Baron Bomburst
Encyclopedia
Baron Bomburst is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
. The character did not appear in Ian Fleming
's original novel; it was created by the film's screenwriter, Roald Dahl
. Played by Gert Fröbe
, Bomburst rules the Baron
y of Vulgaria
together with his wife, Baroness Bomburst
. In the stage and film versions, he is a spoiled brat who refuses to grow up. He is also vain, vindictive, cruel, pampered, adored, spoiled, bratty, self-centered, wimpish and incredibly effeminate.
and Truly Scrumptious
are picnicking on the beach, he reveals a cruel and greedy streak by attempting to steal the enchanted car, then orders his men to load cannons; when the car floats, he wants it even more. But the car escapes (much to his disappointment) and, seeing that the car can float and move like a speedboat on the sea, he sabotages the Potts' home by air and kidnaps Grandfather Potts, mistaking him for the inventor of Chitty.
Later, when the Potts follow Bomburst's airship to his native Vulgaria, they discover how cruelly the Baron treats his subjects. Although it's stated that "the Baroness hates children" and it's the Baroness who sends for the Childcatcher, it's also obvious that the Baron himself hates children as well; his greed is evident all the more when it is revealed that all the toys made by Vulgaria's toymaker are for him.
Baron Bomburst is last seen when a huge battle occurs in his castle, following an ambush led by Caractacus Potts, Bomburst's servant The Toymaker, the children of the villagers and Truly Scrumptious. The cowardly Baron and his wife hide from the battle and see lots of children enter the castle. Wondering where the children are coming from, the Bomburst's summon the Child Catcher, but even he is ultimately defeated by the village children and left hanging in a net in mid-air. Realizing the Child Catcher is defeated, the Baroness suggests escaping down a rubbish chute; the Baron initially resists the idea, but the couple go down anyway. They're trapped in the Child Catcher's cage-car and the Bombursts are defeated! The villagers help battle the cavalry; with the Baron and Baroness defeated, the cavalry retreats from the battle in terror. Vulgaria then becomes a free country; the Bombursts and the Child Catcher are presumably arrested or exiled in the story's ending.
Cruel though he is, there is a juvenile side to him as well. His envy for the Potts' car is more akin to a spoiled schoolboy than a psychopathic killer; he sulks mightily when the toymaker has apparently made him a doll, and he sobs near the end when he loses his crown in fleeing from the children. His wife then starts pampering him.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (film)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a 1968 musical film with a script by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes, and songs by the Sherman Brothers, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car. It starred Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious. The...
. The character did not appear in Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's original novel; it was created by the film's screenwriter, Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
. Played by Gert Fröbe
Gert Fröbe
Karl Gerhart Fröbe, better known as Gert Fröbe was a German actor who starred in many films, including the James Bond film Goldfinger as Auric Goldfinger, The Threepenny Opera as Peachum, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as Baron Bomburst, and in Der Räuber Hotzenplotz as Hotzenplotz.-Life:Born in...
, Bomburst rules the Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
y of Vulgaria
Vulgaria
Vulgaria is a fictional European barony visited by the Potts family and Truly Scrumptious in their flying car, in the 1968 children's film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the 2002 stage adaptation.-About Vulgaria:...
together with his wife, Baroness Bomburst
Baroness Bomburst
Baroness Bomburst is a fictional character and one of the antagonists in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and in the later stage musical adaptation. The character was created by screenwriter Roald Dahl and did not appear in the original Ian Fleming novel....
. In the stage and film versions, he is a spoiled brat who refuses to grow up. He is also vain, vindictive, cruel, pampered, adored, spoiled, bratty, self-centered, wimpish and incredibly effeminate.
In the film
First appearing as a gentleman pirate when the PottsCaractacus Potts
Caractacus Potts is one of the main characters in the family film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He is an eccentric inventor who lives with his twin eight-year-old children, Jeremy & Jemima, and Grandpa Potts, on the Potts' hilltop farm...
and Truly Scrumptious
Truly Scrumptious
Truly Scrumptious is a fictional character in the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, based on the children's novel of the same name by Ian Fleming.She does not appear in the book. In the film the character is portrayed by singer/actress Sally Ann Howes....
are picnicking on the beach, he reveals a cruel and greedy streak by attempting to steal the enchanted car, then orders his men to load cannons; when the car floats, he wants it even more. But the car escapes (much to his disappointment) and, seeing that the car can float and move like a speedboat on the sea, he sabotages the Potts' home by air and kidnaps Grandfather Potts, mistaking him for the inventor of Chitty.
Later, when the Potts follow Bomburst's airship to his native Vulgaria, they discover how cruelly the Baron treats his subjects. Although it's stated that "the Baroness hates children" and it's the Baroness who sends for the Childcatcher, it's also obvious that the Baron himself hates children as well; his greed is evident all the more when it is revealed that all the toys made by Vulgaria's toymaker are for him.
Baron Bomburst is last seen when a huge battle occurs in his castle, following an ambush led by Caractacus Potts, Bomburst's servant The Toymaker, the children of the villagers and Truly Scrumptious. The cowardly Baron and his wife hide from the battle and see lots of children enter the castle. Wondering where the children are coming from, the Bomburst's summon the Child Catcher, but even he is ultimately defeated by the village children and left hanging in a net in mid-air. Realizing the Child Catcher is defeated, the Baroness suggests escaping down a rubbish chute; the Baron initially resists the idea, but the couple go down anyway. They're trapped in the Child Catcher's cage-car and the Bombursts are defeated! The villagers help battle the cavalry; with the Baron and Baroness defeated, the cavalry retreats from the battle in terror. Vulgaria then becomes a free country; the Bombursts and the Child Catcher are presumably arrested or exiled in the story's ending.
Personality
His relationship with his wife appears to be twisted: when Grandfather Potts inadvertently ejects her out of the captured Chitty, Bomburst automatically opts for a shotgun as the best means to get her down-claiming that he has waited twenty years for this moment, and there is a darkly comical sequence shortly afterwards where he alternately sings of his love for her and attempts to kill her.Cruel though he is, there is a juvenile side to him as well. His envy for the Potts' car is more akin to a spoiled schoolboy than a psychopathic killer; he sulks mightily when the toymaker has apparently made him a doll, and he sobs near the end when he loses his crown in fleeing from the children. His wife then starts pampering him.