Synopsis

Struggling inventor Caractacus Potts restores a wrecked racing car for his children, only to discover that it can fly and float. When their grandfather is kidnapped by the ruler of distant Vulgaria, the family and their extraordinary motorcar set off on a fantastical rescue mission involving spies, castles, children in hiding, and an army of ingenious toys.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was loosely adapted from Ian Fleming's 1964 children's novel. Fleming originally created the story as a series of bedtime tales for his son, Caspar.

• Albert R. Broccoli, one of the producers of the James Bond films, helped bring the project to the screen. Roald Dahl, who had recently worked on the screenplay for You Only Live Twice, was brought in to reshape Fleming's story.

• The film changes the source material substantially. Vulgaria, Baron Bomburst, the Child Catcher, and the romance between Caractacus Potts and Truly Scrumptious were created for the movie rather than taken directly from Fleming's novel.

• Potts' whistling sweets, known as Toot Sweets, were also inventions of the screenwriters.

• Several members of the Mary Poppins creative team reunited for the production, including songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman, music supervisor Irwin Kostal, and choreographers Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood.

• Production designer Ken Adam, a veteran of the Bond series, designed the fantastic car and the film's elaborate machinery. Different versions of Chitty were built for road, water, and flying sequences.

• The main filming car carried the British registration GEN 11. The vehicle was designed to look like a fantastical evolution of an early racing car rather than a conventional automobile.

• The title ultimately echoes the name of the real Chitty Bang Bang racing cars associated with British motor racing in the 1920s, including machines connected with Count Louis Zborowski.

• The picture was filmed in the large-format Super Panavision 70 process and runs approximately 145 minutes, making it one of the more expansive family musicals of its era.

• Locations included the English countryside, the Isle of Wight, Bavaria, and the medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Neuschwanstein Castle provided the exterior for Baron Bomburst's castle.

• The title song received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. The Sherman Brothers also received Golden Globe recognition for the song and the film's score.

• The movie later became a stage musical. The London production opened in 2002, followed by a Broadway production in 2005, extending the film's life beyond its original theatrical release.