''Truly Scrumptious'' is a song composed for the 1968 motion picture ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 children's film, children's Musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes and produced by Albert R. Broccoli. It stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, ...

'', and later performed in its 2002/2005 stage adaptation. The song was written by Robert B. Sherman & Richard M. Sherman. It is about the lead female character, Truly. The first time we hear the music to the song is when Truly (played by

Sally Ann Howes Sally Ann Howes (20 July 1930 – 19 December 2021) was an English actress and singer. Her career on screen, stage and television spanned six decades. She is best known for the role of Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 musical film ''Chitty Chitt ...

in the film) motors up to the Potts' windmill with the children. It is later sung to her by Adrian Hall and

Heather Ripley Heather Ripley is a Scottish former actress. She is best known for the film ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' (1968), in which she played Jemima Potts. Early life Ripley was raised in Broughty Ferry, outside of Dundee, Scotland. Her father and grandfa ...

(as Jeremy and Jemima), the twin children of widower Caractacus Potts (played by

Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. Dick Van Dyke on screen and stage, His work spans screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Dick Van Dyke, his awards includ ...

in the film), and she sings the second verse back to them. It occurs at the beach scene in the middle of the film when all the characters begin to fall in love with each other.

Reprise

This song is reprised later in the story as a

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

to another song entitled " Doll on a Music Box". When the song is sung a second time, in counterpoint, it is then sung by Caractacus. Truly sings the counterpoint as an expression of her own, "real life" emotional detachment. The counterpoint is staccato whereas "Truly Scrumptious" has a

legato In music performance and notation, legato (; Italian for "tied together"; French ''lié''; German ''gebunden'') indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly, such that the transition from note to note is made with no intervening si ...

melody.

Visual metaphor

This sequence is a part of Caractacus's story, which he is telling to Truly and his children. In the song, Caractacus plays a flimsy rag doll, too flexible for his own good; whereas, Truly plays a precious, too-cutesy doll which is too rigid for her own good. Twice during the counterpoint, the rag doll approaches the doll, only to be slapped in the face. This mirrors the earlier "real life" story where Caractacus's first two interactions with Truly are mistimed as well (first in the workshop, then when Caractacus accidentally runs Truly's car off the road). The rag doll keeps trying, when suddenly he captures his own reflection and realizes how foolish he appears. It is only when Truly momentarily breaks character and shoves him slightly into the mirror to get his attention that he returns to his character. The rag doll properly courts the doll and is about to kiss the doll's hand, when she retracts her hand from him just in time. Rigidity wins out. Only at the end of the movie do Caractacus and Truly truly see eye to eye.

Popular culture

*In 1992, the " Doll on a Music Box"/"Truly Scrumptious" counterpoint was reenacted as part of a surrealistic sequence of the 1992 film, ''

Arizona Dream ''Arizona Dream'' is a 1993 indie surrealist comedy drama film co-written and directed by Emir Kusturica and starring Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Lili Taylor and Vincent Gallo. Plot Axel has a dream about an Eskimo who catches a ...

'' starring

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, ...

and

Lili Taylor Lili Anne Taylor (born February 20, 1967) is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films '' Mystic Pizza'' (1988) and '' Say Anything...'' (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s i ...

. *In 2002 and 2003, the song "Truly Scrumptious" was used as the backing music for a string of three

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

public information films Public information films (PIFs) are a series of government-commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the United Kingdom. The name is sometimes also applied, ''faute de mieux'', to similar films from other countries, ...

by the

Food Standards Agency The Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is led by a board appoin ...

promoting good food hygiene, voiced by

Dervla Kirwan Dervla Kirwan (born 24 October 1971) is an Irish actress. She has received a number of accolades, including two IFTA Awards for her performances in the film '' Ondine'' (2009) and the RTÉ thriller series '' Smother'' (2021–2023) respective ...

. *In 2006, the song "Truly Scrumptious" was sung in the BBC TV series '' How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?''. *In 2008, the song "Truly Scrumptious" was sung in the BBC TV series '' I'd Do Anything''. *The song was parodied for use in a UK advert for Truvia

sweetener A sweetener is a substance added to food or drink to impart the flavor of sweetness, either because it contains a type of sugar, or because it contains a sweet-tasting sugar substitute. Various natural non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) and artificial s ...

in 2012, sung by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n soprano Ebony Buckle.

External links

Press release for Truvia advert launch
*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truly Scrumptious (Song) 1968 songs Songs from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Songs written by the Sherman Brothers