truly great, great movie.
This was the first movie I ever was shown by my big sister, I had already watched tons of Bond movies by then but neither of us realized then that it was based on a book by Ian Fleming. I told my sister years ago that it was and she was very surprised because of how different it is from Bond lol But yeah this movie has a lot of sentimental value to me for those reasons and its a shared favorite between my sister and I
This was my favourite childhood movie when I was a child, I watched it over and over again that my parents took me to see the stage show at the London Palladium back in 2002 which starred Michael Ball and Brian Blessed. A Timeless classic family movie musical.
Thank you for talking about this film! It was my favourite film growing up, and the first Blu-Ray I bought! I don't know why critics said that all of the songs where quite forgettable, I find them very catchy! And just like you, I used to fast forward Truly's song (which I don't anymore). Brilliant film, brilliant car, brilliant review!
This is a decent fun film for me but I prefer other musicals such as Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Mary Poppins. Love the child catcher and It’s nice to see Gert Frobe in this film.
I loved this film as a child. When I had my own son, who was car-mad, I thought to myself "he'll love this". What I'd forgotten was that Chitty is only on screen for about 10 minutes of the movie, something not appreciated by my little boy!
I was around seven when I first saw this at the cinema, I loved it so much, I went and saw it again and again, which was easy to do as my dad was the cinema manager/projectionist..fond memories.
Love your videos Calvin! If you have time maybe a nice video to end the year could be a short tribute video to the Bond cast and crew that have died this year. I know a few have gone recently.
My Dad grew up watching this movie, so of course I've seen it a few times. I knew about Cubi & Goldfinger, but I never realized Q was in the film!! Great review, I have a new appreciation for the film!
Absolutely superb review. I "truly" love this movie too. Our grade school teacher (in 1967) read us the book in class, and I always remember her explaining GEN 11 . . . . . . === GENII, the plural of GENIE. Bravo on this review. (I too "died a thousand deaths" through "Lovely Lonely Man" 🙂
Not to mention they did parodies of both ’Me Old Bamboo’ (which became the ‘Bag of Weed’ song) and ‘I’ve Got You Two’ (which became ‘I’ve got James Woods’) so I’m guessing this was just one of those musicals Seth McFarlane watched a lot as a kid.
I grew up watching this film several times on an old VHS tape that my family owned. It was one of my favorite movies as a kid and it still is now, I'm so glad I found some other people who seem to enjoy it as much as I do :)
The film is about a man emerging from depression after the death of his wife in childbirth. Their happy life before, is represented by the opening sequence of car races across Europe…ending with the crash of her death. His restoration of the car represents his psychic rebirth… The childless Barron (barren) hates his life, despite his wealth…expressed as his attempts to kill his wife, who herself has a developed an anti-child pathology, and covets the rebirth and restoration Potts has achieved. Truly Scrumptious, a childless woman in her 30s, sees her possible future as well, in the Baroness… and wisely chooses a better path. The story of restoration of youthful joy is echoed by Mr. Scrumptious…revisiting his glory days in the Army by reconnecting with Potts father…who had held onto it all along. It’s a great movie, but few are able to see the meaning behind it… it’s the events I describe above, as seen through the eyes of the children.
Calvin, you said in one of your livestreams you might do this for Christmas. Now I know it really is Christmas! Maybe next Christmas you could look at the Fleming book it's based on.
@@calvindyson I saw the film when I was 5 or 6 years old (back in the late Cretaceous) and I and my siblings were astonished that it was so different from the book. CCBB reads like the perfect Bond novel for children, with wonderful travelogue, the gadget-laden car, intrigue, and Fleming's loving descriptions of food and drink (even a recipe!). I quite like the film, but it's a Moonraker fever-dream compared to the FRWL-groundedness of the book.
More to the point: I'd be very interested to hear your reaction to it. I'm very much enjoying your videos, by the way. They're getting me through my working-from-home isolation.
I never knew the song that Rachel was singing to herself whilst her father, Ray, killed Ogilvy in Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds” was “Hushabye Mountain” from this film until I saw this trailer.
There's a theory that for the past 12 years, the Toymaker was giving the Baron dolls that were more and more human until he could dress up two humans as dolls.
I've always seen the outhouse as the grandpa's living quarters/workshop. Somewhere, he can spend without the kids. Knowing Potts it probably has some secret underground lair below it.
I remember getting the book out from my local children's library: it's a more modest tale of smuggling and pirates, but what I mostly remember is that Fleming gives, at the back of the book, the recipe for the cakes they made to took with them on their picnic. Except that someone had taken that page out of the copy I had. I suppose that just copying the recipe would have been too much like hard work, so they ripped the entire page out. Barbarians. By the way, did you know that the car has its own website? PS: Lionel Jeffies was actually younger than DvD
Have you checked out the musical yet? It’s based on the film, but changed the story so that Vulgaria actually exists. In Chitty’s opening race (where she is the Paragon Panther), the baron’s car, the Vulgarian Vulture, loses to her, which prompts the baron to try to hunt her down later. As for the dolls sequence, automatons existed in the 1700s, and they moved by clockwork. Check out the Silver Swan, for example.
I looooove Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! The music is so perfect and catchy. Love everything about it. Check out Before They Were Famous: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I just watched it and learned a lot about the making of the movie.
My mom took us to see this movie when it came out, and I think we were too young to appreciate it, especially the musical numbers. I could only remember the flying part🤣🤣
This was one of my favorite films as a kid. The intro sequence is still one of my favorites in any movie. I look forward to having kids of my own so I have an excuse to watch the whole thing over and over again.
A great review, always loved the film, 2 stars in the radio times indeed, always a stand out film for me! Never knew the Ian Fleming connection until a few years ago. Well Done, another fantastic review :)
Thanks, Luke! My mind was a little blown when I realised all the Bond connections with this film! Makes so much sense why I've always loved it in hindsight.
Sadly, they don't make good family entertaining movies like this anymore. Nowadays, everything has a hidden agenda with innuendos and such. I'm so glad I'm from this era.
My favorite line from Grandpa is when they start the car and then he says "well then it will never stop" such a great character also my Father used to work with Robert Helpmann which always made the Childcatcher character a bit more scary and interesting to me
I must defend Howes. She’s certainly not giving a “Julie Andrews impersonation”. Sally Ann was a veteran of stage and film even at this young age and needed no modeling. Howes, like Andrews, was physically and vocally blessed, and the context of Truly’s character may be similar to some previous Andrews roles (staunchly English, caring for another’s children) but Sally Ann stands firmly in her talents and, as Dick Van Dyke once said, “They couldn’t have picked a better Truly Scrumptious.”
10:59 The reason the the Scrumptious house and SPECTRE's building is the same building is because both films were filmed at Pinewood Studios. Pinewood was the name of the house and gardens, which are still at the centre of the Pinewood Estate where the studios are built. Several films use the house and/or gardens as an easy to use exterior for Stately Homes of England type places.
When you were saying that the Child Catcher deserved a more satisfying fate, he does in the musical in which at the end he gets shot by Truly! XD Speaking of which, the musical itself story wise avoids the idea of it being a story told by Caractacus Potts and does flesh out a few more details in which does fix a few flaws with the film. Interesting to hear what you might have to think about that. :)
Calvin, I’m casting my vote for you as the next Hannibal Lecter!! I mean, not that the two we have now are anything close to bad, but that impression was spot-on!!!!
I saw this on a relatively big screen when released. I was eight. When Truly sang the romantic song, a crowd of kids ran to the concession stand. I actually thought at age 8 that they came up with that routine to get kids out of the dark and to spend their allowance on popcorn and candy.
robert helpmann played the sneeky & evil prince Tuan , leader of the boxer rebellion in the blockbuster movie "55 Days in Peking" , which stared sir James Bond Himself David Niven..
I just had an epiphany while watching this great review: I think Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the first live-action musical I ever saw! I must've been about three or four at the time, and the only other musicals I definitely saw beforehand were Disney cartoons (so, not live-action), and MAYBE The Wizard of Oz, but I'm 99% sure I saw Chitty first. I've had another epiphany as well: this movie, IMHO, is a perfect example of why films cannot be judged objectively. True, you can nitpick this movie to death over Dick Van Dyke's American accent, or the musical number "Me Ole Bamboo" not being a good diegetic song because Potts knows the lyrics too well, or the miscasting of Benny Hill in a non-comedic role, or the whole adventure that takes up most of the film being a "fantasy" story that Potts is just telling his children even though the whole film works as a fantasy, or the fact that the entire film is obviously MGM's attempt to cash in on the success of Disney's Mary Poppins, and indeed the two films are very similar. Subjectively, though, none of these problems hurt my enjoyment of the film. When I saw and fell in love with this film as a toddler, I didn't know anything about accents, so by the time I was old enough to understand that Dyke's accent is out of place, I loved his character and performance too much to care. This was the first time I saw Benny Hill in anything, so I had no way of being disappointed by him not being funny, so I'm not bothered by that either (if anything, I'm actually happy, because famous comedians tend to get depressed, even suicidal, when the public always pressures them to be funny). I didn't see Mary Poppins for the first time until at least two years after this one, and even then it probably took even longer before I learned that Poppins was made first, by which point I'd already loved this film too much to care that it is, in fact, a ripoff. Poppins is, objectively, a better film, and teaches better life lessons, and I love it, but Heaven help me, I friggin' adore Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Subjectively loving a film despite its glaring objective problems isn't always a sign of less intelligence. It could very well be a sign of perspective. This is why I love movies that some people hate, and hate movies that some people love. This is why I don't watch overwhelmingly negative internet critics like CinemaSins or the Nostalgia Critic anymore, because their egos and insistence on tearing films apart "objectively" (yeah, right) drive me nuts. You, on the other hand, Mr. Dyson, just earned a new subscriber ;)
I absolutely adore this movie. Potts and Truly have indeed a special connection. The reason why Potts is so motivated at the end is because he indeed have a point. He spends all his money on inventions and comes from a poor family. The worst part is that if Potts didn’t have any money and never got the job, it wouldn’t matter. Potts would have to bring home the bread and would be given Truly’s dowry which is a one time thing. The contract of Toot Sweets is perfect timing since the royalty and sales would be the yearly income. Hence ‘bringing home the bread’. The children reminding him that he has feelings for Truly makes him upset because he doesn’t know if it’ll be a success or not. The ending is so profound and hopeful it brings a tear to my eye.
I to this day have never seen a Bond movie. But I’ve seen Chitty Chitty Bang Bang many times when I was younger more times than Mary Poppins. This movie introduced me to Dick Van Dyke who’s inspired me and still does inspire me to become a professional actor
![เปิดใจ "อาจารย์เบียร์ คนตื่นธรรม" อดีตเคยสุดทุกทาง ถ้าใช้หนี้หมดไปบวชแน่ l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IxeE0xVhy08/mqdefault.jpg)
You can tell it's a Broccoli production. Its got all the hallmarks of a Bond film.
A beautiful women
A gadget armed car
Exotic locations
An eccentric villain
A deformed henchman
OTT sets
And the ending involves the good guys storming the villains base
Not to mention Q and Goldfinger being in the movie themselves and a Q branch den in the castle 🤣
Yes. I am old enough to have seen this at the cinema. Forgotten now is that when Chitty drove off the cliff... it was a real cliff hanger. The film stopped for an intermission. So you were left queuing for ice cream for 20 minutes with no idea how they'd get out of it!
sage theowl This is actually still on the DVD of the film! I just skipped through it though
, when I watched it on the dvd it still said intermission
Same here. My grandmother took me to see it when it was still in the theater. I saw it again a couple of weeks ago and it was like discovering it all over again.
Watched this on Crimbo Day. There was no ‘Intermission’ sequence, but the title music played as the car flew over the forest (POV shot).
I didnt see it in the cinema for obvious reasons but i do remember watching the Dvd that also has that intermission that lasts some time and also feeling that
This film will always have a significance to my family as our family home was the nearest to a next-door neighbour for the windmill used in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. My parents worked at Ibstone Manor, and my mother used to push me in my pram down to the windmill to watch Dick Van Dyke and the rest of the cast shooting the various scenes.
Yes Chitty Chitty Bang Bang should rank with the best of the other classics.
Very glad to see there are other big fans of this one out there :D
@@calvindyson My daf showed it to me and my siblings a couple years back. I fell off my chair twice: Once when I found out it was written by Ian Fleming, second when he said he didn't like it. It has the perfect amount of ridiculous whimsy for me
This is an amazing movie. I loved it as a kid and I still love it as an adult!!!
The performance of Truly Scrumptious as a wind up toy mechanical doll was amazing. Really "truly" impressive.
One take, too!
@@WedgePee And Dick Van Dye was drunk!
I remember watching this movie on VHS as a boy and later during the beginning of my James Bond fandom, I was delighted to discover that Ian Fleming wrote the novel on which this movie is based and Albert R. Broccoli made the movie with many of the same cast and crew he worked with on the Bond movies. Glad that I got the two disc special edition of this movie when I did, since I had wanted to know more about how the movie came to life and it had been years since I had seen it.
I also highly recommend the novel, I read it about two years ago and I was pretty impressed with Ian Fleming's writing. A lot of the imagination he brought to the Bond novels, is present in his writing here. Especially when he goes into detail about Chitty and her abilities.
The childcatcher use to keep me up at night.
Same
"LOLLIPOPS!!!! COME AND GET YOUR LOLLIPOPS!!!!
TREACLE TARTS!!! JELLY PIES!!! ICE CREAM!!!..... AND ALLLLLL FREEEEEEE TOO-DAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!!"
He still does!
He’s creepy am a teen but I still want to see it again I watch it 3 times
@@nekusakura6748 Treacle Tart!
Merry Christmas, Bond fans!
Fun Fact: The Potts’ house in real life is just down the road from Stonor Park, which was used as the MI6 safe house in ‘The Living Daylights’, and also very near the village used in ‘The Vicar of Dibley’. And not too far from where I live which is how I know these things.
Also, apparently Phil Collins (yes, that Phil Collins) appears in this film as one of the Vulgarian children.
I’m so glad you covered this film, I love it to bits. I watched it back when I was 3-4, and I assumed it was a Disney film because I assumed it was made by the same people who made ‘Mary Poppins’ because the two were so similar. Either way, I then moved on to other films, then watched it again this year as a 23 year old when it popped up on Netflix and couldn’t help but be bowled over by its charm. Yes the plot is very much two halves as opposed to a complete whole, but it’s too much fun to care. And those songs - my favourite’s got to be POSH, even if the whole Port Out Starboard Home acronym is an urban myth, I just love the Grandpa character. And Dick Van Dyke. And Gert Frobe. And everything!
I did NOT know that about the Potts house! Nor Phil Collins, that's awesome! Glad to see you share the love for this too :D
Q owned the car before Caractacus Potts? Well, I don't know about you, but it sounds like Potts took credit for Q making the car fly! 😂
Does that mean the Bond universe takes place within the fantasy of DVD's mind?
I use to love this movie as a kid, but now that I know that many people from the bond franchise were a part of this movie it makes me appreciate it even more.
Kiiss Kiss Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Someone liked Bang Bang didn't they 😁😁
Merry Christmas 007 Calvin
Merry Christmas to you too, Gary :) and a very happy new year!
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is one of my favorites introduced to me by my mother. We still have the tape movie. I think it would be phenomenal to show it again in theaters so younger audiences could see it. I never grow tired of it. Brings me to my childhood 😂
Two things. You blew my mind with all these connections to James Bond. And two, this was one of the films my brother and I would play again and again because of how much we liked it.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang such a Classic Movie
It never occurred to me how strange it is that Truly's love song occurs in the story within the story. I laughed out loud when you pointed that out.
I always figured they were taking turns telling the story.
That would explain why the child catcher was so creepy, it was Truly getting revenge on Potts for telling the part about her pining for him by making Potts kids get kidnapped by a child predator
@@mrcritical6751 Hah, no, I thought Truly told her own part, but was less clear about who she meant.
Truly was down bad for Potts in his mind.
I loved this film so much as a kid, still do now lol. When I learned that it was made by the Bond team it just made so much sense why I loved it, although I can't believe I didn't recognise the metal slide is the one from YOLT, it always looked familiar but I could never put my finger on it, so thanks for pointing it out :)
Honestly, I'm far too fascinated with the editing of that slide sequence in YOLT so I know that short segment really well and when I saw the slide here too I was rather shocked!
As a kid I always figured that the story part actually did come true and that things just got that weird. Later I decided that they were taking turns telling the story.
Good review, Calvin. I saw this movie recently in a theatre in Hong Kong packed with kids. They loved it, laughing and cheering all the way through. Can you imagine, in this day and age? I agree, one of the best family movies ever made. And one of the most underrated.
Calvin was lucky when he was six, he could fast forward through Truly Scrumptious' solo song! When I was six, fifty years ago, I saw 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' on TV once a year by CBS when it was shown in prime time on Thanksgiving evening. When her song came on it was time to use the bathroom or grab a snack 🥨😂
Thank you for this! I've been having kind of a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang revival, watching some videos and some (quite negative reviews). The movie is a favorite of mine, having come out when I was 5, which meant I got to see it in all its glory on the big screen. Like you, I get a little teary over Hushabye Mountain, which is such a beautiful and haunting song. I used to sing it to my children when they were small.
Saw this wonderful film in the cinema in 1968 - magical memories of being a young child and being enthralled! The diecast model car was my favourite toy for years :-).
Loved your review Calvin - all the best for the Christmas Holiday and a happy, healthy and prosperous 2020 (with a 'happy' emphasis on April!).
Fun fact from what I’ve read in many articles is that Peter Hunt actually directed the main title sequence for this movie shortly before taking a lot of his unit to shoot OHMSS
Recently rewatched this film again, I was extremely worried it would be one of those childhood movies that you wouldn’t be able to view through rose-tinted glasses, but boy I was wrong. Ended up writing an extremely long review of this film on Letterboxd because of it and ended up hunting down the 2013 soundtrack release to listen to the music again.
Ah, a childhood favorite. I have fond memories of watching and rewatching this on VHS.
a fantastic review. what a talent you are Calvin. the work required to both script and edit this review is beyond my comprehension. thank you.
Amazing review Calvin! This film, along with Mary Poppins and the Sound of Music, made up most of my childhood. I'm so happy to see someone give this movie the praise that it deserves! I never realized how much connection there was between this film and the Bond series. It wasn't until a few years ago that I even knew that Ian Fleming wrote the original novel that the film was based on. Thanks for such a great review as always!
Dog. My mom literally gave me the "dont take candy from strangers" talk after watching this
This was definitely one of the films we showed in my house a lot, definitely a classic
I remember I used to have nightmares about the child catcher.
12:43 That’s Neuschwanstein castle in Germany.
It, of course, also served as the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Ken Adam's production design in this is some of his best work, totally agreed. I adore the candy factory set.
I agree, on the two disc special edition DVD Dick Van Dyke even mentions how impressed he was with Ken Adam's production design on this movie.
Acording to this book about Aston Martins , the car is based off a Bramford and Martin ( a predecessor to Aston Martin) and I can kinda see what they mean but the cars you mentioned make more sense as a basis.
Great video!! Theres not alot of Chitty videos online. Big thumbs up to this vid
Just saw this for the first time today at the age of 25, and very annoyed to have not grown up with it. I thought while watching, “It’s like a mix of Mary Poppins, Willy Wonka and James Bond, which makes sense with the involvement of Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl and Dick Van Dyke...” but wow, I didn’t know there was _this much_ connection to those things.
You know what the most painful part is? I knew this movie was existed when I might have been the perfect age for it. My grandma had a VHS of it in her basement, but when I was left alone down there I elected to watch _The Lion King II_ instead. Oh, woe of misspent youth...
A proper childhood favourite for me. Even now, this film kind of brings me together with friends I’ve mostly lost contact with. It definitely reminds me of a certain time in my life which I have immense fondness for.
It was one thing when I found out that this was based on a children's book by the creator of James Bond; pretty cool.
When I found out that the villain was Goldfinger, 🤯 mind-blown!
Anna Quayle was also in James Bond - sort of, she appeared in the Berlin sequence of Casino Royale 1967^^
Frau Hoffner
Frau Hoffner: Who am I?
Mata Bond: Frau Hoffner.
Frau Hoffner: Never heard of her. You're insane, my child, quite insane.
Mata Bond: I think she's right!
W Allen it’s my favorite dialogue from the film xD I regularly tell friends « you’re insane, kvight insane » and they have no idea what I’m referring to^^
@@b.chaline4394 I absolutely love the way she just tosses those lines off to Mati.
The Berlin sequence is the highlight of that movie. The chair, the exploding phonebooth, B.Cribbins as London cab driver:” East or West?” Everything red on the east side.
I know the grandpa songs weren't necessary, but oh man they are 2 of the best. The grow the roses one is so great because of all the guys in old ass makeup and all the things they do during the song. Plus grow the roses was the one that really got stuck in my brain. The main chitty chitty song did as well but grow the roses for some reason got way more stuck than the main theme. The child catcher though is single handedly one of the best and creepiest characters ever put to film. He was my favorite despite how terrified I was by him! 😂😂
Because of this review Calvin, I had to watch this movie again and I'm glad you went into detail on this movie :) hope your enjoying your break
Just passing through and stoped by to hear your very enthusiastic fast passed review, during
a fit of my own nostalgia. Though this film never had good critical reviews,ever! who cares, everyone liked back then and still do , to this very day.. I don’t know of anyone who has seen this movie from 10 years old to over 65 who can’t hum or flat out sing at least one song from this movie with joy, and who had not fallen in love with Chitty.
Thanks so much for this, David! Happy you enjoyed the reivew and that you're also a fan of the film!
And it always was the best Bond car :)
One wonders if Van Dyke's daughter in this inspired the casting of the girl for Gilliam's Baron Munchausen - there is a very similar look and attitude of character.
Thanks Calvin, another very enjoyable review. Did I pick up on a bit of Lenin sneaked in there as well? (I think that may be the first time in 15 years that having done Politics at university has proved to be of use!)
Thank you so much for reviewing this. I loved Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a kid. Great music.
My parents did show me this film as a kid, and I guess it’s fitting that they’re pretty big James Bond fans. And I adore this film, I really do, I need to find my copy and watch it again fully one of these days.
Also yes, you are correct, the Child Catcher is indeed terrifying.
Calvin,
Great review of the film. I love this film as much as you do! Well-crafted, great cinematography, unique characters, the iconic vehicle itself, and a sumptuous Sherman Bros. score.
Totally with you on the "Lovely Lonely Man" song.
Several years ago, I picked up a Corgi version of CCBB with removable figures and spring-loaded wings. Also, on occasion, you can find a Toot-Sweet maker on eBay.
Favorite line: "Coggins, 'im down the road? Why, he wouldn't light your pipe if his house was on fire..."
One minor point on the 2 spies...I'd compare them more closely with Abbott & Costello than Laurel & Hardy.
Overall, though, great piece. Thoroughly enjoyed your review. Totally spot on. Will share with my older brother who loves this cinematic masterpiece, too!
Best,
Paul+
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" was my favorite childhood movie. Still to this day, it's one of my top 10 all-time favorite films!
Great review & prob one of my fav films of all time. I'm 51 now & for some reason this film still whelms me up when I watch it.
LOL omg the "two large vermin" bit made me laugh so damn hard. "They have hepatitis!"
Great Review Calvin Keep Up The Good Work As Always And Also By The Way Claudine Auger Aka Domino Derval From Thunderball Passed Away A Few Days Ago At Age 78 And She Was And Always Will Be One Of The Most Beautiful Bond Girls Of All Time And She Will Be Missed By All Of Us Including Yours Truly,Colton
I agree with everything you said and nodded so much I thought my neck might get sore! This is one of my favorite movies ever, especially the music - I think special notice should go to whoever arranged/orchestrated the pieces, it's truly genius, the xylophone choir in Me Old Bamboo, the flute choir in Toot Sweets, the music box effects in Hushabye Mountain with that fantastic key change when Truly takes over in the cave (yes, brings a tear to my eye too, such a beautiful song with a similar chord progression to Chim Chim Cheree but SO much better). I saw this when it first came out in the days when you could sit for more than one feature, I would stay practically all day, I've seen it more times, in a theater, than I've seen any movie since. It also used to fascinate me that the carnival scene was done in a theme of browns and oranges and the birthday scene was in purples, first time I ever started noticing stuff like that. And to this day I think Sally Ann Howes in this movie is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. In my opinion a truly great, great movie.
This film is a family Classic the sets are fantastic but the one thing I loved the best is The Car itself what a fantastic piece of craftsmanship
This was the first movie I ever was shown by my big sister, I had already watched tons of Bond movies by then but neither of us realized then that it was based on a book by Ian Fleming. I told my sister years ago that it was and she was very surprised because of how different it is from Bond lol But yeah this movie has a lot of sentimental value to me for those reasons and its a shared favorite between my sister and I
I do not understand how this movie has 2 stars out of 5! It is an absolute fun and wild ride and so enjoyable!
This was my favourite childhood movie when I was a child, I watched it over and over again that my parents took me to see the stage show at the London Palladium back in 2002 which starred Michael Ball and Brian Blessed. A Timeless classic family movie musical.
This is my favourite childhood film. It never gets old.
Thank you for talking about this film! It was my favourite film growing up, and the first Blu-Ray I bought! I don't know why critics said that all of the songs where quite forgettable, I find them very catchy! And just like you, I used to fast forward Truly's song (which I don't anymore). Brilliant film, brilliant car, brilliant review!
The Child Catcher is probably the best part of the film
This is a decent fun film for me but I prefer other musicals such as Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Mary Poppins. Love the child catcher and It’s nice to see Gert Frobe in this film.
I loved this film as a child. When I had my own son, who was car-mad, I thought to myself "he'll love this". What I'd forgotten was that Chitty is only on screen for about 10 minutes of the movie, something not appreciated by my little boy!
I was around seven when I first saw this at the cinema, I loved it so much, I went and saw it again and again, which was easy to do as my dad was the cinema manager/projectionist..fond memories.
Love your videos Calvin! If you have time maybe a nice video to end the year could be a short tribute video to the Bond cast and crew that have died this year. I know a few have gone recently.
My Dad grew up watching this movie, so of course I've seen it a few times. I knew about Cubi & Goldfinger, but I never realized Q was in the film!! Great review, I have a new appreciation for the film!
I loved loved loved Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when I was a kid! My mom and I would sing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang all the time!
Absolutely superb review. I "truly" love this movie too. Our grade school teacher (in 1967) read us the book in class, and I always remember her explaining GEN 11 . . . . . . === GENII, the plural of GENIE. Bravo on this review. (I too "died a thousand deaths" through "Lovely Lonely Man" 🙂
I remember seeing the peter catcher from family guy recently which was a chitty chitty bang bang reference!
Not to mention they did parodies of both ’Me Old Bamboo’ (which became the ‘Bag of Weed’ song) and ‘I’ve Got You Two’ (which became ‘I’ve got James Woods’) so I’m guessing this was just one of those musicals Seth McFarlane watched a lot as a kid.
I grew up watching this film several times on an old VHS tape that my family owned. It was one of my favorite movies as a kid and it still is now, I'm so glad I found some other people who seem to enjoy it as much as I do :)
The film is about a man emerging from depression after the death of his wife in childbirth. Their happy life before, is represented by the opening sequence of car races across Europe…ending with the crash of her death. His restoration of the car represents his psychic rebirth…
The childless Barron (barren) hates his life, despite his wealth…expressed as his attempts to kill his wife, who herself has a developed an anti-child pathology, and covets the rebirth and restoration Potts has achieved.
Truly Scrumptious, a childless woman in her 30s, sees her possible future as well, in the Baroness… and wisely chooses a better path.
The story of restoration of youthful joy is echoed by Mr. Scrumptious…revisiting his glory days in the Army by reconnecting with Potts father…who had held onto it all along.
It’s a great movie, but few are able to see the meaning behind it… it’s the events I describe above, as seen through the eyes of the children.
This movie was my childhood
I clearly remember loving watching Chitty, Poppins and Bedknobs & Broomsticks when I was growing up - all have music by the Sherman Brothers
Calvin, you said in one of your livestreams you might do this for Christmas. Now I know it really is Christmas! Maybe next Christmas you could look at the Fleming book it's based on.
Yes certainly, rewatching the film has certainly motivated me to read the book too!
@@calvindyson I saw the film when I was 5 or 6 years old (back in the late Cretaceous) and I and my siblings were astonished that it was so different from the book. CCBB reads like the perfect Bond novel for children, with wonderful travelogue, the gadget-laden car, intrigue, and Fleming's loving descriptions of food and drink (even a recipe!). I quite like the film, but it's a Moonraker fever-dream compared to the FRWL-groundedness of the book.
More to the point: I'd be very interested to hear your reaction to it. I'm very much enjoying your videos, by the way. They're getting me through my working-from-home isolation.
I never knew the song that Rachel was singing to herself whilst her father, Ray, killed Ogilvy in Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds” was “Hushabye Mountain” from this film until I saw this trailer.
There's a theory that for the past 12 years, the Toymaker was giving the Baron dolls that were more and more human until he could dress up two humans as dolls.
I've always seen the outhouse as the grandpa's living quarters/workshop. Somewhere, he can spend without the kids. Knowing Potts it probably has some secret underground lair below it.
I remember getting the book out from my local children's library: it's a more modest tale of smuggling and pirates, but what I mostly remember is that Fleming gives, at the back of the book, the recipe for the cakes they made to took with them on their picnic. Except that someone had taken that page out of the copy I had.
I suppose that just copying the recipe would have been too much like hard work, so they ripped the entire page out.
Barbarians.
By the way, did you know that the car has its own website?
PS: Lionel Jeffies was actually younger than DvD
Have you checked out the musical yet? It’s based on the film, but changed the story so that Vulgaria actually exists. In Chitty’s opening race (where she is the Paragon Panther), the baron’s car, the Vulgarian Vulture, loses to her, which prompts the baron to try to hunt her down later.
As for the dolls sequence, automatons existed in the 1700s, and they moved by clockwork. Check out the Silver Swan, for example.
9:18 Oof, Hannibal Lecters?? There goes my childhood! 😂
I looooove Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! The music is so perfect and catchy. Love everything about it. Check out Before They Were Famous: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I just watched it and learned a lot about the making of the movie.
Even in Germany it was a solid success. By the way : the castle in the movie is based in Bavaria, the famous Neu-Schwanstein.
My mom took us to see this movie when it came out, and I think we were too young to appreciate it, especially the musical numbers. I could only remember the flying part🤣🤣
This was one of my favorite films as a kid. The intro sequence is still one of my favorites in any movie. I look forward to having kids of my own so I have an excuse to watch the whole thing over and over again.
A great review, always loved the film, 2 stars in the radio times indeed, always a stand out film for me! Never knew the Ian Fleming connection until a few years ago. Well Done, another fantastic review :)
Thanks, Luke! My mind was a little blown when I realised all the Bond connections with this film! Makes so much sense why I've always loved it in hindsight.
Hope Q gets you all the gadgets for Christmas. Cheers for all your great vids. Have a good one.
Sadly, they don't make good family entertaining movies like this anymore. Nowadays, everything has a hidden agenda with innuendos and such. I'm so glad I'm from this era.
My favorite line from Grandpa is when they start the car and then he says "well then it will never stop"
such a great character
also my Father used to work with Robert Helpmann which always made the Childcatcher character a bit more scary and interesting to me
I must defend Howes. She’s certainly not giving a “Julie Andrews impersonation”. Sally Ann was a veteran of stage and film even at this young age and needed no modeling. Howes, like Andrews, was physically and vocally blessed, and the context of Truly’s character may be similar to some previous Andrews roles (staunchly English, caring for another’s children) but Sally Ann stands firmly in her talents and, as Dick Van Dyke once said, “They couldn’t have picked a better Truly Scrumptious.”
10:59 The reason the the Scrumptious house and SPECTRE's building is the same building is because both films were filmed at Pinewood Studios. Pinewood was the name of the house and gardens, which are still at the centre of the Pinewood Estate where the studios are built. Several films use the house and/or gardens as an easy to use exterior for Stately Homes of England type places.
This is your best review yet!
Thanks very much for this!! I must say, I'm quite pleased with how this one turned out!
It always takes me back how contrasting of a role (yet still a villain) Gert Fröbe portrays Goldfinger and Baron Bomburst . Very talented.
When you were saying that the Child Catcher deserved a more satisfying fate, he does in the musical in which at the end he gets shot by Truly! XD
Speaking of which, the musical itself story wise avoids the idea of it being a story told by Caractacus Potts and does flesh out a few more details in which does fix a few flaws with the film. Interesting to hear what you might have to think about that. :)
Calvin, I’m casting my vote for you as the next Hannibal Lecter!! I mean, not that the two we have now are anything close to bad, but that impression was spot-on!!!!
Love this film! I played music from it, at my sister´s wedding, as she requested!
I saw this on a relatively big screen when released. I was eight. When Truly sang the romantic song, a crowd of kids ran to the concession stand. I actually thought at age 8 that they came up with that routine to get kids out of the dark and to spend their allowance on popcorn and candy.
robert helpmann played the sneeky & evil prince Tuan , leader of the boxer rebellion in the blockbuster movie "55 Days in Peking" , which stared sir James Bond Himself David Niven..
His other iconic film role!
Chitty chitty bang bang is 1 of my all time and love and will be looking for it on blu-ray shortly
Just found out the man that wrote all the 007 books did this as well
I just had an epiphany while watching this great review: I think Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the first live-action musical I ever saw! I must've been about three or four at the time, and the only other musicals I definitely saw beforehand were Disney cartoons (so, not live-action), and MAYBE The Wizard of Oz, but I'm 99% sure I saw Chitty first.
I've had another epiphany as well: this movie, IMHO, is a perfect example of why films cannot be judged objectively. True, you can nitpick this movie to death over Dick Van Dyke's American accent, or the musical number "Me Ole Bamboo" not being a good diegetic song because Potts knows the lyrics too well, or the miscasting of Benny Hill in a non-comedic role, or the whole adventure that takes up most of the film being a "fantasy" story that Potts is just telling his children even though the whole film works as a fantasy, or the fact that the entire film is obviously MGM's attempt to cash in on the success of Disney's Mary Poppins, and indeed the two films are very similar.
Subjectively, though, none of these problems hurt my enjoyment of the film. When I saw and fell in love with this film as a toddler, I didn't know anything about accents, so by the time I was old enough to understand that Dyke's accent is out of place, I loved his character and performance too much to care. This was the first time I saw Benny Hill in anything, so I had no way of being disappointed by him not being funny, so I'm not bothered by that either (if anything, I'm actually happy, because famous comedians tend to get depressed, even suicidal, when the public always pressures them to be funny). I didn't see Mary Poppins for the first time until at least two years after this one, and even then it probably took even longer before I learned that Poppins was made first, by which point I'd already loved this film too much to care that it is, in fact, a ripoff. Poppins is, objectively, a better film, and teaches better life lessons, and I love it, but Heaven help me, I friggin' adore Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Subjectively loving a film despite its glaring objective problems isn't always a sign of less intelligence. It could very well be a sign of perspective. This is why I love movies that some people hate, and hate movies that some people love. This is why I don't watch overwhelmingly negative internet critics like CinemaSins or the Nostalgia Critic anymore, because their egos and insistence on tearing films apart "objectively" (yeah, right) drive me nuts.
You, on the other hand, Mr. Dyson, just earned a new subscriber ;)
I absolutely adore this movie. Potts and Truly have indeed a special connection. The reason why Potts is so motivated at the end is because he indeed have a point. He spends all his money on inventions and comes from a poor family. The worst part is that if Potts didn’t have any money and never got the job, it wouldn’t matter. Potts would have to bring home the bread and would be given Truly’s dowry which is a one time thing. The contract of Toot Sweets is perfect timing since the royalty and sales would be the yearly income. Hence ‘bringing home the bread’. The children reminding him that he has feelings for Truly makes him upset because he doesn’t know if it’ll be a success or not. The ending is so profound and hopeful it brings a tear to my eye.
I to this day have never seen a Bond movie. But I’ve seen Chitty Chitty Bang Bang many times when I was younger more times than Mary Poppins. This movie introduced me to Dick Van Dyke who’s inspired me and still does inspire me to become a professional actor
This I've always heard of never had the chance to watch. I enjoy these kind of old musical movies. Maybe someday I'll watch it
Great review Man 👍
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it :D