Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: Best Film Ever?

It's a great fillum, but perhaps a bit toot sweet to be the best ever.

Plus....from seeing the fillum, I wanted a flying car. Where's my flying car?

 

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was my earliest cinematic memory. I've always loved it.

Today I watched it again, after a long break. I still sing along, still fear the Childcatcher.

Is it the best ever? Today I'm going with a "yes" vote.

 

I remember when the movie was released, there was a lot of hype about it, but reviews were lukewarm at best. It seemed to come and go to the theaters fairly quickly. The first time I saw it was on TV around 1975 or '76. I have always enjoyed the film, though I haven't seen it in several years.

 

Up there with Mary Poppins, Sound of Music and Wizard of Oz among movie musicals.
Van Dyke & Andrews each in 2 of the 4

 

I am a big fan of children’s movies from that time, especially the British films...Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Olivor, etc. Every year growing up, Chitty Chitty was on tv around Thanksgiving and I would dutifully start to watch it, but not once could I sit through it. There was no magic or the slightest charm for me.

 

Agreed... The Vulgarian bad guys basically make the film for me. The Child Catcher always steals the show, though. Why are the villains always cooler and more interesting?

It's a good, classic film. I watched it again for the first time in many years about 4-5 weeks ago. It was a nice trip down memory lane, but I skipped through about 80% of the musical numbers, and only watched and listened in full to maybe 2-3 of them. I'm not big on musicals, and CCBB isn't even in my top five in terms of songs alone. I think most musical films could be improved by cutting out the musical sequences, or at least some of them.

 

A classic film from Hollywood’s platinum age. A true masterpiece.

 

Get in line!

 

I remember a lot of pre-release hype for the film during 1968 but it fell far below box office hopes. Reviews were mostly fair to good. I enjoyed the film when I first saw it at the drive-in sometime in 1970.