Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) on Netflix

Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.

• After a heart attack in 1961, Ian Fleming decided to write a children's novel based on the stories about a flying car that he used to tell his infant son. He wrote the book in longhand, as his wife had confiscated his typewriter in an attempt to force him to rest.
• The original "hero" car, described as fully functional and road going, was put up for auction on 15 May 2011 by a California-based auction house. Expected to fetch $1 million to $2 million, it was purchased for $805,000 by New Zealand film director Sir Peter Jackson.
• Truly Scrumptious was originally intended for Julie Andrews, to reunite her with Van Dyke after Mary Poppins, but Andrews rejected the part as too similar to Poppins. Sally Ann Howes, who had replaced Andrews as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady on Broadway in 1958, was then offered the role and accepted.
• Van Dyke stated in 2025 that he was supposed to get 20 percent of the box office for the film, but said the cheques "never came."
• Aimee Ferrier said the Child Catcher bears many antisemitic stereotypes, most notably his large prosthetic nose, which appears like a caricature, and his top hat, a feature often included in antisemitic depictions of Jewish people.
• The airship was damaged during a flight by Malcolm Brighton and Derek Piggott when it collided with two sets of high-voltage power wires. It was repaired, but was subsequently destroyed when it was torn from its moorings during a storm.
• Van Dyke took his part in the film only after turning down another one: the role of Fagin in the 1968 musical Oliver!.