Whoever muttered about never working with children or animals might have reconsidered his opinion had he seen the touring production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

This colourful, cute and frequently amusing yarn, originally penned by Ian Fleming, centres on a magical car discovered in a junkyard by the young Jeremy and Jemima Potts (played, on the second night, by Thomas Higgins and Hannah Lowther). They persuade their Heath-Robinsonesque inventor father Caractacus (Darren Bennett) to buy the neglected machine, but must outwit two Vulgarian spies (Nigel Garton and Richard Ashton), who are keen to capture the marvellous vehicle for Baron Bomburst (Edward Peel). Caractacus finds himself increasingly charmed not only by the car’s bodywork but that of Truly Scrumptious (Katie Ray); meanwhile the Vulgarians kidnap Grandpa Potts (John Griffiths).

For a record-breaking production – it outperformed Oliver! and Joseph at the London Palladium, and the Chitty stage car holds the Guinness world record for being the most expensive prop in the history of British theatre – the early scenes are sluggish; the stage furniture is simple and the tunes unremarkable. However, the musical takes off, as it were, when several amiable pooches gambol on stage, shortly before the company pulls out the choke with Toot Sweets, the foot-stomping number set in Lord Scrumptious’s confectionery factory. Me Ol’ Bamboo cranks up the tempo further – if this doesn’t get the audience clapping, nothing will. By this point the set has become more ornate, the scenery later featuring distorted perspectives that emphasise the musical’s phantasmagorical nature.

While the production is closer to the 1968 film scripted by Roald Dahl than Fleming’s 1964 story, the tone is light-hearted; the menacing Child Catcher (Dean Maynard), working for Baroness Bomburst (Kim Ismay) features far less than in the original tour and the London Palladium production. The bungling, prancing and vowel-mangling Vulgarian spies may fail to snatch Chitty but they steal several scenes, while in the second act, Karen Ismay is a delight as the child-loathing Baroness. The talented youngsters are confident without being precocious, delivering their lines clearly throughout. On the second night, the same could not be said of Darren Betts, owing to a poorly-tuned microphone, but his co-star Katie Ray was superb as the winsome Truly Scrumptious.

As for the sleek machine itself, Chitty does not disappoint – taking to the skies in both acts. With Hollywood so keen to recycle old favourites, it may not be long before the old car gets to fly again on the big screen.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is at the New Theatre until January 2.

For tickets, tel: 0844 847 1588 (www.NewTheatreOxford.org.uk)