Random Movie Series Review - Mary Poppins

So it occurred to me when I was watching the new film that I have never reviewed the original iconic and beloved film. Let's try and rectify that today. So as played out in Saving Mr. Banks (of which I have reviewed), Walt Disney was very keen to make a film based on a book by P.L. Travers (who had to go with this name because its more attractive on books at a time where people were more likely to read books from male authors over females) which itself was part of a series of books. The first film had a lot of development problems such as Travers not wanting any animation or musical moments but the biggest problem being on casting Mr. Banks himself hence the name of the film. Eventually the film got made and although it is another one of those films based on a book that the author didn't like ultimately, it was a success and became pretty iconic and beloved. Disney wanted to make more films to continue the story as told in the books, but Travers was having none of it. Almost fifty four years later during which we got a stage musical and this one Soviet film (which doesn't count in the Disney franchise), we got the long awaited sequel that was finally made after at least three attempts to get the Travers estate on board. It had a largely new cast with the exceptions of Dick Van Dyke and Karen Dotrice while Julie Andrews gave her approval on Emily Blunt playing her character. So there will be some comparisons, some great and not so great moments and more in this review. So let's get right to it:

Mary Poppins

So as we all know the film all too well, I felt it necessary to not go over the plot in detail. The basic premise is that a British guy called Mr. Banks (played by Disney Legend David Tomlinson) is in need of a new nanny to look after his children. Following a tornado of sorts (which we don't get in the UK normally) which consumes all the nannies that sign up, one called Mary Poppins (played by another Disney Legend Julie Andrews) takes up the job to look after the children while hoping to bring the family together and learn a thing or two. With some help from a chimney sweeper called Bert (played by Disney Legend No. 3 Dick Van Dyke) of course. Everyone loves it (except for the author of the books) and so do I. Some parts are more Disney than Travers. But that's ok. Its a great film that shows how much effort Walt Disney put into it despite the looming problems and the only problem I have really (which speaks true for most of us) is Dick Van Dyke's British accent which feels a bit forced and isn't the best one I have heard from an otherwise American actor. 9/10


Returns

So after twenty five years, the Banks children have now grown up and continue to reside in their home in which Michael (played by Matthew Garber in the original and Ben Whishaw in this one) lives with the children he fathers from his late wife. With the house being at risk of being repossessed by the bank and the family falling apart as we know it, Mary Poppins (this time played by Emily Blunt) returns to once again be the nanny for the children while unintentionally help them save the house and the family with the help of Bert's former apprentice lamplighter Jack (played by Lin-Manuel Miranda). So this film is supposed to be based on the rest of the books and honestly it feels like watching the original all over again. The musical numbers as well as the premise are very similar and its kind of predictable as to what will happen if any of us have watched the first film beforehand. But despite that, I did enjoy the performance of Blunt (despite what people have said about her) who has actually said that she liked playing the part and was keen to play it again seeing as Julie Andrews has already given her approval. Another thing that I liked was the animated sequence which given that Disney no longer do a lot of traditional animation gave me some nostalgic feels. So ultimately it was a good film which although very similar to the first, its has its perks and charm. 8/10

I will say that the original will always be the best film because you can't really top a film that's so beloved and cherished by a lot of people (even though I still think Dick Van Dyke's British accent isn't very good). But the new film was still a decent film that introduces the nanny that is Mary Poppins to a new generation that may never have heard of the original film and I look forward to the next one. But hopefully the wait won't be as long this time. 8/10