England. Early 20th century. Caractacus Potts is an eccentric inventor who lives together with his father and two adolescent children, Jeremy and Jemima. They’re penniless (senza soldi), but all happy. The story starts when the children ask Caractacus to buy a broken car at a local junk yard (rottamatore). Caractacus does his best (fa del suo meglio) to buy it and succeed helped by a pretty and wealthy (ricca) young woman, Truly Scrumptious, the local candy factory owner’s daughter. Caractacus transforms the piece of junk (rottame) into a beautiful working machine, which they name Chitty Chitty Bang Bangbecause of the noise the engine (rumore del motore) makes. At a seaside picnic with his children and Truly, Caractacus creates a fanciful (fantastico) tale of an eccentric inventor, his pretty girlfriend, his two children, and a magical car – which can swim and fly – named Chitty in the remote land of Vulgaria. The cruel Baron Bomburst, ruler (governatore) of Vulgaria, wants the magical car and kidnaps (rapisce) the automobile and the inventor while Mrs Bomburst wants to imprison the children he hates. But Bomburst captures Grandpa by mistake (per errore) and orders him to make another floating (volante) car. The Potts are hidden by the local toymaker (giocattolaio), who now works only for the baron. Chitty is discovered and taken to the castle. But while Caractacus and the toymaker go in search of Grandpa and Truly goes in search of food, the children are captured by the Baron’s Child Catcher. The toymaker takes Truly and Caractacus to a grotto (grotta) under the castle where other children are hidden. There they thinks of a plan to free the children and the village from the baron. The toymaker make Caractacus and Truly enter the castle disguised (vestiti) as life-size dolls, gifts (dono) for the baron’s birthday. Caractacus gets the children free (libera i bambini) and in the chaos the baron, baroness, and Child Catcher are all captured. The family is now free and fly back with Truly to England. Back home, Caractacus finds his father and Lord Scrumptious playing a lively game of soldiers. Scrumptious offers him to buy the sweets he had invented and Caractacus can ask Truly to marry him while driving off (volando via) together in Chitty – and the car takes to the air again, this time without wings. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming was made into a musical film in 1968 British film directed by Ken Hughes and produced by Albert R. Broccoli (the same producer of 007’s films). The film’s script is by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes and its songs by the Sherman Brothers. Dick Van Dyke stars as Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious.