IMDb >
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at Blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsChitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) More at IMDbPro »
| Photos (see all 39 | slideshow) | Videos |
Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
18 December 1968 (USA) moreTagline:
The most fantasmagorical musical entertainment in the history of everything! morePlot:
An eccentric professor invents wacky machinery, but can't seem to make ends meet. When he invents a revolutionary car... more | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(25 articles)
Exclusive Fansite Interview With The Head Of The Volturi (From TwilightersAnonymous. 9 November 2009, 10:26 AM, PST)
Exclusive Fansite Interview With Michael Sheen
(From TwilightersAnonymous. 9 November 2009, 10:21 AM, PST)
User Comments:
James Bond goes to Romper Room more (123 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Dick Van Dyke | ... | Caractacus Potts | |
| Sally Ann Howes | ... | Truly Scrumptious | |
| Lionel Jeffries | ... | Grandpa Potts | |
| Gert Fröbe | ... | Baron Bomburst (as Gert Frobe) | |
| Anna Quayle | ... | Baroness Bomburst | |
| Benny Hill | ... | Toymaker | |
| James Robertson Justice | ... | Lord Scrumptious | |
| Robert Helpmann | ... | Child Catcher | |
| Heather Ripley | ... | Jemima | |
| Adrian Hall | ... | Jeremy | |
| Barbara Windsor | ... | Blonde | |
| Davy Kaye | ... | Admiral | |
| Alexander Doré | ... | First Spy (as Alexander Dore) | |
| Bernard Spear | ... | Second Spy | |
| Stanley Unwin | ... | Chancellor |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
144 minCountry:
UKLanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreSound Mix:
70 mm 6-TrackCertification:
Iceland:L | West Germany:o.Al. | Australia:G (alternate rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Norway:5 (video rating) | Norway:7 (original rating) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:G (Approved No. 21682)Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The original Broadway production of the stage musical "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" opened at the Hilton Theater in New York on April 28, 2005 and ran for 285 performances. moreGoofs:
Continuity: During the birthday party for the Baron, Truly pretends to be a doll who dances on a spindle within an opened large box of mirrors. This box is visible on the floor for all the guests to see. When Mr Potts appears as his own form of a doll rising from a box, he starts to dance, the camera pulls back and Truly and her music box are nowhere to be seen. When Mr Potts goes over to sing his duet with her, suddenly Truly is visible again. moreSoundtrack:
Posh! moreFAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (123 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) moreRecommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Enchanted | 8½ | Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory | The Sound of Music | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Family section | IMDb UK section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |












I'm one of many thirty-somethings that grew up on this movie and later suffered nightmares featuring the Child Catcher. To this day, I still feel an uneasy chill when I hear the words "kiddie-winkies". Bit I still love this film on several levels. I loved it as a child because it's great cinema for children. I love it as a film student because it's a well-crafted, timeless fairytale. And I love it as an adult because it full of suggestive double meanings, much like the Warner Bros cartoons of the 1940s - the type of things that shoot straight over kids' heads and make adults snicker knowingly. With a screenplay penned by Ian Fleming, this should come as no surprise.
Dick Van Dyke is Caractacus Potts, a wacky inventor who inexplicably lives in England with his two inexplicably English children. Caractacus Potts...wacky inventor,,,get it? Hoo hah! Potts and his two children (whose pictures may be seen in the dictionary next to the word "moppet") live with the senior Mr. Potts in a windmill/labratory. Caractacus rescues a junked motorcar from rusting in a field and restores it to new - meet Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, named for the sounds the car makes. Soon thereafter in one of those Pipi Longstocking-esque child-arranged dates, Potts and his two children go on a picnic with local richgirl Truly Scrumptious - possibly the best Bond Girl name since Pussy Galore. As the day winds down, Potts tells the children a story, in which the foursome embark on a great adventure in the resplendent Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which Potts as rigged to fly, float, drive itself, and perform other turn-of-the-century Batmobile-like functions.
Our heroes end up in a far away kingdom ruled over by the Baron and Baroness Bomburst (Gert Frobe and Anna Quayle), a terribly sad place where children have been outlawed, rounded up, and kept in a dungeon. The gang and Chitty invade the kingdom to rescue Potts' father, who has mistakenly been identified as the inventor of the flying car and kidnapped. There, they befriend a toymaker (played by Benny Hill in one of his stock characters from his TV show) who hides the children while they attempt to spring grandpa Potts. Enter the Child Catcher, who lures the children with free lollipops and takes them away to the dungeon. Potts and the toymaker (who now only makes toys for the child-like king) hatch a plan to infiltrate the castle, rescue the elder Potts and the twin moppets, and free all the other children as well.
I have two favorite scenes in this film. One is the musical number in the castle, where Truly and Potts are disguised as huge toys for the Baron's birthday. Truly is a wind-up doll on a music box, and Potts is a marionette who does a dance number that not only convinces you that he really is on strings, but that Dick Van Dyke is one of the most talented performers ever to be caught on film. My other favorite scene, I admit with guilt, is the one where the Baron and Baroness are readying themselves for bedtime, and prancing around the room in nightclothes calling each other by ultra-gooey-cute pet names. However, whenever the Baroness isn't looking, Baron Goldfinger takes a swing at her with an axe. It's the most entertainingly erotic scene in a kiddie flick since Natalie Wood was covered in cream pies while wearing only frilly turn-of-the-century underwear in "The Great Race".
This film is a rare treat. It's a film that appeals to kids and keeps adults interested at the same time. Let your kids watch it, watch it with them, or just watch it yourself when you're in the mood for some pure, escapist fun.
And try not to think about the Child Catcher when you go to bed afterward.