Speaking of psychedelics, Ian Fleming (yes, the Ian Fleming. Creator of the iconic James Bond. Between a love of spy novels and ornithologists, Fleming had a soft spot for inventors and sentient automobiles) must have been taking some mind-altering substances to come up with this idea. CCBB also boasts some of the best names in cinematic history. The aforementioned Van Dyke is Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes is Truly Scrumptious (a role initially given to Julie Andrews, and subsequently turned down due to the similarity to her Poppins character)
The plot is as follows: Potts finds an old car and rebuilds it, coining it Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from the noises it makes. He takes his kids, meets a lady (the lovely Miss Scrumptious) and spins a tale of Barons and Baronesses in the fictional Vulgaria. The long and the short of it is Chitty deploys flotation devices when they're in water, sprouts wings when they drive off cliffs (?!); basically the car's a conscious being that saves its owner and family's lives.
And if you're not hooked already, here's a clip to a musical number that will stay in your head the rest of your life. You're welcome.
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