British author P.L. Travers wrote a total of eight children’s books over the course of fifty-four years chronicling the various exploits of the magical nanny Mary Poppins. It is an understatement to say that she was very protective of the character and that any adaptation of her works would have an uphill battle getting her approval. If anyone could make it happen Walt Disney would be the one, yet even he struggled to gain approval and permission from the late author to proceed with a major motion picture. The gist of the story is depicted in the 2013 film Saving Mr. Banks, a dramatization of the making of 1964’s Mary Poppins. But, like all dramatizations, the film has a point of view and that view is that Walt Disney was a kind and considerate man who patiently worked with the increasingly unreasonable P.L. Travers, butting heads with the woman the entire time. Had P.L. Travers written her own side of the story it would have most likely painted the opposite picture. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle with two very stubborn people clashing over their own vision of what a character should be. Saving Mr. Banks is a fine film but it is produced and distributed by The Walt Disney Company so take what is being presented there with a grain of salt.
That being said, there is no doubt that Mary Poppins is considered to be the crowning achievement of Walt Disney’s live action film branch, held dear in the hearts of movie-goers for sixty years and counting. It has an endearing legacy that even families that don’t like older movies can latch onto and spend a few hours together laughing and singing along to. Even more important than that, though, is it has a clear and concise message to parents that resonates and is even more important in a world that has only gotten more hectic and messy over the years since. Disney would try again and again to replicate the formula and while some of those efforts are fine films in their own rights (Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Pete’s Dragon, for instance), none of them are as universally adored as Mary Poppins. Disney, no doubt, would have wanted to follow-up this picture with the further adventures of Mary Poppins but the response from Travers was bad enough that any chance of licensing more of her stories was non-existent. It wouldn’t be until long after the author’s death that a deal was struck with the author’s family to produce sequels. 2018 would see the release of Mary Poppins Returns, a film that many heralded as a throwback to the golden age of Disney; some however felt that the story was perfect as is and any sequel or remake would tarnish that legacy. As of this writing another sequel is in active development.
The film opens with a beautiful matte painting of the city of London on a typical cloudy morning. Almost immediately we are given a taste of just the type of film this is going to be as we see up in the clouds the visage of a woman, dressed up like a proper English lady, sitting on top of a cloud with her umbrella propped up next to her. This is Dame Julie Andrews who would have been familiar to theater goers but was making her on-screen debut in the movies here. She was originally set to reprise her role of Eliza Doolittle in the film version of My Fair Lady but was replaced by Audrey Hepburn as Audrey was a bankable face despite being unable to sing. This slight ended up being a blessing in disguise for Julie as it freed her up to accept the role of Mary Poppins instead.
The one-two punch of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music threatened to typecast Julie Andrews as a goody-two shoes, something the actress was not keen on. She would later insist on taking on more mature roles, especially those directed by her husband at the time, Blake Edwards, to prove that she was far more than the Disney princess type of character. While this decision was met a critical reception from fans it did keep her from being typecast and opened the door for a lot of opportunities that other Disney leading ladies failed to capitalize on. Despite her determination to not be seen in that light it is exactly this kind of character that she is still known for primarily when the average movie-goer has no idea she had the other side of her career. Most younger viewers would only really know her for her later works in things like The Princess Diaries and her voice-over work in the Shrekfranchise.
For every leading lady there is generally a leading man there to support her. In this case it is Dick Van Dyke, working here during a season hiatus from his self-titled The Dick Van Dyke Show. Dick Van Dyke is an interesting choice to play a Brit as he is one of the few cast members who isn’t British. Instead, he is putting on a broad cockney accent that stands out amongst the legitimate English accents of many of the other cast. What saves it from being a complete parody is his absolute physicality in the role. He starts out the film dancing around wearing a one-man-band getup, his every movement adding to the cacophony of sounds. He addresses the audience, introduces the neighborhood and walks us to the home of Jane and Michael Banks, the main family we will be spending the film with; all the while he is doing this that outfit he is wearing is rat-a-tat-tatting and clashing away with every step. This set-up feels so random, abstract and just plain absurd, just like his character is. He will maintain that broad caricature for the entire film, never truly turning serious until the finale when he expounds on just exactly what this whole film has been all about from the beginning, the importance of spending time with your family while you have the chance. It is a theme that is ever-present throughout the entire picture but is not outright stated until the finale.
When Mary Poppins first arrives on the scene it is in answer to an advertisement for a replacement nanny for Jane and Michael Banks, the two children of George (David Tomlinson) and Winifred (Glynis Johns). George, befit his background in the world of finance, sees things in black and white, checks and balances, and makes a list of qualifications that are rooted in discipline and obedience. His children, on the other hand, have their own list of qualifications, all of which are tied to fun and games, kindness and gentleness. What they all need is right down the middle and that is what Mary Poppins brings. Her first act upon being hired is to create a game about cleaning up the kid’s room. In fact virtually everything she does serves that duo purpose, to teach discipline amongst the children while also finding the joy in the activity. We see this again when she gives the children medicine to avoid getting colds on a chilly rainy evening.
These things are not limited to just the children, either. She uses the situations around her to maneuver the family into positions that will ultimately pull them together as a family, even if it seems like it may ruin the family at first. When George Banks gets upset about the children spouting nonsense from the various magical adventures they have had with Mary, she fast talks him into proposing an outing to the bank with his children, something he wouldn’t have agreed to had he not been subtly manipulated by her into suggesting it himself. This outing will end in chaos as the children cause a run on the bank and will end with their father being dismissed from his long held position of trust. The coldness in which he is treated as the bank terminates his employment is in stark contrast to the love his children have been showing him all along and it takes this moment for him to realize where he is valued and needed most. Mary Poppins knows exactly what she is doing and it is in these moments it becomes perfectly clear that she is not really here for the children, she is here for the father.
Richard and Robert Sherman provide the music and lyrics for Mary Poppins and there is not one song on this entire soundtrack that could be skipped. The two brothers were responsible for more motion picture scores and songs than any other songwriting team in film history. Their compositions can be heard on such classics as The Parent Trap, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Jungle Book, Charlotte’s Web, and everybody’s “favorite” ear-worm: It’s a Small World (After All) from the theme park ride. They would be nominated for nine Academy Awards over their long career together, winning two, as well as countless Grammy’s and other prestigious awards. They would win the Oscar here for the song Chim Chim Cher-ee, the penultimate tune that starts out as a raucaus dance number on the roofs of London and ends on a more somber note as Burt lays out to George one-on-one the dangers of neglecting spending quality time with one’s children.
Mary Poppins is close to a perfect movie but it does have one minor misstep, it runs a bit too long. There is not one scene that is bad in and of itself but when they are all added together it begins to feel a bit overstuffed in the middle. This is especially noticeable in a scene that is fun on its own but does nothing for the overall story: The musical number I Love to Laughsung by the irreplaceable Ed Wynn. Even as a child it was during this moment where my attention would begin to wane and that hasn’t changed in the years since. I love Ed Wynn and he usually livens up anything he is in but this scene just feels like it was added to pad out the narration and amounts to nothing. It could be excised from the film and the overall narrative wouldn’t suffer from it being gone.
Julie Andrews joins a short list of actresses who have won an Academy Award for their first motion picture role and rightfully so. This is so much more than just a whimsical character with a bit of magic. There are some complex emotions on display here, especially towards the end when she knows it is time to leave and feels conflicted, yet resolute, about it. She tries to pretend that she doesn’t feel sad about leaving but is rightfully called out for lying to herself. It hurts her to leave but she knows it must be done. Julie Andrews hits just the right note of sorrow and determination in these moments. She also shows just a tiny bit of frustration when dealing with Mr. Banks’ stubbornness and pigheadedness throughout her time in the household. Emily Blunt, who took over the role in the 2018 sequel is good in the part as well but just barely misses the tiny little nuances that Andrews brought to it.
There are no weak links in this cast. Andrews and Dick Van Dyke are good but their performances are elevated even more when paired up with Karen Dotrice and Mathew Garber as Jane and Michael. While neither of them is turning in an award winning performance they are both adorable and charismatic, winning over our hearts every time they try to please their father. It is this sweetness and lack of malice that has us rooting for a change of heart in their aloof father and, just as important if less emphasized in the film, mother. Glynis Johns gets shifted into the background a little too much but when she does have something to do it is usually tied to some cause she is championing like the women’s suffragette movement. Mostly, though, she is there to try and temper her husband or offer moral support while he is trying to control the uncontrollable.
When Mary Poppins finally leaves the family behind she is leaving a family in a much better place than it was when she arrived. George, Winifred and the children are off to the park to fly a kite together, the first family outing we ever see them do together. Before that, any playtime had been relegated to the various nannies. Indeed, the inciting incident at the opening of the film is the kids flying a kite and getting away from their current nanny. In the end it is the whole family together, enjoying this time as a family unit, not an assigned task. This scene also serves as a final curtain call for the rest of the cast as all of them are on sight in the park with their own kites. This motif would be repeated with balloons in the sequel but it works better here because it allows one last interaction between the various casts to wrap up some last minute plot points and end the film on the rousing musical number Let’s Go Fly a Kite. The best way to send an audience home after a movie like this is with their hearts soaring in the air like those kites and a catchy tune stuck in their heads.
Mary Poppins the movie is a lot like Mary Poppins the character: “Practically Perfect in Every Way.” This is the type of film that endures throughout the ages because even though it is sixty years old this year it feels timeless. I have gone years between viewings sometimes yet I could go beat by beat through this story and remember all of it with a fondness akin to having seen it new as a child when it first released. It is still beloved to adults and children alike which was proven when the sequel came out and became another family favorite, performing strongly enough to merit yet another sequel in the near future. The very concept is fun and ripe with potential for further adventures and there are plenty on books left in the series to mine for ideas. P.L. Travers may have had problems with how her character and stories were handled but virtually no one else did. The film is magical, whimsical, and full of heart and, at its core, has some important messages about families and the bonds that need to be fortified before it grows too late.
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Picture: Walt Disney and Bill Walsh
Best Director: Robert Stevenson
Best Actress: Julie Andrews (won)
Best Screenplay - Based on Material from Another Medium: Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi
Best Art Direction - Color: Carroll Clark, William H. Tuntke, Emile Kuri and Hal Gausman
Best Cinematography - Color: Edward Colman
Best Costume Design - Color: Tony Walton
Best Film Editing: Cotton Warburton (won)
Best Music Score - Substantially Original: Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman (won)
Best Scoring of Music - Adaptation or Treatment: Irwin Kostal
Best Song: “Chim Chim Cher-ee” Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman (won)
Best Sound: Robert O. Cook
Best Special Visual Effects: Peter Ellenshaw, Eustace Lycett and Hamilton Luske (won)
____________________________________________________
Release Date: August 27, 1964
Running Time: 139 Minutes
Rated G
Starring: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynis Johns, Hermoine Baddeley, Karen Dotrice, Matthew Garber, Elsa Lanchester, Arthur Treacher, Reginald Owen and Ed Wynn
Directed By: Robert Stevenson
Comments
Post a Comment