So, why was I so certain that this was a Disney film?

And how did I not know until recently that spymaster Ian Fleming, writer of the James Bond novels, wrote the book it was based on, or that beloved children's author Roald Dahl wrote the screenplay?

Honestly, I hadn't thought about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for years, but I was reading to the twins from a collection of children's classics last week and came upon "Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang Saves the Day," a short story by Fleming, and the kids loved it. A few days later, a friend shared with me Abney Park's steampunk-themed remake of the theme song. So this evening, I decided it was time to share the movie with the twins.

They were enthralled.

When we had to break for the night (it is, after all, quite a long movie for children) they were aghast, and they were eager to continue the movie the next day.

And why not? Disney or not, the movie has a fun story, an excellent cast and memorable music. And, of course, producer Albert Broccoli, who of course helmed the Bond series of films, and director Ken Hughes borrowed heavily from Disney's stable of talent, from star Dick Van Dyke to the songwriters and choreographers from Mary Poppins.

Much of the success of the movie comes down to the delightful performance by Van Dyke, who wisely eschewed an English accent and played a wonderfully eccentric inventor, Caractacus Potts, who builds a marvelous car -- and, more importantly, weaves a fantastic tale for his children about their and the car's exploits in a nation where children have been outlawed.

The film also stars Sally Ann Howes as love interest Truly Scrumptious, daughter of the local candy factory's owner; Howes, of course, was the filmmakers' second choice after Julie Andrews turned down the role, but Howes, who succeeded Andrews in the Broadway version of My Fair Lady, does an excellent job. So, too, do Lionel Jeffries as the unconventional Grandpa Potts, Heather Ripley and Adrian Hall as the children Jemima and Jeremy and, who can forget, Benny Hill as the wonderfully sweet toymaker.

Even Gert Frobe, more famous as the Bond adversary Goldfinger, shines as the villainous Baron Bomburst. (He's not the only actor from the Bond films to appear here; Desmond Llewelyn, better known as Bond's original gadget man Q, is Coggins the junk man, and Anna Quayle, as Baroness Bomburst, appeared in 1967's largely forgettable Casino Royale.)

Anyway, the story is fun, Dick Van Dyke is amazing and the rest of the cast makes this movie a lot of fun. It's as magical as I remember it being when I was a kid, and I'm thrilled that my children now love it, too.