CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG OVER THE MOON

The third and (probably) final “official” sequel to Ian Fleming’s classic sends the redoubtable roadster careening off the planet as well as through time.

Following much travel through various eras in previous episodes, the story opens with the dramatic conversion of Big Ben and its tower to a rocket ship. Cottrell Boyce assembles his expanded cast of passengers—the Pott family from the original novel, the latter-day Tootings, and archvillains Tiny Jack and the Nanny—aboard Tiny Jack’s orbiting estate, the Château Bateau, for a climactic faceoff. There, the terrible tyke has gathered all sorts of earthly landmarks from Stonehenge to the pyramids. Now he needs only Apollo 15’s lunar rover to complete his collection of the world’s most expensive stolen cars. Can even Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the original “smart car,” get everything and everyone back to their proper times and places? Well-stocked with thrills, from a high-speed ride with the queen of England (“and Lots of Other Places”) to a game of Snakes and Ladders played with real snakes, the daffy series zooms to its finish line in suitable high-octane style. Berger’s droll character and spot vignettes add plenty of carbonation.

One last exhilarating ride: “Ga GOOO ga!!!!” (Fantasy. 10-12)