I was pleasantly surprised to find that the first act of the book takes place a stone's throw from where I live. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the book is nowhere near as twee as the movie. When the Pott family save Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from the terrible fate of being crushed to the size of a matchbox at the scrapyard, she repays Caractacus, Jeremy and Jemima with the best road trip ever. For Chitty is no ordinary car: she can talk – and float – and fly! CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (U)". British Board of Film Classification. 18 October 1968. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016 . Retrieved 27 August 2016. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote: " Chitty Chitty Bang Bang contains about the best two-hour children's movie you could hope for, with a marvelous magical auto and lots of adventure and a nutty old grandpa and a mean Baron and some funny dances and a couple of [scary] moments." [28] Martin, Betty (23 December 1966). "MOVIE CALL SHEET: Van Dyke to Star in 'Chitty' ". Los Angeles Times. p.C6.

Lewis, Andy (16 May 2011). " 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'Car Undersells at Auction". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014 . Retrieved 16 April 2014. Van Dyke was cast in the film after he turned down the role of Fagin in the 1968 musical Oliver!. The role of Truly Scrumptious was originally offered to Julie Andrews to reunite her with Van Dyke after their success in Mary Poppins (1964), but Andrews rejected the part because she felt it was too similar to Poppins; [8] Sally Ann Howes, who had replaced Andrews as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady on Broadway in 1958, was then offered the role, and she accepted.McBride, Walter (29 April 2005). "Photo Coverage: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Opening Night Red Carpet". Playbill . Retrieved 8 November 2022. Credits: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". BFI Film & TV Database. London: British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009 . Retrieved 20 April 2012. I watched the movie Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang as a child and have vaguely fun and yet confusing memories of it. To this day I still find some of the tunes from the movie jumping into my head at random. Years later I was told that the original book Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang was written by Ian Fleming...yes, the same Ian Fleming who was the creator of James Bond. Naturally my curiosity was aroused. From a very high level, it's not surprising to see both James Bond and Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang as being creations of the same author. Both feature some crazy high-tech gadgets and exciting adventures dealing with spies or thugs across multiple countries. Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang is just written for children while James Bond was written for adults. Ebert, Roger (24 December 1968). "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018 . Retrieved 5 July 2018. The novel was initially published in three volumes, the first in October 1964, which was two months after Fleming's death. [10] It became one of the best-selling children's books of the year. [11] Albert R. Broccoli, producer of the James Bond films (which were based on novels by Fleming), read the novel and was not initially enthusiastic about turning it into a film, but the success of Mary Poppins (1964) changed his mind. [9]

The gangsters are planning to rob a famous chocolate shop in Paris using the children as decoys. The Pott children overhear this and manage to warn the shop owner, Monsieur Bon-Bon. Chitty arrives in time to prevent the gangsters from fleeing. The police arrive and the gangsters are taken away. As a reward, Madame Bon-Bon shares the secret recipe of her world-famous fudge with the Potts, and the two families become good friends. Chitty flies the family away to parts unknown, and the book implies that the car has yet more secrets. a b c d "Where was 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' filmed?". British Film Locations. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018 . Retrieved 5 July 2018. The audiobook version is read by David Tennant. Partly because I was in Scotland while I was listening to this, I was a little disappointed that David didn't read this in his own Scottish accent, but rather chose to read it in the English accent he uses for Doctor Who. Still, he reads it brilliantly, and there's actually a short interview with him at the end of the recording about his feeling on the book, which is a nice little extra. He speaks in his own accent in the interview.The film did not follow Fleming's novel closely. A novelisation of the film written by John Burke was published at the time of the film's release. It basically followed the film's story, but there were some differences in tone and emphasis; for example, the novelisation mentioned that Caractacus had difficulty coping after the death of his wife and made it clearer that the sequences including Baron Bomburst were fantasy. [40] Comic book adaption [ edit ]

Profiles (25 April 2011). "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to be Sold at Auction" (Press release). Profiles in History. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017 . Retrieved 5 July 2018. A one-hour adaptation of the novel by Sherry Ashworth was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) on 3 April 2011, starring Imogen Stubbs as the voice of Chitty and Alex Jennings as Caractacus Potts. [35] Nichols, Lewis (30 August 1964). "IN AND OUT OF BOOKS". The New York Times. p.BR8 . Retrieved 8 November 2022.

Retailers:

As Caractacus' story concludes, an awkward moment ensues when the children ask Caractacus if the story ends with him and Truly getting married. Caractacus does not answer and tries to apologize for his children when he drops Truly off at her manor, saying that the difference in their social status would make a relationship between them ridiculous, offending Truly. Returning glumly to his cottage, Caractacus is surprised to find Lord Scrumptious waiting for him with an offer to buy his candy to sell as a dog treat. Overjoyed that he has finally made a successful invention, he rushes off to tell Truly, inadvertently causing her to crash into the pond once more. He rescues her and they admit their love for each other. Then, as they return home, Chitty flies up into the sky once again, this time without wings. ("Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (Finale)).