The first half of this movie was great — the eccentric inventor, the old car, the songs. (Try listening to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and then not walking around with the tune in your head for the rest of the day — go ahead, I dare you.) But the fantasy bit was way too long and too silly (although the child-catcher was rather eerie). The book was written by Ian Fleming, who created James Bond, and the screenplay was written by Roald Dahl (which explains some of the weirdness).