# Why is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang so long **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 16, 2011, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070 "2011-05-16T05:41:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/21 "2011-05-16T18:21:10Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > As for _Chitty Chitty Bang Bang_, I think I saw it in its original theatrical release – I do remember Dick Van Dyke and the titular flying jalopy, but being 5 years old at the time, I can’t recall whether I got bored or not. And I don’t believe I’ve revisited _CCBB_ since then. My parents took me to see **Chitty Chitty Bang Bang** in the theater when I was about 4. Even though it was long, I remember it did manage to hold my interest during the entire running time which, when you’re that age, is your only criteria for whether a movie’s good or not. I didn’t see it again until it was shown on TV when I was 7. My estimate of the movie dropped considerably and has never recovered. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/22 "2011-05-17T02:38:43Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I only read one of the books, but it had multiple stories in it. They were very different from the movie, to the point that I really had trouble associating the two. Sort of like the difference between “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and “Who Censored Roger Rabbit.” > > Did you dislike the books or did you think that they were better than the movie? I loved the books. I was probably 12 or 13 when I read them and after that the movie just seemed silly. I haven’t read or watched either for 25+ years so maybe I would feel differently now. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/23 "2011-05-17T13:47:53Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I agree about _Chitty Chitty Bang Bang_ being way too long as well. The Sherman Brothers jumped the Disney Ship, and they had Dick Van Dyke, and the movie still wasn’t a major success. Have a look at the book it came from – it’s practically a pamphlet! This movie is the very definition of 'padded". My big gripe with the movie is that it has absolutely nothing whatever in common with the book - the story is entirely made up out of the whole cloth. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/24 "2011-05-17T14:52:08Z")
My two year-old son has become obsessed with CCBB, in the way that only a 2 year-old can. The good points for him are: 1. Colourful! Shiny! It is a very pretty movie. 2. Music! All but two songs are upbeat, jaunty numbers he can “dance” along to. 3. Few scenes are longer than 3 mins, so there’s always something new on screen. And there is a huge variety of locations/scenery so new really is new (e.g. mucking around on a beach to being shot at by pirates to comedy spies in 5 mins). 4. He’s way too young to be freaked out by the Childcatcher. 5. May be reaching here, but the relationship between the dad and the children comes across as genuinely affectionate, which I think he likes to see. For me, the length is a positive virtue - you can essentially treat it as four or five separate movies, depending on where you start watching from. That makes it sprawling and unfocused in the cinema, but is a real boon on DVD in the 21st Century. Not least because it increases the number of times I can watch it with him without stabbing my eyes out. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/25 "2011-05-17T18:29:50Z")
Toot Sweet can go. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/26 "2011-05-17T18:50:24Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m not sure you could call Bedknobs & Broomsticks a “follow-up” to Mary Poppins, as it came out 7 years later. “follow-up” doesn’t necessarily mean “next movie made”. It was clearly intended in the same vein, and used many of the same people. The version I saw was on disc, so it undoubtedly was the extended version – I didn’t see it in the theaters when it came out. It certainly felt much longer than its stated running time, and could clearly use editing. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/27 "2011-05-17T20:09:57Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Toot Sweet can go. Well, dogs love it! ---
**Author:** ![surrounded\_by\_literalists](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@surrounded\_by\_literalists](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/surrounded_by_literalists)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/28 "2011-05-18T07:56:11Z")
OMG! I have PTSD from this fucking movie! When my oldest was 7 she came down with chicken pox. I rented Chitty Chitty Bang Bang along with 5 or 6 other movies to keep her entertained for the next 10 days or so. Well, SHE LOVED IT! So much in fact, that I had to suffer throught that long, sappy, syrupy, LSD inspired story 5 TIMES A DAY FOR THE NEXT 10 DAYS! Good God I thought I was going snap the last rubber band holding the framework of my brain together. Nothing I could offer her would do as a substitute distraction, and I tried them all. The day I returned that movie, I almost cried from relief. And I almost EVISCERATED my husband when he went out and bought the movie for her because she loved it so much. He was at work 10 hrs a day, he didn’t have to live through it. One of the items on my Post Bucket List is to track down the production team of that movie and KICK THEIR ASSES!. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/29 "2011-05-18T11:41:40Z")
> [@surrounded\_by\_literalists](#): > > …The day I returned that movie, I almost cried from relief. And I almost EVISCERATED my husband when he went out and bought the movie for her because she loved it so much. He was at work 10 hrs a day, he didn’t have to live through it… Time’s up. Had your chance. Muffed it. Good morning. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/30 "2011-05-18T12:00:05Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Toot Sweet can go. Noooo! The potential for innuendo is worth the price of the ticket alone. What young man hasn’t grabbed his family jewels, pointed them at his girlfriend, and sung: Don’t waste your pucker on some all day sucker And don’t try a toffee or cream If you seek perfection in sugar confection Well there’s something new on the scene. A mouth full of cheer A sweet without peer A musical morsel supreme! Toot Sweet Toot Sweet The bonbon you blow on The whistle you eat… ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/31 "2011-05-18T13:04:32Z")
Why are all these dogs running in here? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/32 "2011-05-18T14:48:34Z")
Oh, let’s just drop the soft porn section, shall we? Or have you all forgotten “You’re my little Choochie-face?” Seriosuly, WTF?!? ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/33 "2011-05-18T15:06:22Z")
Ah, the joys of the internet: “this movie rocks!” “this movie sucks!” ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/34 "2011-05-18T16:30:26Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I loved the books. I was probably 12 or 13 when I read them and after that the movie just seemed silly. I haven’t read or watched either for 25+ years so maybe I would feel differently now. I only know one other person who had read the books first, and he had a similar reaction. I’ve seen that apply to a lot of movies and books. Seeing the movie first and reading the book later seems to lead to a lot less disappointment. ---
**Author:** ![Runestar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/74df32/32.png) [@Runestar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runestar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/35 "2011-05-18T18:24:55Z")
There is no Chitty Chitty Bang Bang movie. There is only the most excellent children’s book by Ian Fleming. No one would possibly consider taking a story with secret caves, gangsters, and explosions and turning it into a sappy childrens’ musical. Therefore, such a movie cannot possibly exist. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/36 "2011-05-18T18:28:35Z")
All I know is a movie I’ve been watching over and over for more than 40 years has never failed to delight me. So there. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/37 "2011-05-18T22:14:04Z")
The Sherman brothers had a habit of writing a song for every scene and action. CCBB would have been a much longer movie had they used all the songs they wrote for it. Ditto Mary Poppins. Some songs were deleted from MP, one of which ended up in Bed Knobs & Broomsticks. “Beautiful Briny Sea” was original in MP but rewritten for BK & BS. It would have been in the scene where Mary turns over the snow globe before the song “Stay Awake”. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/38 "2011-05-19T02:29:01Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Ah, the joys of the internet: > > “this movie rocks!” > > “this movie sucks!” You think this is what this thread is saying? Really? > [@ouryL](#): > > The Sherman brothers had a habit of writing a song for every scene and action. If I were commissioning music for a musical, this is what I would want. Give me music foe everything, and I’ll pick what I want. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/39 "2011-05-19T14:23:00Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > You think this is what this thread is saying? Really? > > … No, I was just in a silly mood, sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070/40 "2011-05-19T15:09:04Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Time’s up. Had your chance. Muffed it. Good morning. My family also quotes this line now and then. 😃 I remember seeing CCBB on TV as a kid, and really liking it. I esp. remember the opening flashback sequence with the exciting antique-car race, the mysterious restoration of the car by Potts, being shelled by the Vulgarian tyrant’s yacht, and the zeppelin trip (“Port out, starboard home”) of Grandpa to Vulgaria. And, yikes, the Childcatcher just scared the bejesus out of my sisters and me. Good times. CCBB was so long it actually included an intermission with music, which appears on the VHS tape as well (dunno about the DVD). As a movie you can stop at any point and then come back to, for the home entertainment of kids today, I actually think it’s pretty good. I was never nearly as keen on _Mary Poppins_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-chitty-chitty-bang-bang-so-long/582070.md?page=3)