[.ca] Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (ISBN 0792839129)

From Amazon.com:
This remastered, pan-and-scan 30th-anniversary edition of that kiddie-car caper is flawed but solid family fare. It retains a quaint charm while some of the songs--including the title tune--are quite hummable. A huge plus is Dick Van Dyke, who is extremely appealing as an eccentric inventor around the turn of the century. With nimble fingers and a unique way of looking at the world, he invents for his children a magic car that floats and flies. Or does he? The special effects are tame by today's standards, and the film is about 20 minutes too long--but its enthusiasm charms. The script was cowritten by Roald Dahl and based on the novel by Ian Fleming, best known for his James Bond adventures. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Chitty Chitty - FUN FUN !!:
I kept hearing from my friends who have young children (2 - 5 year olds) that their children loved this movie, so I decided to finally buy it and check it out for my 2.5 year old son. He loves it and so do I. It has all the important components for a fun family/childrens movie: 1. The Music: It's fun and gets my son up and dancing around the room. Also the words are catchy and easy for children to learn (although Chitty can be tricky for the little ones :-) 2. Story line: It's really fun and easy to follow. Anything with a car, let alone a flying car rates high with my son. 3. Children: The children in the story are sweet and respectful. Since there is a boy and a girl not only does my son like it, but his little friend (a girl) also relates. I have a lot of "dusty" DVD's that I wish I could return, but I'm confident that you won't regret spending $'s on this one and making part of your family DVD/VHS collection.

Good film, bad packaging:
Please read this review to the end, because it discusses several important highs AND lows about this DVD package. It'd be unfortunate & unbalanced, if you only got half the picture. 1) The main DVD (1 of 2) has the widescreen version of the film on one side, and the TV-square version on the other side. This format makes SO much sense, and is good value for the customer. 2) Disney, which usually overloads their VHS video and DVDs with ads, and shovels them at you BEFORE the main feature, has let their ads sit in the PROPER place, this time-- under "extras" in the DVD menu. There are LOTS of extras-- a kids' book built-in on the DVD case, and some slightly puffy ad-interviews... but generally satisying despite the happy-happy-joy-joy quality of the interviews. 3) If my copy is typical, then the plastic Disney used in the DVD is substandard. My copy of the DVD has no other signs of heavy use, but already has a PAIR of fractures extending from the center of the DVD to the silvered data-bearing surface. Repeated insertion and removal from its standard pressure/friction-fit DVD case, will cause this DVD to quickly disintegrate into an unreadable coffee-cup coaster. 4) Oh yeah-- the MOVIE. *grin* It's pure Dick Van Dyke musical. I'd love to say it's Dick Van Dyke + Julie Andrews, like Mary Poppins, but it's not. However, the Julie Andrews replacement used in this film is completely acceptable, and does a job equal to Ms. Andrews' performances, and almost as pretty onscreen. Like the Andrews films "Sound of Music" and "Mary Poppins", the childrens' performances are somewhat weak. Dick Van Dyke, however, is at the top of his game. Amazing, in someone old enough to have grey in in his hair (40 something, at this point ?) is energetic enough to do over 20 takes (by his own reporting) of the "Old Bamboo" piece, where he's required to jump over a piece of bamboo that he's holding for himself (at slightly over waist height). Good GOD, I may only know one person who can do that, even ONCE. The music is memorable, especially the "living doll" duet late in the film. The plot is predictable, and silly kids' stuff, but-- heck, this IS a kids' musical, so one can't expect a Dustin Hoffman acting level, with a Michael Moore punch and a Silence-of-the-Lambs plotline. 5) Do you REALLY want to buy a Disney film, this year ? I don't. It'd send the wrong message to them, after they've withheld distribution (through their daughter-company Miramax) on the latest Michael Moore film (Fahrenheit 9/11). Their excuse is, it'd endanger the million-dollar tax breaks they get from Bush's brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush. So, they're copping out on their contractual obligation to distribute the film that got Cannes Film Festival's top award. That ain't right. If they'd had objections, the time to raise them was when the contract wasn't yet signed. Don't support these guys. Not this year.

Great Movie Finally in Widescreen!!!:
Theyve finally rleased this film in widescreen as they should have done years ago. And for the record this is NOT a DISNEY movie! It was made and released by UNITED ARTISTS. Don't you guys read the credits?

Bang Bang at Last:
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on DVD is now in WIDESCREEN and at last we get a bang for our buck. "Why issue a classic widescreen epic on DVD if you are not going to present it in its original aspect ratio?" That was my original question along with many many more fans as this Ian Fleming tale. Count Zborowski is no longer as disapointed about this DVD as he must have been when he lost the original Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang in 1922. This is an outstanding DVD presentation with pleny of extras for the young and old alike.

Great for Children in the 1960s, Now Just Memory Lane:
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" has the unique position in my life as being the first movie I saw in the cinema. When I was 3 or 4 or whenever I saw it, I believed I loved it. My vague memories are wonderful. Now, watching again at age 40, in 2006, it does not carry over well. Why? It was probably no help to watch the much superior "Mary Poppins" just before. Dick Van Dyke is a great character actor, with a range of skills that make him the perfect clown actor. However, unlike in "Mary Poppins," he was not given the right materials. His female co-lead is weak - Sally Ann Howes is no Julie Andrews. The children actors could not have been more bland. The plot was hard to follow, even as an adult. There is one catchy song played too often, based on the onomonopoeticism of the sound the car made while rumbling down the road. Had there been more up tempo songs, or wittier lyrics, I think the movie would have twice the staying power. The other songs sound too close to lullabies. So why it is so popular, and why do I still give it four stars? I'm sentimental perhaps, Dick Van Dyke is so good at doing that Dick Van Dyke thing, or I still find the idea of a car that can fly, float, and look retro-cool fascinating. James Bond would have loved the car, and, why not? Ian Fleming, Bond's creator, wrote the book upon which the movie is based. The premise is that a well-meaning, hardworking inventor played by Van Dyke, single parents two pretty good kids who help push him forward in life. The kids, by force of accident, introduce him to candy heiress Truly Scrumptious. Although they start off awkwardly, the two quickly treat the children to a fantasy of a kingdom without children, flying buildings, international espionage, and romance. For me, the difficulty was that the plot flowed in and out of fantasy. Knowing which was which was hard, and when the ending finally comes around, it seemed as if the worlds became one. I felt confused. Did I like the movie? Yes. If I were shopping for a sweet children's movie, and I wanted something with more classic values, I would consider "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang." It would not be the first DVD I picked up, but it would be a far better choice than the latest toy-based Saturday morning cartoon series. Anthony Trendl editor, HungarianBookstore.com