As a 53 year old, trut me, I have a full grasp on Vaudeville and its history. My comment was meant in jest, as I absolutely love this musical sequence.
fun fact! when he leaves at 1:40 he's actually going off screen to catch his breath and get some water, he's said that this dance took a lot out of him
Dick´s lack of synchronization at the beginning might seem ridiculous at first, but thinking carefully of it, it was the right and most realistic thing to happen just within the plot or context of the story, if he knew not the song and dancing beforehand, or not so well at least, breaking with the Hollywoodish tradition of perfect synchronization at every moment. My favorite song by far from the movie ever since I was a little child, anyway; even better than the theme song. All the others were rather sad and depressing to me.
Alan the leopard And because he made sure he was always in the middle it looked intentional/balanced to anyone who didn't know what they were supposed to be doing. Love this song, so much.
Chitty was one of the first movies I ever remember seeing. I even had a Chitty metal lunchbox when I started school. Watching it now - so many MANY years later - I still know the words to every song. :)
I saw in an interview recently where DVD said this nearly killed him as, at 40 -ish he was already twice the age of the others, bless the man, ain't any come through like him since.
I love this movie so much. I remember I got it as gift when I was a kid. And I didn't watch it cause I thought it was a boring old movie. One day I didn't have any movies to watch (before Netflix existed) so I just this movie on the DVD player. And I fell in love with this movie. I know all the song.
I love this man so much! And he's awesome throughout the number but what moves the most is his characters response to the Money and appreciation from the people around him. so sincere and kind.
CHERISH! We will never see these days or this talent again (probably) in our lifetime. The amount of rehearsal to make this not only a polished performance, but one that looks ad libbed is staggering. With all actions at the start being portrayed as 1 beat behind compared to later choreography (all done in a 3 minute plus take) being spot on, takes a true artist and all-round talent.
With all respect to those who made incredibly works such as this. BULL SHIT. It is a dangerous thing to hold on too high a pedestal, as is it to ignore the craft of the modern. We live in an age of unprecedented access to information, and in all this it can seem hard to see standouts, but this is not due to a lack of talent, but rather an abundance of it. Dick Van Dyke is a true legend, but he would be the first to tell you how wrong this is.
I haven't seen this in almost 20 decades since I was a kid, and I sang along to the entire song like I'd seen it yesterday! What a great childhood memory!
Dick Van Dyke had no dance training whatsoever before he did musical movies and so to learn this routine (especially when the other dancers were half his age at the time), out dance everyone, and do the first half of the routine deliberately out of synchronisation is something really special.
i SO AGREE and you know he is 90 and still dancing bless him and he works out every day at the gym I am surprised Gene Kelly didn't grab him up for a movie together such a fantastic dancer and light on his feet even now
MY CHILDHOOD ❤️ I used to have this movie on VHS as a child, and I played it so much I wore it out! This was my favorite movie of all time! My favorite scene along with many others!
I feel so old watching this. Sure, I'm only 19, and I don't even remember this from when I watched this movie in my childhood, but I DO remember VHS. You'd be surprised how many people just a few years younger than me have never heard of it.
i recently re-watched chitty chitty bang bang, and i somehow missed this scene. this is so much more classic and cute than what family guy did with it. its a shame that that version is more memorable now. long live the classics!
Fun fact, Julie Andrews was originally going to play Truley Scrumptious, but they didn't want it to be too similar to Mary Poppins, so they changed actresses.
in an interview he said he was never trained to dance and he just learned on the fly during rehearsals. Still a god when it comes to musicals. I wish they still made movies like this.
Dick Van Dyke did a fabulous job in this scene with having to learn the routine and I had read once that he had tremendous back issues while filming the movie, so it makes his performance that much more impressive! One of the truly great actors of our time :)
Dick Van Dyke was such an amazing & limber comedic dancer. There is a move that they do, when they spin their lower leg in a circle, that's call "The Coffee Grinder", that I like love to practice just for fun. I'm glad so many appreciate this clip...
I used to watch the movie all the time when I was a kid. Still have the video tape of it somewhere. This was by far my most favorite scene and I remember taking the video out, putting it into the device to rewind it, and then taking it out to put it in the player again to re-watch it.
My feet are dancing like crazy listening to this through headphones in a public college library. If I start dancing, I'm sure people will think I'm high. XD
Ahh that kidnapper really freaked me out! Kidnapper: ice cream! Cream puffs! Come on out! Kids: oh! Ice cream! Me: idiots!!! Don't leave! They said to stay hidden! No! No! No! Don't! Ahhhhh too late...
The "oh! Ice cream!" line was reused in Despicable Me 2 by El Macho who is kidnapping Gru's minions and turning them into his own evil purposes by way of a ice cream truck.
Lol, notice on the left at 0:30 the guys grab their sticks but one falls to the floor, so the one guy has to stoop down real quick to get it. Oh well, still an amazing number. And I even love the Family Guy version, too :-) Seth Macfarlane is a lover of classic musicals, so any parody or reference comes from his heart. And who knows how many people now know of this song that didn't before?
So I'm sitting at home watching family guy and all of a sudden their song "bag of weed" comes on. I got up started dancing and hummed with them. I knew I knew that song as it was from one of my favourite childhood movies. I watched the movie again after and I still fucking love it. That and many more of family guy's amazing references to this movie is just another reason why I watch. Thank you family guy, for reminding me.
I hope you are kidding - Me 'ol Bamboo was written specifically for the 1968 movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Family Guy parodied the song as "A Bag o' Weed". I enjoy what Fanily Guy does with the classics...
This brings back so many childhood memories. Remember used to get walking stick out and dance to this and Mary Poppins roof scene in front of my family 😊. Got to learn both dances and lyrics (this and Mary Poppins roof scene's)
So many amazing things to consider here: 1. Dick Van Dyke is two steps behind everyone else in the first verse 2. He was 41 years old at the time, whereas the other dancers were all in their 20s 3. He had no dance training before he was in Mary Poppins, which was 4 years before Chitty 4. This was the 23rd take of this number - yes, TWENTY-TWO takes before they pulled it off on this one 5. He was wasted during filming and couldn't remember a thing at the premiere
Interesting facts. I’ll have to read up on those. Dick Van Dyke is an amazing performer in all of his endeavors…and even though he’s said that he wasn’t happy with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, for several reasons, he brought the heart & humor to this fanciful film that will last for generations…
I can appreciate Family Guy bringing people here, especially after reading ace's comment, but I do wish more people would've known on thier own. Not only is this an amazing dance but the movie in itself was absolutely beautiful. I don't think people should dislike musicals before they actually see the movie. The plot in a musical can make all the difference. I know that this movie and this dance will always have a special place in my heart.
Take note ,,,,,,sir van dyke ( he is knighted in my book ) even when he is in sync with the other dancers ( even in Mary poppins ) stands out ,,,, he has a very unique way of moving ,,,,,,nobody moves like Dick Van Dyke !!!!! ever !!!! he is a living entertainment Icon !!!!!!
Whenever I think I can't do something, I remind myself that Dick Van Dyke did this while he was 42, smoked a pack a day and drank like a fish. Then I realise I have no excuse.
