I cannot believe that you didn’t make the music box scene. a “saving grace.” It’s an amazing scene of choreographed precision. Apparently she did this in one take, as well. And the entire crew gave her a standing ovation when she completed it.
I heard about that watching the HD upscale did Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on TCM, when host Ben Miencywitz was giving out after credits trivia on the movie, and talking about it’s initial box office disappointment (MGM was hoping it would do gangbusters at the BO, but it was only a modest hit on release, overshadowed by other bigger and better films, and made it’s audience on theatrical reshowings, cable reruns, and later home video).
"what sort of sick mind comes up with this guy anyways?" would you believe the same person that brought us such horrific villains like the wormwoods, the Trunchabull, the BFG's older brothers, Verruca salt, and how could anyone forget his most scariest villain who looks better with a mask on then without, the grand high witch
I'd say the kind of positions he puts kids into, even his protagonists, kinda shows that...Roald Dahl is NOT the kind of person to write up well-thought children. They're either utterly horrible and intolerable Goody-goody two-shoes far as I'm aware, if at least in comparison to the utterly-horrible ones Or in this case...uncanny valley. Oh yeah, don't forget horrible endangerment. :P (The Witches and Chocolate Factory, Anyone?)
13:57- In hindsight, the inclusion of the Child Snatcher is very much a Roald Dahl element- a nightmarish entity that embodies parents' fears of creepy men luring children away for nefarious purposes with promises of sweets and what they want. Considering he did the Witches, which also has nightmarish, child-threatening monsters among his other works, this makes a great deal of sense.
This was better suited to being a musical than a screenplay. In fact, the musical version is better with the spies introduced earlier and the Vulgarian story being real and not some elaborate daydream. Bonus point for the rendition of the musical where the Child Catcher is executed at the end.
Wait. The kids are punished by being sent to a boarding school, and the father is being punished by spending more time with his kids. ...Is Mr. Potts going to boarding school, too?
@@morganqorishchi8181 A surprising number of Diva's punishments work well as fanfic. One idea I've been kicking around is the Princess and the Pea villains getting remedial villain training from Xykon. (He's not exactly the mentor type...) I'd probably set it during the big timeskip after Xykon attacks Azure City, since he has free time (and O-Chul).
I’m more baffled by the fact Diva thinks Jeremy and Jeremiah don’t deserve the Child Catcher but think it’s acceptable to trap them in a boarding school run by _murderers, fascists and torturers._ I know she’s a demon, but c’mon.
Personally, I still love Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; it’s too nostalgic for me to hate. But then again, it’s always good to acknowledge the faults. Even as a kid I always felt empty when it turns out the whole adventure was just a story and wondered how Chitty could fly at the end. Apart from that, I loved the songs (the title song never leaves!!!!!), the characters, the humor, and the "messy plot”. Also, am I really the only one in the entire world who was never scared of the child catcher, even as a kid?
as someone who watched chitty chitty bang bang as a child the child catcher did not give me PTSD but i did wonder about how good treacle tarts must be to make all stranger danger lessons null and void
The spies also reminded me a bit of Professor Fate from The Great Race, which is one of my top favorite movies. Though I gotta admit, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is near and dear to my heart from my childhood and is a guilty pleasure of mine as an adult.
Normally I can agree with most of your criticisms on musicals but not with this one. The entire purpose of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is that it's whimsical, nonsensical, a bit like a Seuss book. You're supposed to suspend your disbelief and realize it's just a fantastical tale for a child to get lost in, with things to excite them. It's silly because it's MEANT to be silly.
I understand where you are coming from, but they should have gone all out. Rather than the "It was all a dream/story" copout, they should have owned that and made it true in the narrative
Completely agree with the critique. This movie was grating and sooo long! The children were annoying to say the least. All in all, it was neither whimsical nor a bit like a Seuss book. You can only suspend you disbelief for so long before you realize what a mess of a movie this truly is. It's silly and not in a good way.
janeyrevanescence12 Yep. Dahl was the RL Stine of his day, and many never really stop to think about that.It's like those who say 'Disney is just for little kids.' To which I say, "...oh really? When was the last time you watched Pinocchio?"
Funny thing is, the pond Truly crashes into (as well as the mill the family lives in) is actually quite close to my home, and I pass it sometimes taking the dog for a walk. That particular pond is called Russels water and is deep in the heart of Oxfordshire, a landlocked county. So, when I see the Chitty crew then suddenly arrive at the beach, I ponder how Truly felt waiting for 5 hours to get to the beach itself, spend a day or so there, and then Drive 5 hours back again.
The reason all his other inventions look like junk is because he only needed them to be functional. However in those days owning a motor car was still a big deal so of course he gave a shit about how it looked
_Dear Mr. Potts,_ _You could probably make more money as an inventor if your inventions didn't look like literal piles of garbage. If you want your kids to go to whatever the Victorian equivalent of college is, please take this fact into account in the future._ _Sincerely,_ _Someone from TH-cam._
@@timothymclean 1. The inventions really should *work* before they look nice. Looking nice but doing nothing is the Kardashian way to success. 2. It's the Edwardian period, not Victorian.
@@timothymclean These are prototypes so it really doesn't matter. Making it look nice is something you do when you're ready to roll it out to the public.
Lady R Of Rage When you said Stella, I first thought of that storyteller from Barney the Dinosaur. But yes. It is a much better name than Truly by a long shot.
This film has plenty of flaws but it was still a childhood favourite of mine and still brings a nostalgic smile to my face. If anything the jokes in this review makes the film more entertaining to me. Thanks for adding to my enjoyment. PS: Just noticed Barbara Windsor in this. That's awesome.
I honestly can't agree with Sin #7. What the hell is the point of the movie if they just went on the picnic and sat around? The story Mr. Potts tells IS the story. Chitty is nothing more than just an average car, stylish, but average. Mr. Potts probably told the story to emotionally connect with his children on the car. He knew they loved it, and he poured his savings into restoring and making it drivable, which in itself is an impressive feat. The movie would still probably have been good if it was just showing the restoration of the car. Showing them having a good time in their brand new Bling Mobile was the entire point of the movie. What's the point of anyone's life if they aren't to enjoy it? Just my opinion.
...why wouldn't Potts make a fortune in flipping cars? He obviously has more of a talent for it than inventing. At least his descendent Pepper decided to leave the inventing to her superhero boyfriend.
i can imagine the whistling candy being popular with kids and the exact opposite effect with any adults in a 100 meter radius. also i can imagine inventing a television and vacuum cleaner to be quite lucrative
It's really funny how the song from Truly, "What a lovely lovely man" was actually sung as part of the story Mr. Potts told. That means he basically said, "Truly sang about how lovely I am". It's hillarious! LOL!!
I want to work in that Edwardian candy factory. It looks so neat in there. But, like... Isn't that the worst place in the world to make candy? It's a giant greenhouse. It's going to be wet and hot in there. None of the candy is going to set up right.
The director of this film was a friend of mine and he had problems with, as he refered to them as, "the BONDonians". A fine oiled machine of Bond people that were use to working with one another rather than newcomers. Chitty is wonderful because there are elements in it, several to which you pointed out in your review, that would never be allowed in a Disney film. The Baroness in her lingerie, the Baron trying to kill his wife, the Child Catcher who comes off more like a child molester and the Kiddie concentration camp. Luckily, the film is graced with the beautiful Sally Ann Howes to offset some of the weirder elements.
I find it ironic how Truly's solo "Lovely, Lonely Man" is part of Caractacus' story. Like he's literally like "Then Truly sang a song about how she's so in love with me and how she wants to be with me forever", and then after the story is finished and Jeremy and Jemima add that daddy and Truly get married and live happily ever after, Caractacus acts all awkward and dismissive, and then there's the whole scene where he's really snobbish about how he and Truly could never be together because of the separation of class and status and all that rubbish...that's when the plot kind of goes off the rails a bit.
I was in elementary school, actually kindergarten when this movie came out in 1968. When I would watch the movie in earlier days I would get more of a kick out of the inventions, the incredible car, etc. Now, I get more of a kick out of drooling at how good looking Sally Ann Howes was in the movie. The woman just died at the ripe old age of 91. It's amazing how time flies.
The child catcher scared the hell out of me when I saw this as a kid( I was five at that time) saw it in the theater. Now almost 50 years later he still creeps me out.
18:17 I actually have a headcanon that the kid and the grandpa in The Princess Bride are distant descendants of Wesley and Buttercup, and the heroic story of their ancestors has been passed down for so long that the modern world thinks it’s just a fairy tale now.
the opening scene where chitty runs into the crowd always bothers me. What happened to the people standing there? Were they injured, was anybody killed? I keep expecting one of those spinning news papers that reads." Three Dead and 10 Injured At Kent Race Track"
Plus is Potts was telling the story was mentioning the Baron and Baroness in the bedroom really appropriate for a kids story? I can imagine they were like 'eeeeeeewwwww! Daddy! thats gross!' lol
I have to admit I'm rather disappointed you didn't like this movie (I outright adore it...well, most of it; I agree those children are ANNOYING), but everyone's entitled to an opinion, and nothing's perfect, sooo... (shrugs) Besides, demons aren't exactly required to be "nice."
I love Dick Van Dyke's deliver of the WTF line about the tide coming up. He reads it like he's delivering a line in a propaganda film and then the twist where the tide is suddenly up to the car's frame and nobody noticed gets a laugh from me for sheer absurdity.
Half the movie is dedicated to a pointless story with bizarre sets and costumes being told to some kids on the beach? It's Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny with a budget!
You neglected to mention the other movie that was partially responsible for this getting made: *Around The World In Eighty Days* . It touched off a mini-genre which lasted to the end of the sixties, of epic comedies set in the late 19th/early 20th century about mad races across the globe.
I always liked Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a kid. You don't really think about plot devices and character flaws when your little. However, I have watched it recently again (with adult views), and I gotta agree with 90% of what you said. It's just one of those musicals where you gotta embrace the cheesy antics.
Having grown up in the 70s, this film was a perennial event on TV every year for me. While it may not be the greatest movie musical ever made, it is a cherished childhood memory for me along with the annual "Wizard Of Oz" telecasts and the Peanuts specials. While I agree it is flawed, and somewhat weird, it's still a wonderfully entertaining film.
I honestly love this movie. It was one of the first I ever saw as a kid and, to this day, I love rewatching it. I know it's cheesy and the whole other country storyline was odd, but I could never hate this movie.
When I was a child watching this, I couldn’t pronounce “chitty” properly so whenever I said the title of the movie, It sounded like I said “Shitty Shitty Bang Bang”
May daughter… a 22-year old theater major… would tell you “Shh [lady], you need increase your ability to create a suspension of disbelief”. 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Or so she tells me every time we what a movie and I point stuff like this out. Still one of my favorite movies when I was a kid and a favorite movie the watch with my kids… together with Princess Bride and Ferris Buller’s Day off! Ps… the charming part of the movie is how much he loves his kids-despite his typical short coming of being a man 😉😉😉🤣🤣🤣 Pps I now get the bdsm bedroom scene
Is it weird that I wasn't afraid of the child catcher as a kid? Also, I like this movie. Not sure if it's because I grew up with it or the fact the Sherman Brothers wrote the music, but I will always love it. If only I could have seen the stage show...
I do enjoy the film and actually live near a car museum where the car still is. I remember seeing this on stage and the story he tells, isn't a story and actually happens. Which included a joke where Caractacus Pott proposes to Truly Scrumptious during the breakout, but she doesn't want his last name because she would be called Truly Potts.
The film's biggest sin is being overlong, filled out with a lot of song and two production numbers for grownups before the rebuilt car is rolled out after the first fifty minutes have passed. The adventure doesn't begin for another fifteen minutes and as a young child you may not notice the "framing", the transition from fantasy story to phantasmagorical fantasy story, (which is is not a bad thing since after an hour in, they need something exciting to wake them up.) Truly gets in a slow, romantic, boring solo song at the halfway point so the kids in the audience can take a bathroom break. But some of the other songs are awesome and the Child Catcher is a well-realized mix of dark menace and comical weirdo, hitting just the right tone for his purpose.
I liked the first half of a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang... I honestly cannot remember the rest. God I loved this movie though, from what I can remember, and the songs
I totally agree. Growing up, I saw both Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at different times, I I thought Mary Poppins was too weird a film, and I couldn't accept Dick Van Dyke with that cockney accent after seeing him in Chitty. I still don't like Mary Poppins today.
I always found it funny how the kids have English accents and their father didn't. I also loved this movie as a kid and really wanted a toy car that would fly and float lol. I love your videos keep up the good work.
Its unintelligible how someone can’t appreciate this movie, there is a reason why so many people have seen it, and it’s not because of any of her claims. Also watching this while high is amazing lmao
Fun facts: the guy Caractacus gets the car from is played by Desmond Llewellyn who was Q in most of the Bond movies. Baron Bomburst is Gert Frobe who played Auric Goldfinger.
My husband worked for CPS as an investigator (the guy who takes your kids) for over 15 years. I constantly referred to him as the Child Catcher and still want him to dress as him for Halloween.
Frankly, I love this film but I'm sure my outlook on this film is also completely shrouded by nostalgia. I watched this all the time as a child at my grandparents' house in England. I think it's charming (mostly because of the wonderful Dick van Dyke) and I also love a lot of the songs like Truly Scrumptious, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Hushabye Mountain, and Me Ol' Bamboo. It was also a fun film to watch as a child. Definitely agree that some parts of this film were just super odd and probably didn't make sense and, let's be real here, the Child Snatcher is damn terrifying, but this film will always be close to my heart.
I, like everyone else in this comment section, grew up with this movie and have a ton of nostalgia for it, but that child catcher haunted my nightmares for years. This brought back memories I never knew I had...
Not to mention that apart from being utterly terrifying, the child-catcher is reminiscent of some of the worst of 1930s anti-Semitic propaganda, as a sort of extra weirdness on the quasi-German aesthetic of this film.
The junk dealer the kids are talking to early on is played by Desmond Llewellyn, better known as James Bond's gadget man Q. I liked this sick exchange when the spies(?) end up in the drink: "Do something! Start swimming!" "I don't swim!" "Then start drowning!"
In Paris, Maine they have a founders day celebration with a showing of a residents private car collection which includes a chitty chitty bang bang. It was very cool to see it in person.
Yeah this movie always bothered me as a kid. I thought it was really fun, but then we realize that it was all just a story, and I always felt like the point of the movie was completely ruined.
I liked this a lot, thumbs up. But let me tell you what hell is, my parents took me to see this in the theater when it came out. That Chitty Chitty Bang Bang song still is stuck in my head from then. The kid catcher still gives me nightmares. And I still want the baroness as a play toy ( I was fairly advanced at a young age)
Worth mentioning that Mr Coggins, in the first scene, is played by Desmond Llewellyn, otherwise known at "Q" in the James Bond films. Obviously in deep cover, here.
I know that Truly is an odd name but bare in mind that an era before children were named things like friendless, evil, princess cheese, lettuceberger, happy, and evil...
Saw the stage version on my 6th or 7th bday and the only things I remember about this entire musical is 1. I had a pair of small binoculars with me and I left them behind, didn’t come back to find them until years later 2. I thought all stage performances were interactive so when they got to the duke’s birthday or whatever I shouted ‘BUT IT’S MY BIRTHDAY TOO!’ (If anyone from the australian cast sees this hi, that was me) 3. I cried when the kids got caught by the child-catcher (ok to be fair I was scared of watching any movie I hadn’t watched before back then) 4. Later on my family was like ‘yeah the guy who played the child-catcher for that production is a terrible actor you were right to cry lmao’ Other than that, absolutely nothing. Mid musical anyway
It's kind of hilarious because in my country there is a whole series of books (a popular one) with a car that can do all of those things and the only explanation you get is that it was made by an inventor (okay, a guy was kind of a weird scientist). So for me it is not strange at all.
Isobel Duncan Yes. He was. In fact, because he was such a talented ballet dancer, his skills saved his life when filming this movie. There's a video on TH-cam with Dick Van Dyke explaining the whole thing.
I cannot believe that you didn’t make the music box scene. a “saving grace.” It’s an amazing scene of choreographed precision. Apparently she did this in one take, as well. And the entire crew gave her a standing ovation when she completed it.
I heard about that watching the HD upscale did Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on TCM, when host Ben Miencywitz was giving out after credits trivia on the movie, and talking about it’s initial box office disappointment (MGM was hoping it would do gangbusters at the BO, but it was only a modest hit on release, overshadowed by other bigger and better films, and made it’s audience on theatrical reshowings, cable reruns, and later home video).
I agree. Amazing
Potts has an American accent because they realized he absolutely cannot give a good Cockney accent. i.e. Mary Poppins.
+Livie Chance Lucas True, but you do have to wonder why they kept casting him as a British character...
Because he was a good box office draw for kids movies.
He’s also the only American in this movie ,every actor or actress is from Great Britain, England,Wales etc. there’s also an actor from Australia.
They could've explained it away with a coupla sentences about how Potts came over from America and decided to stay.
It’s not his fault. The fools at Disney gave the man an Irish voice coach. The guy had no idea how to do a cockney accent either.
"what sort of sick mind comes up with this guy anyways?" would you believe the same person that brought us such horrific villains like the wormwoods, the Trunchabull, the BFG's older brothers, Verruca salt, and how could anyone forget his most scariest villain who looks better with a mask on then without, the grand high witch
Yeah, that pretty much covers it. Don't even get me started on his short stories, either.
@Dio Brando Don't read Royal Jelly if you want to sleep.
Exactly my thought. "Roald Dahl. Duh."
The horrifying experiences kids can go through in children's books if you make them "whimsical" enough are _incredible._
I'd say the kind of positions he puts kids into, even his protagonists, kinda shows that...Roald Dahl is NOT the kind of person to write up well-thought children.
They're either utterly horrible and intolerable
Goody-goody two-shoes far as I'm aware, if at least in comparison to the utterly-horrible ones
Or in this case...uncanny valley.
Oh yeah, don't forget horrible endangerment. :P (The Witches and Chocolate Factory, Anyone?)
I actually quite enjoy Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
I enjoy the film
Mr Toonmore I like your reviews but man you crazy
Me too. it has some terrific songs, my favorite being Me Ole Bamboo
I've loved it since I was at least 3 years old.
I enjoyed the film too.
13:57- In hindsight, the inclusion of the Child Snatcher is very much a Roald Dahl element- a nightmarish entity that embodies parents' fears of creepy men luring children away for nefarious purposes with promises of sweets and what they want. Considering he did the Witches, which also has nightmarish, child-threatening monsters among his other works, this makes a great deal of sense.
Exactly. Roald Dahl. When you absolutely, positively need a nightmarish child hating villain but want to keep it PG, accept no substitutes
And like the Witches, the Child Snatcher has an unusually large nose. Another Roald Dahl inclusion.
This was better suited to being a musical than a screenplay. In fact, the musical version is better with the spies introduced earlier and the Vulgarian story being real and not some elaborate daydream. Bonus point for the rendition of the musical where the Child Catcher is executed at the end.
Wait. The kids are punished by being sent to a boarding school, and the father is being punished by spending more time with his kids.
...Is Mr. Potts going to boarding school, too?
I would read that as a fanfic. Not even going to lie, I'm here for this.
@@morganqorishchi8181 A surprising number of Diva's punishments work well as fanfic. One idea I've been kicking around is the Princess and the Pea villains getting remedial villain training from Xykon. (He's not exactly the mentor type...) I'd probably set it during the big timeskip after Xykon attacks Azure City, since he has free time (and O-Chul).
I’m more baffled by the fact Diva thinks Jeremy and Jeremiah don’t deserve the Child Catcher but think it’s acceptable to trap them in a boarding school run by _murderers, fascists and torturers._ I know she’s a demon, but c’mon.
Man, this is one of the most WTF movies ever..... and it's fucking awesome
"Come here, kiddie-winkies!"
Man, this is my favourite musical of all time and yet you managed to make me laugh throughout the whole thing. You've earned a subscriber.
Personally, I still love Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; it’s too nostalgic for me to hate. But then again, it’s always good to acknowledge the faults. Even as a kid I always felt empty when it turns out the whole adventure was just a story and wondered how Chitty could fly at the end. Apart from that, I loved the songs (the title song never leaves!!!!!), the characters, the humor, and the "messy plot”.
Also, am I really the only one in the entire world who was never scared of the child catcher, even as a kid?
No. Every kid in the world suffered PTSD from the Child Catcher.
Child hating bad guys are a Roald Dahl staple.
Child Catcher is NOT Scary and this movie is one big ugly ol' unfortunate mess. FACTS AND TRUTH.
I have to admit a love for it as well, as well as the other odd musical "Doctor Dolittle".
as someone who watched chitty chitty bang bang as a child the child catcher did not give me PTSD but i did wonder about how good treacle tarts must be to make all stranger danger lessons null and void
The spies also reminded me a bit of Professor Fate from The Great Race, which is one of my top favorite movies.
Though I gotta admit, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is near and dear to my heart from my childhood and is a guilty pleasure of mine as an adult.
Heather I Read that In Joeys Voice
used to b it but on a whole its kind of dull basically if your young than you can appreciate it more. adults dont really care about this type of film.
Oh my god, I love The Great Race more than you could ever imagine. It has a kickass soundtrack too. Ugh, maybe that's soundtrack review material...
Professor Fate is one of the best antagonist ever created. Jack Lemon is a genious, and Peter Falk was good too.
Yoosung Kim
Same!
Normally I can agree with most of your criticisms on musicals but not with this one. The entire purpose of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is that it's whimsical, nonsensical, a bit like a Seuss book. You're supposed to suspend your disbelief and realize it's just a fantastical tale for a child to get lost in, with things to excite them. It's silly because it's MEANT to be silly.
Plus, most of it is just imagination.
That, and the story that Pots told the children was exactly that--a story. None of that actually happened - I don't think it did, anyway.
I understand where you are coming from, but they should have gone all out. Rather than the "It was all a dream/story" copout, they should have owned that and made it true in the narrative
Bad on purpose is still bad.
Completely agree with the critique. This movie was grating and sooo long! The children were annoying to say the least. All in all, it was neither whimsical nor a bit like a Seuss book. You can only suspend you disbelief for so long before you realize what a mess of a movie this truly is. It's silly and not in a good way.
I always assumed that Potts was from America, but moved to England where he married the twins mother, and the old man was his father-in-law.
that would only work if he changed his name to his wife's name, which didn't happen, because that's not how it worked back in those days.
Maybe he was raised in the United States and then moved back to the uk with his family?
@@vampirelove75 Could be....
but then what of his father. maybe some of grandpa's army buddies came from the united states and visited mr. potts (inventor) when they were a child
"What sort of sick mind comes up with this guy anyway?" Roald Dahl?
janeyrevanescence12 Yep. Dahl was the RL Stine of his day, and many never really stop to think about that.It's like those who say 'Disney is just for little kids.' To which I say, "...oh really? When was the last time you watched Pinocchio?"
Or Sleeping Beauty?... Or The Great Mouse Detective?... Or The Black Cauldron (Dagon help you)?
@@80MWH Jack Black should play Roald Dahl since he already played Stein
Yeah, you'd expect any different from the guy who created The Trunchbull?
You betcha! He was the Frank Zappa of children's books.
Funny thing is, the pond Truly crashes into (as well as the mill the family lives in) is actually quite close to my home, and I pass it sometimes taking the dog for a walk. That particular pond is called Russels water and is deep in the heart of Oxfordshire, a landlocked county. So, when I see the Chitty crew then suddenly arrive at the beach, I ponder how Truly felt waiting for 5 hours to get to the beach itself, spend a day or so there, and then Drive 5 hours back again.
The reason all his other inventions look like junk is because he only needed them to be functional. However in those days owning a motor car was still a big deal so of course he gave a shit about how it looked
_Dear Mr. Potts,_
_You could probably make more money as an inventor if your inventions didn't look like literal piles of garbage. If you want your kids to go to whatever the Victorian equivalent of college is, please take this fact into account in the future._
_Sincerely,_
_Someone from TH-cam._
@@timothymclean 1. The inventions really should *work* before they look nice. Looking nice but doing nothing is the Kardashian way to success. 2. It's the Edwardian period, not Victorian.
@@neferacronia6798 you just used the name Kardashian as a pejorative in a defense of the logic of the art direction in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?
@@timothymclean These are prototypes so it really doesn't matter. Making it look nice is something you do when you're ready to roll it out to the public.
@@Kevin15047 I'd argue that it needs to look presentable by the time you're showing it off to investors.
In the Italian dubbing, Truly gets the name Stella. Much better, I dare say.
Lady R Of Rage
When you said Stella, I first thought of that storyteller from Barney the Dinosaur.
But yes. It is a much better name than Truly by a long shot.
This film has plenty of flaws but it was still a childhood favourite of mine and still brings a nostalgic smile to my face. If anything the jokes in this review makes the film more entertaining to me. Thanks for adding to my enjoyment. PS: Just noticed Barbara Windsor in this. That's awesome.
Well even van duke didn't care for it for details read his autobiography my lucky life in Hollywood.and you'll find out why.
What flaws?
I honestly can't agree with Sin #7.
What the hell is the point of the movie if they just went on the picnic and sat around? The story Mr. Potts tells IS the story. Chitty is nothing more than just an average car, stylish, but average. Mr. Potts probably told the story to emotionally connect with his children on the car. He knew they loved it, and he poured his savings into restoring and making it drivable, which in itself is an impressive feat. The movie would still probably have been good if it was just showing the restoration of the car.
Showing them having a good time in their brand new Bling Mobile was the entire point of the movie. What's the point of anyone's life if they aren't to enjoy it?
Just my opinion.
Even considering the Or Was It A Dream? ending where the car does fly after all.
Exactly - this is the equivalent of "whats the point of Alice in Wonderland" or the "The Wizard of Oz."
The best part is how everyone in the family has a different accent.
IKR!
When I saw those kids playing in that car, my first thought was "Now THIS is podracing!"
Then when dad gets it running ...."It's working, it's working!"
How dare you! I grew up on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!
So?
Peppermint Snowdrift Yeah, the opinion that pisses off the most people is _always_ interested.
I loved it too. But now not so much. It's kind of nauseating when you think about it.
Kieran Stark I’m not a troll. This is a staple of my childhood and therefore I defend it to the death
I've probably seen this movie more than any other Disney movie!
...why wouldn't Potts make a fortune in flipping cars? He obviously has more of a talent for it than inventing.
At least his descendent Pepper decided to leave the inventing to her superhero boyfriend.
i can imagine the whistling candy being popular with kids and the exact opposite effect with any adults in a 100 meter radius. also i can imagine inventing a television and vacuum cleaner to be quite lucrative
It's really funny how the song from Truly, "What a lovely lovely man" was actually sung as part of the story Mr. Potts told. That means he basically said, "Truly sang about how lovely I am". It's hillarious! LOL!!
A hilarious review...but it's still one of my favorite movies.
The fact that it was the first one I ever saw probably has something to do with that.
I want to work in that Edwardian candy factory. It looks so neat in there.
But, like...
Isn't that the worst place in the world to make candy? It's a giant greenhouse. It's going to be wet and hot in there. None of the candy is going to set up right.
Ah Chitty Chitty Bang Bang scaring children forever! Also an eccentrically British creation!
Personally, I always preferred "Bedknobs and Broomsticks". ^^
The director of this film was a friend of mine and he had problems with, as he refered to them as, "the BONDonians". A fine oiled machine of Bond people that were use to working with one another rather than newcomers. Chitty is wonderful because there are elements in it, several to which you pointed out in your review, that would never be allowed in a Disney film. The Baroness in her lingerie, the Baron trying to kill his wife, the Child Catcher who comes off more like a child molester and the Kiddie concentration camp. Luckily, the film is graced with the beautiful Sally Ann Howes to offset some of the weirder elements.
I find it ironic how Truly's solo "Lovely, Lonely Man" is part of Caractacus' story. Like he's literally like "Then Truly sang a song about how she's so in love with me and how she wants to be with me forever", and then after the story is finished and Jeremy and Jemima add that daddy and Truly get married and live happily ever after, Caractacus acts all awkward and dismissive, and then there's the whole scene where he's really snobbish about how he and Truly could never be together because of the separation of class and status and all that rubbish...that's when the plot kind of goes off the rails a bit.
Roald Dahl wrote this? That explains a lot of the second act.
I was in elementary school, actually kindergarten when this movie came out in 1968. When I would watch the movie in earlier days I would get more of a kick out of the inventions, the incredible car, etc. Now, I get more of a kick out of drooling at how good looking Sally Ann Howes was in the movie. The woman just died at the ripe old age of 91. It's amazing how time flies.
I wasn't aware she'd passed. R.I.P.
The child catcher scared the hell out of me when I saw this as a kid( I was five at that time) saw it in the theater. Now almost 50 years later he still creeps me out.
18:17 I actually have a headcanon that the kid and the grandpa in The Princess Bride are distant descendants of Wesley and Buttercup, and the heroic story of their ancestors has been passed down for so long that the modern world thinks it’s just a fairy tale now.
the opening scene where chitty runs into the crowd always bothers me. What happened to the people standing there? Were they injured, was anybody killed?
I keep expecting one of those spinning news papers that reads." Three Dead and 10 Injured At Kent Race Track"
although I always liked the twins.
+Jordan Green most likely noone was there.
Plus is Potts was telling the story was mentioning the Baron and Baroness in the bedroom really appropriate for a kids story? I can imagine they were like 'eeeeeeewwwww! Daddy! thats gross!' lol
"Sweetheart Lovelymuffins." If Mike Myers' Austin Powers somehow finds his way back to the screen, THAT has to be the name of his love interest!
I have to admit I'm rather disappointed you didn't like this movie (I outright adore it...well, most of it; I agree those children are ANNOYING), but everyone's entitled to an opinion, and nothing's perfect, sooo... (shrugs) Besides, demons aren't exactly required to be "nice."
"actually in the musical stage version the whole thing was real including the nightmare inducing villain..." shudders "the child catcher"
Hey, did you know that the Baron is played by the same guy who played Goldfinger? That is freaking awesome!
Many 007 connections. Ian Flemming, Albert Broccoli, Gerd Fröbe, cool Cars and a Woman with a sexy name.
I love Dick Van Dyke's deliver of the WTF line about the tide coming up. He reads it like he's delivering a line in a propaganda film and then the twist where the tide is suddenly up to the car's frame and nobody noticed gets a laugh from me for sheer absurdity.
Half the movie is dedicated to a pointless story with bizarre sets and costumes being told to some kids on the beach? It's Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny with a budget!
This is the worlds best childrens movie, and that is a hill I will gladly die on.
Not to mention the Sherman Bros. and Desmond Llewelyn and Gert Frobe
But you gotta love Robert Hauptmann aka The Child Catcher
Leslee Herschfus
It's Robert Helpmann. But yes. He's my favorite character in the film.
I remember being so scared of this movie when I was a kid that I started crying every time they sang the main theme
I liked the music box scene: did you know they did it in 1 take?
You neglected to mention the other movie that was partially responsible for this getting made: *Around The World In Eighty Days* . It touched off a mini-genre which lasted to the end of the sixties, of epic comedies set in the late 19th/early 20th century about mad races across the globe.
I know this movie isn't perfect by a LONG shot, but I do have a soft spot in my heart for it. Nostalgia is a powerful thing.
I don't want to accept this! No! This was one of my favorites and got me into musicals as a child!
So?
I like this movie too (mainly because of mid-20th century nostalgia and because of its batshit insanity, but still, no movie is perfect.
Ikr
I always liked Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a kid. You don't really think about plot devices and character flaws when your little. However, I have watched it recently again (with adult views), and I gotta agree with 90% of what you said. It's just one of those musicals where you gotta embrace the cheesy antics.
Having grown up in the 70s, this film was a perennial event on TV every year for me. While it may not be the greatest movie musical ever made, it is a cherished childhood memory for me along with the annual "Wizard Of Oz" telecasts and the Peanuts specials. While I agree it is flawed, and somewhat weird, it's still a wonderfully entertaining film.
My favourite childhood film. Totally joyous from start to finish. I refuse to hate on it
Same
I've never seen comments with opinions so opposed to the views of the video video maker, yet so positive overall. Good on you folk!
To this day I occasionally have nightmares of the Child Catcher, especially with him dressed weird & ringing the bells. I'm 22.
I honestly love this movie. It was one of the first I ever saw as a kid and, to this day, I love rewatching it. I know it's cheesy and the whole other country storyline was odd, but I could never hate this movie.
When I was a child watching this, I couldn’t pronounce “chitty” properly so whenever I said the title of the movie, It sounded like I said “Shitty Shitty Bang Bang”
We call it “Choo Choo Bang Bang” because that’s what my daughter called it when she was three
Got the chance to visit that castle. Such an amazing and beautiful work of architecture.
I just realized the “bag o’ weed” song from Family Guy is originally from this....
I will still always love the dancing dolls scene. I just think it’s really cute and well done and the song is great
May daughter… a 22-year old theater major… would tell you “Shh [lady], you need increase your ability to create a suspension of disbelief”. 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Or so she tells me every time we what a movie and I point stuff like this out. Still one of my favorite movies when I was a kid and a favorite movie the watch with my kids… together with Princess Bride and Ferris Buller’s Day off!
Ps… the charming part of the movie is how much he loves his kids-despite his typical short coming of being a man 😉😉😉🤣🤣🤣
Pps I now get the bdsm bedroom scene
Is it weird that I wasn't afraid of the child catcher as a kid?
Also, I like this movie. Not sure if it's because I grew up with it or the fact the Sherman Brothers wrote the music, but I will always love it. If only I could have seen the stage show...
I do enjoy the film and actually live near a car museum where the car still is.
I remember seeing this on stage and the story he tells, isn't a story and actually happens. Which included a joke where Caractacus Pott proposes to Truly Scrumptious during the breakout, but she doesn't want his last name because she would be called Truly Potts.
The film's biggest sin is being overlong, filled out with a lot of song and two production numbers for grownups before the rebuilt car is rolled out after the first fifty minutes have passed. The adventure doesn't begin for another fifteen minutes and as a young child you may not notice the "framing", the transition from fantasy story to phantasmagorical fantasy story, (which is is not a bad thing since after an hour in, they need something exciting to wake them up.) Truly gets in a slow, romantic, boring solo song at the halfway point so the kids in the audience can take a bathroom break. But some of the other songs are awesome and the Child Catcher is a well-realized mix of dark menace and comical weirdo, hitting just the right tone for his purpose.
for the record, I found the Child catcher disturbing/scary as a child too and found the "it was ALLLL just a dream/story" ending disappointing
I liked the first half of a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang... I honestly cannot remember the rest.
God I loved this movie though, from what I can remember, and the songs
This was a nice video! No musical is perfect
That doesn't take away my excitement to be playing in the first ever dutch version of the show tho :P
Awww despite my love for Julie Andrews I always preferred this film to Mary Poppins since I was a wee little one.
I totally agree. Growing up, I saw both Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at different times, I I thought Mary Poppins was too weird a film, and I couldn't accept Dick Van Dyke with that cockney accent after seeing him in Chitty. I still don't like Mary Poppins today.
ok but I absolutely LOVE the number of the ragdoll and the musicbox ballerina. What amazing performers.
0:47- For Chitty Chitty Bang and James Bond to share the same creator....small world ain't it?
I always found it funny how the kids have English accents and their father didn't. I also loved this movie as a kid and really wanted a toy car that would fly and float lol. I love your videos keep up the good work.
As Leela of Futurama fame once proclaimed: "You can succeed at anything. If you just luck out hard enough."
This movie is my childhood and still a guilty pleasure to this day 😂😂 Rarely anyone I know, knows it though...
Its unintelligible how someone can’t appreciate this movie, there is a reason why so many people have seen it, and it’s not because of any of her claims. Also watching this while high is amazing lmao
When you notice how long a movie is, it is too long.
+Strange Aeons
Would it be too long even before I watched it? x
Fun facts: the guy Caractacus gets the car from is played by Desmond Llewellyn who was Q in most of the Bond movies.
Baron Bomburst is Gert Frobe who played Auric Goldfinger.
I'm auditioning for chitty chitty bang bang the musical next week and just thought i might watch this to see what I'm in for XD pmsl!!
the child catcher was terrifying when I watched this movie as a kid. still makes me uncoomfortable!
My husband worked for CPS as an investigator (the guy who takes your kids) for over 15 years. I constantly referred to him as the Child Catcher and still want him to dress as him for Halloween.
Describing the plot as "... an explosion at the whimsical kids' story factory: Sheer genius!!!!
Who comes up with the Child Catcher? Roald Dahl, that's who...
Reminds me of the guy from "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" who announces the duels
Whoever came up with the Child Catcher was inspired by the Wizard Of Oz's Wicked Witch of the West. Margaret Hamilton could roll over in her grave.
I had no idea Roald Dahl was involved in the screenplay, but I guess I should’ve been tipped off by the most anti-Semitic character ever 🙄
Frankly, I love this film but I'm sure my outlook on this film is also completely shrouded by nostalgia. I watched this all the time as a child at my grandparents' house in England. I think it's charming (mostly because of the wonderful Dick van Dyke) and I also love a lot of the songs like Truly Scrumptious, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Hushabye Mountain, and Me Ol' Bamboo. It was also a fun film to watch as a child. Definitely agree that some parts of this film were just super odd and probably didn't make sense and, let's be real here, the Child Snatcher is damn terrifying, but this film will always be close to my heart.
I, like everyone else in this comment section, grew up with this movie and have a ton of nostalgia for it, but that child catcher haunted my nightmares for years. This brought back memories I never knew I had...
Not to mention that apart from being utterly terrifying, the child-catcher is reminiscent of some of the worst of 1930s anti-Semitic propaganda, as a sort of extra weirdness on the quasi-German aesthetic of this film.
The junk dealer the kids are talking to early on is played by Desmond Llewellyn, better known as James Bond's gadget man Q.
I liked this sick exchange when the spies(?) end up in the drink:
"Do something! Start swimming!"
"I don't swim!"
"Then start drowning!"
In Paris, Maine they have a founders day celebration with a showing of a residents private car collection which includes a chitty chitty bang bang. It was very cool to see it in person.
I remember watching this movie about a decade ago and that song is still stuck in my head! Whyyy?!
Yeah this movie always bothered me as a kid. I thought it was really fun, but then we realize that it was all just a story, and I always felt like the point of the movie was completely ruined.
I liked this a lot, thumbs up.
But let me tell you what hell is, my parents took me
to see this in the theater when it came out. That
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang song still is stuck in my head from then.
The kid catcher still gives me nightmares.
And I still want the baroness as a play toy
( I was fairly advanced at a young age)
Worth mentioning that Mr Coggins, in the first scene, is played by Desmond Llewellyn, otherwise known at "Q" in the James Bond films. Obviously in deep cover, here.
I know that Truly is an odd name but bare in mind that an era before children were named things like friendless, evil, princess cheese, lettuceberger, happy, and evil...
Trivia: Sally Ann Howes was also in Dead of Night, a 1945 horror anthology movie, as a shrill teen.
Roald Dahl wrote the screenplay? This movie makes SO MUCH more sense.
-Logic bombs the entire number
Me: Oh man, The ol' Bambú, i love it.
I always assumed the second half of the movie (the beach scene and beyond) took place in the kids' imagination as the story was being told
Yeah me too, i saw the Vulgaria stuff as a story within the story.
The Sherman brothers are a saving grace
Hard agree. They are nothing short of amazing.
@@nicole-ls4jb true
Saw the stage version on my 6th or 7th bday and the only things I remember about this entire musical is
1. I had a pair of small binoculars with me and I left them behind, didn’t come back to find them until years later
2. I thought all stage performances were interactive so when they got to the duke’s birthday or whatever I shouted ‘BUT IT’S MY BIRTHDAY TOO!’ (If anyone from the australian cast sees this hi, that was me)
3. I cried when the kids got caught by the child-catcher (ok to be fair I was scared of watching any movie I hadn’t watched before back then)
4. Later on my family was like ‘yeah the guy who played the child-catcher for that production is a terrible actor you were right to cry lmao’
Other than that, absolutely nothing. Mid musical anyway
It's kind of hilarious because in my country there is a whole series of books (a popular one) with a car that can do all of those things and the only explanation you get is that it was made by an inventor (okay, a guy was kind of a weird scientist). So for me it is not strange at all.
I haven't seen this film since about 1978, when I was 8, and I still know all the songs.
Sir Robert Helpmann aka The Child Catcher. As creepy as he is, Helpmann was one of the greatest ballerinas of his time, and an Australian treasure.
Isobel Duncan
Yes. He was.
In fact, because he was such a talented ballet dancer, his skills saved his life when filming this movie.
There's a video on TH-cam with Dick Van Dyke explaining the whole thing.
Child catcher clinking baby bottles on his fingers like "come out and plaaaayeeeeyay"