I started watching the first part and was terrified when they showed the Child Catcher [NSFPTAYCBYCC*], but then they showed Mary Tyler Moore on The Dick Van Dyke Show and it was all better.
Ian Fleming wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" was a nickname for James Bond and the original opening song for Thunderball. ("Thunderball" is better, though.) Also CCBB inspired the excellent band name Shitty Shitty Band Band.
As someone who, decades after the fact, still regularly refers to various people, dogs, and cats as "choochie face," I thank you. posted by FelliniBlank at 5:25 PM on April 2
Ian Fleming wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?!?! posted by DU at 5:58 PM on April 2
I remember talking to a co-worker about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang once and I was commenting how awesome it was. I then said something about how it was actually remarkably similiar to a James Bond flick. It was an offhand comment and I was laughed at for it.
Only later did I realize how on the money I was. posted by P.o.B. at 6:04 PM on April 2
I have watched this movie about 50 times. You have to love the "Toot Sweets" sequence if nothing else. posted by stinkycheese at 6:20 PM on April 2
One of those cases where the movie is better than the book. posted by stbalbach at 6:31 PM on April 2
It IS just like a bond film. Good guy has cool gadgets, gets the girl with a ridiculously descriptive name, over the top evil character to fight against.
It just needs a martini and a tux. posted by nomisxid at 7:03 PM on April 2
Truly Scrumptious! posted by steef at 7:17 PM on April 2
Truly scrumptious, like over sweet candy. Small dose surprise is nice, steady diet ruins the taste. Nice small dose. posted by Mblue at 7:18 PM on April 2
Always loved the Rube Goldberg-esque breakfast-making thingy. And when I was a girl I used to pretend I was the "music box lady" that turns round and round and moves like a weird early version of the Robot.
Posh with a capital P! posted by shifafa at 10:22 PM on April 2
i loved this movie as a kid too, then I watched it as an adult. I love the songs, love the child catcher, but the whole (very long) second half is just a story conceit pretty much ruined it for me. posted by nangua at 10:35 PM on April 2
So I have this brother - actually I have 3 of them, but this is just about the one - Jonathan. As fate would have it, Jon was the one of us who got the tape-recorder memory. I mean, he only needs to hear something once, and its locked in. He can bring it up at random, for years on end. Its scary. You don't even want to think about getting into a movie quote battle with him, you won't lose so much as be eviscerated. And its not just movies either - its often things people say in real life, that he just randomly blurts out and takes you instantly back to that moment. Mostly its hilarious.
Growing up, our parents were extremely conservative. To this day they've never once had cable run into the house, and even our network TV viewing as children was closely monitored and time-restricted. A lot of PBS and very little of anything else. When mom and dad would leave us with a babysitter, we got a rare VHS rental from the Albertson's video rental section, and it was always one of those white-bordered Disney movies: Swiss Family Robinson, The Shaggy DA, Herbie Goes Bananas, etc. etc. etc.. We never got to see that Witch Mountain one. I should probably try and find it now. Anyway. We owned a very precious few VHS tapes - and those that we did of course were dramatically over-watched. These included Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory - which I blame in large part for my social inadequacies - and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Which might explain why, every time I call my brother Jon, to catch up with him, see how college is wrapping up, etc., he answers the phone in a deep, booming:
This movie has legs. My six year old LOVES it and frequently requests it over Nemo, Robots, etc... posted by punkfloyd at 5:55 AM on April 3
More Ian Fleming connections in CCBB ... the bumbling king who hated children was Gert Frobe who later would play Goldfinger, possibly the most famous 007 villain. posted by birdwatcher at 6:23 AM on April 3
I loved this movie as a kid. How hard did I love it? I had a speech impediment and the therapist successfully treated it by using CCBB toys and tie-ins as rewards, that's how hard.
Sadly, it hasn't aged very well, at least for me. posted by Halloween Jack at 6:55 AM on April 3
The car was on display at the local mall a few years ago. I went and paid my respects. It was stuck back in a dark corner. It had a pan underneath to catch oil drippings. It was entirely unnoticed and ignored by the mall population. A little part of my childhood died. posted by anazgnos at 8:00 AM on April 3
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posted by Artw at 4:28 PM on April 2