Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that in the beginning of the movie, the Potts children are dirty and skipping school, which seems to be the norm. Although the single father played by Dick Van Dyke raises his kids loosely, he loves and cares for them and shares his abundant imagination with them. Whether it's from a book, your life, or your own imagination, sharing a story can be a wonderful way to spend time with your kids.
Families can talk about which part of the story "really happened" and which was make believe. What would you do with a car like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? What other good car movies can you think of?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Common Sense Media
Caractacus Potts (Dick Van Dyke), an eccentric inventor with barely enough money to keep a roof over his kids' heads, buys a beat-up motorcar for them and transforms it into a dream machine that can fly and float. A day at the seashore with the car called Chitty Chitty Bang Bang spawns an elaborate adventure in Vulgaria, where the Baron and Baroness Bomburst lock up the children and try to capture the car for themselves.
After writing the music for the extraordinary Mary Poppins, brothers Richard and Robert Sherman wrote the music for CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (their first non-Disney musical). Based loosely on the novel by Ian Fleming of James Bond fame, and co-written by the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl, Chitty blends fantasy and adventure in a whimsical movie musical that has been captivating children for decades.
Although the songs aren't quite as memorable as in Mary Poppins, the story may leave even more of an impression on kids than the Disney hallmark and excite them to a greater degree. It's not a perfectly cut film, but it's the stuff of the children's wildest fantasies: a car coming to life, an exceedingly creepy child catcher waving lollipops that entice the young Potts children, Caractacus and Truly Scrumption (Sally Ann Howes) posing as life-size dolls at the Baron's birthday party, only to usher in a revolt by all the hidden children. Young viewers may drift to sleep after this climax, as the love story between Caractacus and Truly concludes, but they'll have a feast of visions to dream of for years to come.
For DVD extras that really add value, get the Special Edition, which was made with Van Dyke's involvement and includes interviews, games, and many other fun features.
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ViolenceThe child catcher shoves the Potts children into a cage. The Baron pursues Chitty and the Potts in a zeppelin and shoots at them. The Baron tries unsuccessfully to do his wife in, depicted comically. |
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Social BehaviorA pair of bumbling spies seems to lampoon Germans. Not much diversity in the cast. |
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