Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Bluray Review
A great benefit of parenthood is having the wonderful opportunity to revisit the movies you loved as a child and experience them again through the eyes of your child. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is one of those timeless family movies that still captivates audiences for generations and its hood has never looked brighter than on this high-definition Blu-ray release.
Loosely based on the children’s story of the same name by Ian Fleming and scripted by Roald Dahl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was produced by James Bond franchise mogul Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli and released in time for Christmas 1968. between You Only Live Twice and Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The film stars Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts, a wacky Heath Robinsonesque inventor and widowed father of two young boys for whom he builds a “Fantasmagorical Motorcar” in which they have fairytale-style adventures.
The James Bond connections don’t end there; Guns expert “Q” (Desmond Llewelyn) has a cameo when Mr. Coggins, the junk dealer whose sons Potts implore their father to save the wrecked car, and arch-villain Auric Goldfinger, played by him. German actor Gert Fröbe, has the opportunity to use his circus training in the physical role of Baron Bomburst, ruler of the kingdom of Vulgaria, where all children are exiled and forced to hide in underground caves. Legendary production designer Ken Adam provided the set’s impressive interiors and was also the draftsman of the car’s unique special features.
While playing away, the Potts kids have a nearby car accident, the driver is Truly Scrumptious (Sally Ann Howes), the daughter of a candy factory mogul (James Robertson Justice) concerned about their education and general well-being, takes them to home. father and, despite recognizing an attraction to her, dismisses her as a busy person doing good. They reunite when Potts takes their accidental ‘Toot’ treats (dog whistles like candy) for Truly’s father to evaluate, providing one of the standout pieces of the film culminating in hundreds of canines sweeping the set.
The kids invite Truly on the maiden car ride, a trip to the beach and this allows a genuine love interest to develop between her and Caractacus when the four of them cut off when the tide rises. From here, the film embarks on a massive fantasy subplot involving Bomburst’s attempt to capture the car and the Potts family’s efforts to free the children of Vulgaria. The car has been equipped with the ability to drive on water and fly through the air (not unlike some of the trademark Bond vehicles) and this allows for some frenetic chase sequences.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is peppered with good supporting performances with Lionel Jeffries on hand as the boys’ eccentric grandfather and Benny Hill convincing in his understated portrayal as the Real Toymaker. Yet it is ballet dancer Robert Helpmann’s absolutely terrifying turn as the extremely creepy Child Catcher that will leave an indelible mark on younger viewers and still manage to make me uncomfortable for over 30 years.
The film makes great use of the exterior of the Schloss Neuschwanstein on which Walt Disney based Sleeping Beauty’s castle and became his company logo; It also benefits from a wonderful musical score by the Sherman Brothers who are also associated with Walt Disney Pictures providing songs from Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. The title track, along with Toot Sweets, Truly Scrumptious, and Hushabye Mountain have become crowd favorites and continue to expose lyricist Richard Sherman’s penchant for complicated puns.
I’m disappointed that so many critics dismiss Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as too long, shoddy, and forgettable and can only assume they were adults when they first saw it and thus were unaffected by its magic, how about Once you can only really enjoy it when you see it through the eyes of a child as I had done and now has my son. One thing is for sure, the movie is far from poor quality, as evidenced by this Blu-ray edition with glorious 1080p video transfer and 7.1 DTS-HD soundtrack, I’m sure this high definition remaster will preserve the movie long enough for my grandchildren to enjoy. .