This movie is based on a book by Ian Fleming - he of “James Bond” fame. What is fascinating about that is that many people do not realize he is the author of the book. Why is that fascinating? Because Ian Fleming saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as his magnus opus - the crowning moment of his life’s achievements. He viewed the entire James Bond brouhaha as simply a way of financing himself while he worked on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; whenever he needed more finances, he would take time off of CCBB and crank out another spy novel. He must have worked on this a l-o-o-o-n-g time because he put out quite a few James Bond books. President Kennedy loved Ian Fleming’s spy books, which contributed to their becoming popular. Never heard how he felt about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. :)