"a dream that man can fly"

Plain and simply, this is one of the greatest family films ever made. The original story was written by Ian Fleming, the same guy who created James Bond, so it was only right when it came time to make the film, Albert R. (Cubby) Broccoli (who produced all of the Bond movies up to License To Kill) would be handed the production. Lots of Cubby's James Bond associates helped on this film, including Richard Maibaum (additional writing), Ken Adam (production design), Peter Lamont (art director), Vic Armstrong (stunts) and many others. This was not a Disney production, in fact Dick Van Dyke was quoted as saying, "this film will out-Disney Disney" and was after banned from future Disney productions.

The story is imaginative. A flying car whisks Truly and Caractacus, along with the two Potts children Jeremy and Jemima (Adrian Hall and Heather Ripley) off to the fictional kingdom of "Vulgaria" (where children are forbidden) to rescue eccentric Grandpa Potts (played absolutely perfectly by Lionel Jeffries), who has been kidnapped by Bomburst in the mistaken belief that he's the inventor of the car. This was one of my favorite films as a kid, and you have to think like a child to watch it and appreciate it as an adult. Until today I had never actually seen the film unedited, and I found it just a delight.

The plot does drag along at times and to my mind, it has one too many musical numbers. If you think 144 minutes is too long for a movie, please note that there's an intermission in the middle, only you have the pause or stop button at your command. The film only drags for me when Sally Ann Howes sings "Lonely Man". It's a wonderful song, but it doesn't seem to belong in the film. If you take notice of where they put this scene, it especially seems not to belong. On the bright side, it does highlight Ms. Howes' wonderful voice.

The lovable Dick van Dyke should have received an award for his performance in this film - hands down. He was at the peak of his considerable talents. The musical number "Me Ol' Bamboo" is one of the most spectacularly choreographed and executed routines I've seen in any musical.

This Special Edition is superb in wide-screen. This was one film that suffered greatly from a standard T.V format transfer but now in wide-screen, it's possible to see the cinematography as it was intended to be and luckily it was shot in Technicolor which was easily the best analogue colour system around. Perspectives can now be seen as intended and the beautiful sets and the dance routines look vastly better. The extras have an adorable mixture of goodies, including a wonderful little chat with Pierre Pictton, the proud owner of Chitty, who still continues to tour the world with this beloved car. Of course, last but not least, the DVD could not be complete without a sing-a-long option!

It's a film for children and adults who can still view it remembering the child in themselves. It has no coarse language, no mindless violence, no cynicism ... just fun. In short it is a type of film that Hollywood can no longer make because they no longer know how, so it should be treasured. It's James Bond meets Mary Poppins. If you've never seen it in it's restored intended fashion, you're missing an essential movie experience. It's "Truly Scrumptious".