Caractacus Pott
| Caractacus Pott | |
|---|---|
| Chitty Chitty Bang Bang character | |
| First appearance | Chitty Chitty Bang Bang |
| Created by | Ian Fleming |
| Portrayed by | Dick Van Dyke |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Inventor |
| Family | Grandpa Potts (father, film only) |
| Spouse(s) | Mimsie Pott |
| Significant other(s) | Truly Scrumptious (film only) |
| Children | Jeremy Pott Jemimah Pott |
| Nationality | British |
Commander Caractacus Pott is one of the main characters in Ian Fleming's novel Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang and its film adaptation. He is an eccentric inventor who lives with his wife and twin eight-year-old children, Jeremy and Jemima, on the Potts' hilltop farm. In the film version he is a single father who does not have a wife, but he and his children live with his father; the family surname is altered from "Pott" to "Potts."
In the original 1964 book, Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car
The filmmakers, including screenwriter Roald Dahl, altered a good deal of the book's details when crafting the 1968 film musical version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, in which Caractacus is portrayed by Dick Van Dyke. The name Pott was changed to Potts and it was felt that a burgeoning romance would serve the story better, and so the character of Mimsie was written out of the story. Caractacus's film character was written as a widower who develops a romantic relationship with Truly Scrumptious, the daughter of the sweets magnate, Lord Scrumptious. The film also did not carry over the naval commander part of his life and there is no hint of it in any of the set design, dialogue or behavior. His other inventions as seen in the film were designed and created by the craftsman Roland Emett, and have been on display at Mid-America Science Museum for many years.
In the movie, Caractacus's wife is revealed to have died, leaving him as guardian of their two children Jeremy and Jemimah but in poverty. The daily routine is that while Caractacus invents stuff to sell for his and his children's food to keep them alive, Jeremy and Jemimah either go to school or play in a garage owned by a neighbor, Mr. Coggins. One day the children discover and grow fond of a decrepit race car that caught fire and exploded in a road race when it was involved in a high speed accident – a dog ran into the road from the cheering crowd which the car swerved to avoid and was sent crashing down an embankment – and persuade their father to restore it.
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