Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Review

This was one of my all time favourite movies growing up as a kid. Going back to a movie as nostalgic as this can be worrisome only because you don't want to watch it again and have it be incredibly boring. Watching it over a decade later, I can still say that this is a wonderful movie. I think every child should see this movie because it has everything you want in a great family film. Adventure, comedy (both slapstick and dialogue), likable characters, great music, and a sense of magic. I really believe that this film tried to emulate Mary Poppins and coattail off its success. Mary Poppins came out a few years earlier and was a giant hit. So when Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was in the works, why not hire most of the team that made Mary Poppins a hit. Cast Dick Van Dyke and get the Sherman brothers to write the music and cast Julie An... oh wait... they couldn't get her? Oh... well, let's cast a woman who looks and sounds very similar to her and cast two children who look like the children who played Jane and Michael in Mary Poppins. Not to mention, copy and paste the "Steppin' Time" musical number with "Me Ol' Bamboo." So yes, the similarities are there and can get a bit distracting once you really pay attention to it, but Mary Poppins was a spectacular film. If you are going to try to emulate a certain tone for a kids film, Mary Poppins is a great one to go with, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang knocks it out of the park in that regard. This film is so magical, you'll be shocked that it isn't a Disney film. The musical score alone belongs in a Disneyland theme park and the songs are absolutely fantastic. While "Me Ol' Bamboo" is extremely similar to "Steppin' Time" from Mary Poppins, it's honestly one of, if not, my favourite musical number in film history. I love it so much. Family Guy did a parody of it with "A Bag of Weed." Pretty funny stuff. Something interesting about this movie is that it is the only film I can think of that has an actual "Intermission" in it. I'm not kidding, the film actually stops with a title card for a few minutes saying "Intermission" on it. I'm guessing 2 hours and 25 minutes for children in 1968 was too long to sit in a theatre without a bathroom break. The film should have literally told it's audience to go to the bathroom. Then it would have been the best film ever made automatically. Another odd thing about this movie is that I know this is going to sound weird, but there really isn't a point to it. The "plot" is pretty thin in the beginning. All we have to go on is that Mr. Potts is a lousy inventor and he needs to raise money to buy the old motor car that raced during the opening credits just to make his kids happy. That's it. Spoiler Alert, he gets the car. After that, all real conflict kind of goes away. Sure there is a bit of a hint of romance between Mr. Potts and Truly, but come on, in what world would they NOT get together. Strangely enough, the movie takes a HUGE turn around the halfway mark which includes an evil monarch from a country called Bulgaria wanting to kidnap Mr. Potts and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (the name of the car) for his own greed. There, the car learns to float, fly, and we travel to German castles and villages and have a little allegorical tale about the Nazis and the Holocaust. Now you may be thinking, "What kind of movie is this?" Well, I would say it's everything you would want in a children's movie. Not giving away the ending, but as a kid, it's the most epic thing ever. If you are a kid, have kids or are a kid at heart and loves magic and wonder in your movies, this movie is for you!