Caractacus Pott (Caractacus Potts in the film adaptation) is one of the main characters in Ian Fleming's novel Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang and its film adaptation. The film version of the story makes several changes to his character.
In the original 1964 book, Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car, Pott is a Royal NavyCommander and eccentric inventor who lives with his wife Mimsie and their twin eight-year-old children, Jeremy and Jemima, on their hilltop farm. He and his family are mentioned in the sequel books before appearing in the final one: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: Over the Moon, where they assist the Tooting family in stopping Tiny Jack.
The filmmakers, including screenwriter Roald Dahl, altered many of the book's details for 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 the character of Mimsie was written out as it was felt a burgeoning romance would serve the story better. Caractacus' film character is a widower who develops a romantic relationship with Truly Scrumptious, the daughter of the sweets magnate, Lord Scrumptious. The film also expunged the naval commander part of his life. His other inventions as seen in the film were designed and created by the craftsman Rowland Emett and are on display at Mid-America Science Museum.
In the movie, Caractacus' wife has died leaving him as a single parent to their two children Jeremy and Jemima. The daily routine is that Caractacus invents things to sell for his family's sustenance, while Jeremy and Jemima go to school or play in a garage owned by a neighbour, Mr. Coggins. The children discover and grow fond of a decrepit racing car which had been involved in a high-speed road race accident. When a dog and a child ran into the road from the cheering crowd, it had crashed down an embankment where it caught fire and exploded. The children persuade their father to restore it.