Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (novel)

1st edition

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car (150 pp.) is a children's book written by Ian Fleming (creator of James Bond) for his son Caspar, with illustrations by John Burningham. It was first published in 1964 by Jonathan Cape in London (in three volumes)^[1] and Random House in New York, and later made into a film.

Fleming took his inspiration for the car from a series of aero-engined racing cars built by Count Louis Zborowski in the early 1920s at Higham Park, christened "Chitty Bang Bang". Fleming had known Higham Park as a guest of its later owner, Walter Wigham, chairman of Robert Fleming & Co.

Plot

Commander Caractacus Pott is an inventor who buys and renovates an old car after gaining money from inventing and selling whistle-like sweets to Lord Skrumshus, the wealthy owner of a local confectionery factory. The car, a "Paragon Panther," was the sole production of the Paragon motor-car company before it went bankrupt. It is a four-seat touring car with an enormous bonnet. After the restoration is complete, the car is named for the noises made by its starter motor and the characteristic two loud backfires it makes when it starts.

At first Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang is just a big and powerful car, but as the book progresses the car surprises the family by beginning to exhibit independent actions. This first happens while the family is caught in a traffic jam on their way to the beach for a picnic. The car suddenly instructs Commander Pott to pull a switch which causes Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang to sprout wings and take flight over the stopped cars on the road. Commander Pott flies them to Goodwin Sands in the English Channel where the family picnics, swims, and sleeps. While the family naps, the tide comes in threatening to drown them. Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang wakes them just in time with a hiss of steam. At the car's direction, Commander Pott pulls another switch which causes it to transform into a hovercraft-like vehicle. They make for the French coast and land on a beach near Calais. They explore along the beach and find a cave boobytrapped with some devices intended to scare off intruders. At the back of the cave is a store of armaments and explosives. The family detonate the cache of explosives and flee the cave.

The gangsters/gun-runners who own the ammunition dump arrive and block the road in front of Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. The gangsters threaten the family, but Commander Pott throws the switch which transforms the car into an aeroplane and they take off, leaving the gangsters in helpless fury. The Potts stay overnight in a hotel in Calais. While the family sleeps, the gangsters break into the children's room and kidnap them and drive off towards Paris. Chitty tracks the gangsters' route, wakes Commander and Mrs. Pott, and they drive off in pursuit.

The gangsters are planning to rob a famous chocolate shop in Paris using the children as decoys. The Pott children overhear this and manage to warn the shop owner, Monsieur Bon-Bon. Chitty arrives in time to prevent the gangsters from fleeing. The police arrive and the gangsters are taken away. As a reward Monsieur Bon-Bon's wife shares the secret recipe of her world famous fudge with the Potts and the two families become good friends. Chitty flies the family away to parts unknown, and the book implies that the car has yet more secrets. The secret recipe for Bon-Bon's world famous French fudge is printed at the back of the last chapter (in certain copies of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the recipe is printed in the chapter where the fudge recipe is introduced).

Characters

• Caractacus Pott
• Mimsie Pott
• Jeremy and Jemima Pott
• Joe the Monster
• Man-Mountain Fink
• Soapy Sam
• Blood-Money Banks
• Monsieur Bon-Bon

Adaptations

Film

Main article: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (film)

A film was made based on the novel in 1968, with a screenplay written by Fleming's good friend Roald Dahl. A novelisation of the film was written by author John Burke.

Stage musical

Main article: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (musical)

On April 16, 2002, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a stage musical based on the movie, opened at the London Palladium theatre. It was directed by Adrian Noble with musical staging and choreography by Gillian Lynne and starred Michael Ball. This version of the show closed in September 2005. It was the longest running show ever at the London Palladium, taking over £70 million in its three and a half year run.^[2]

After closing in London, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang took to the road on a UK European tour. The first stop was at the Sunderland Empire Theatre, where it previewed from December 9, 2005 and premiered on December 13, 2005 and also toured at Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Southampton and Edinburgh. It closed in Southampton on 16 September 2007 and then traveled to Singapore from 2 November 2007 to 9 December. It played at the Alhambra Theatre Bradford from 11 February until 5 April 2008 and played a second time at the Sunderland Empire Theatre from 17 April to 7 June 2008. The Tour played its final venue at the Wales Millennium Centre on 3 July to 30 August 2008. A second British tour of the musical is running from July 2009 to September 2010.

Despite some initial problems with the mechanical flying Chitty used in the show, it has enjoyed a very successful run. A Broadway version opened on April 28, 2005 at the Foxwoods Theatre (then the Hilton Theatre) in New York City and closed on 31 December 2005, after 34 previews and 284 regular performances. The production was nominated for five 2005 Tony Awards:

• Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Erin Dilly)
• Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Marc Kudisch)
• Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Jan Maxwell)
• Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Anthony Ward)
• Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Mark Henderson)

Radio

A one-hour adaptation of the novel by Sherry Ashworth, directed by Charlotte Richers, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) on 3 April 2011, starring Imogen Stubbs as the voice of Chitty, Alex Jennings as Caractacus Potts, Eric Potts as Lord Scrumptious/Mr. Bon-Bon/Man Mountain Fink, David Fleischman as Joe the Monster, Bertie Gilbert as Jeremy and Kerry Ingram as Jemima.

External links

• UK site of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang the Musical
• Details about the original racing car, the film, book and show

References

1. ^ http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=1400589118&searchurl=an%3DFleming%26bi%3D0%26bx%3Doff%26ds%3D30%26recentlyadded%3Dall%26sortby%3D1%26tn%3DChitty%2BChitty%2BBang%2BBang%26x%3D45%26y%3D13
2. ^ "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang the Musical". Eon productions. http://www.chittythemusical.co.uk/show_history/. Retrieved 2009-11-14.