What Millennials Can Learn From Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

While scrolling through the hundreds of channels of absolute shit on the TV last night, I noticed that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was coming up.

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For those of you who did not grow up in the 60's & 70's, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was one of those movies you were allowed to watch by your parents growing up.

Some, including my wife, had the soundtrack on a vinyl album as a child.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was more "edgy" than The Sound of Music.

I hadn't seen the film in decades although bits of the title song occasionally wander through my head; I can't explain that.

While I knew it was one of those Dick Van Dyke films (like Mary Poppins, Lt. Robin Crusoe USN, etc.) I was absolutely flabbergasted (not to be confused with Flubber, the miracle invention of Fred MacMurray in the 1961 Disney film The Absent Minded Professor) to find out that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car was the work of Ian Fleming of James Bond fame.

The screenplay credits include Roald Dahl who wrote James & the Giant Peach and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (probably better known as Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory because, well, who reads books anymore?).

I will also point out here that I refuse to watch the remakes of films where Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, Johnny Depp and the like put their "artistic" interpretation on the screen.

Leave the classics alone.

I also noticed quite a few character actors in Chitty who also appeared in later Albert Broccoli Bond films and achieved some notoriety on their own.

Gert Fröbe who played Auric Goldfinger in the Bond film, Goldfinger.

Benny Hill who went on to become, Benny Hill.

Desmond Llewelyn who played "Q" in the classic Bond films.

And, I was shocked to find out that Julie Andrews was not in the film.

But there came a point, during the musical number, The Roses of Success, where I realized that there are some serious things missing from today's perfect little snowflake society.

Nobody is willing to Fail!!!!!!

Everyone needs that participation trophy and to feel that they're winners.

Yay, you're a winner, you're a winner, you're a winner, everyone wins!

Our society has managed to produce a generation of people who aren't willing to take a chance if it means there's a possibility that they might, GASP, FAIL.

If they fail, they'll be crushed.

How will they ever recover?

What has happened to the drive to succeed and overcome so perfectly voiced by Irv Favre:

You better never come off that field.
If you get hurt, and you can’t walk off, crawl off.
If you can’t crawl off, I’ll come get you.’

Safe spaces, coloring books and puppies to sooth those frazzled nerves.

I won't complain about the puppies.

Everyone likes a cute, fuzzy puppy.

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My wife says I have to put a Husky puppy in too.

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Good EFFORT , High Five me.

But no more free puppies.

Earn the puppy, at least TRY first.