NOTE: I saw Mary Poppins Returns in theaters several weeks ago. As I've noted elsewhere, I've elected to take a brief break over the past month after a particularly busy 2018; thus, I'm skipping over reviews of a number of films I saw on screeners. But I figured I would do a short write-up for this one, considering I saw it twice in theaters and enjoyed it immensely each time.
Before each of my viewings of Rob Marshall's Mary Poppins Returns, I was inevitably treated to trailers for Disney's upcoming reboots of their classic properties. Tim Burton's Dumbo- now with 100% more Michael Keaton! When the trailer for Jon Favreau's The Lion King played in front of my first screening, the person behind me became audibly excited as "Circle of Life" kicked into high gear; for fans who cheered on Thanksgiving when the trailer hit the web, I imagine the sentiment is familiar. I don't share the same anticipation, but can I really blame anyone thrilled to revisit their childhood, especially when it's a remake starring Donald Glover and Beyonce? Of course not. Even if it ends up being a repetitive, dull retread of an animated classic, we all have our nostalgic weaknesses.
Over the next two hours on that late December night, I learned that one of my nostalgic soft spots was... a movie I'd never seen before? Yes, it's true- until two weeks ago, I had never seen Walt Disney's original Mary Poppins, the toe-tapping 1964 classic. Still, I've attended multiple stage interpretations of the iconic musical, so it's not like I was new to the Mary Poppins-verse. After all, who can escape the cultural cloud of "A Spoonful of Sugar"? Even with that boatload of asterisks and caveats, I was utterly delighted by nearly every second of Marshall's musical sequel, which finds newly minted SAG Award winner Emily Blunt and Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda taking over for Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke (who makes a brief cameo). It's a big-budget musical with a theatrical flavor, filled with catchy songs (more on that in a second), gorgeous animated sequences, and a sometimes manipulative, often honest emotional core that even the original can't match.
And it's not a remake- or is it? The film technically picks up several years after Mary Poppins' first trip to Cherry Tree Lane, where an older Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) is grieving the death of his wife. Union activist Jane Banks (Emily Mortimer) has moved back into the family home, where longtime family maid Ellen (Julie Walters) still lives with Michael and the new generation of Banks children: Anabel (Pixie Davies), John (Nathanael Saleh), and Georgie (Joel Dawson). After his wife's passing, Michael's finances ended up in disarray, causing him to fall behind on a loan and risking the loss of his house in the process. Just as the Banks family seems to be on the verge of collapse, a familiar face rides in on an umbrella, promising a whimsical way out from the darkness.
From this basic set-up, we're treated to a new villain (Colin Firth) and some clever musical numbers, involving everything from lamp-lighters to magical balloons. As someone with just enough familiarity to remember "A Spoonful of Sugar" and "Chim Chim Cher-ee," the fancy contraptions of Marshall's sequel felt novel and fresh, an innovative twist on a Disney formula hellbent on recycling "Be Our Guest" and (presumably) "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" until the end of time. Then I saw Mary Poppins Returns a second time with a friend, who knows far more about the original show and film than I do. Her instant reaction? "It's the same movie."
After watching Robert Stevenson's 1960s classic, I can't help but agree. The similarities go beyond the film's narrative and rhythmic components- the sequel often repeats its predecessor in a moment-to-moment manner. Sure, nobody says "Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious," but is such a careful imitation worth the acclaim I was prepared to give it?
The answer is still yes. Marshall's film gets to have its cake and eat it too- he's able to play off situations we've seen before, but he can also conjure up some serious pathos from the foundation of the original story. There's a cyclical element in play in this sequel- much like J.J. Abrams' recent trip to a galaxy far, far away- and it gives the film a prime opportunity soar out of the shadow of its past.
And once you get out of that shadow, the results are pretty marvelous. Accents and all, Blunt and Miranda light up the screen, and it's just pure fun to watch them dance around. However, the film's MVP- aside from the lengthy, show-stopping animated sequence- is undoubtedly Ben Whishaw (also known as Paddington Brown), who made me tear up multiple times with his vulnerable delivery. If you're willing to let it break through a certain level of cynicism, Returns packs an oddly poignant emotional punch, one that feels both carefully administered and effortlessly logical in the strange world of flying nannies and talking umbrellas.
Finally, we have to talk about the songs, because I feel like they didn't get a fair shake. Yes, "The Place Where the Lost Things Go" received an Oscar nomination, but most of these songs are pretty good! "Can You Imagine That?" is insanely catchy, "Trip a Little Light Fantastic" is gorgeous to behold, and "Nowhere to Go But Up" sends you out of the theater on a helium high. With some tear-jerking moments and a whole lot of classical Disney grandeur, Mary Poppins Returns will likely go down as the studio's most memorable achievement in this IP-obsessed era.
THE FINAL GRADE: A- (8.3/10)
Before each of my viewings of Rob Marshall's Mary Poppins Returns, I was inevitably treated to trailers for Disney's upcoming reboots of their classic properties. Tim Burton's Dumbo- now with 100% more Michael Keaton! When the trailer for Jon Favreau's The Lion King played in front of my first screening, the person behind me became audibly excited as "Circle of Life" kicked into high gear; for fans who cheered on Thanksgiving when the trailer hit the web, I imagine the sentiment is familiar. I don't share the same anticipation, but can I really blame anyone thrilled to revisit their childhood, especially when it's a remake starring Donald Glover and Beyonce? Of course not. Even if it ends up being a repetitive, dull retread of an animated classic, we all have our nostalgic weaknesses.
Over the next two hours on that late December night, I learned that one of my nostalgic soft spots was... a movie I'd never seen before? Yes, it's true- until two weeks ago, I had never seen Walt Disney's original Mary Poppins, the toe-tapping 1964 classic. Still, I've attended multiple stage interpretations of the iconic musical, so it's not like I was new to the Mary Poppins-verse. After all, who can escape the cultural cloud of "A Spoonful of Sugar"? Even with that boatload of asterisks and caveats, I was utterly delighted by nearly every second of Marshall's musical sequel, which finds newly minted SAG Award winner Emily Blunt and Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda taking over for Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke (who makes a brief cameo). It's a big-budget musical with a theatrical flavor, filled with catchy songs (more on that in a second), gorgeous animated sequences, and a sometimes manipulative, often honest emotional core that even the original can't match.
And it's not a remake- or is it? The film technically picks up several years after Mary Poppins' first trip to Cherry Tree Lane, where an older Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) is grieving the death of his wife. Union activist Jane Banks (Emily Mortimer) has moved back into the family home, where longtime family maid Ellen (Julie Walters) still lives with Michael and the new generation of Banks children: Anabel (Pixie Davies), John (Nathanael Saleh), and Georgie (Joel Dawson). After his wife's passing, Michael's finances ended up in disarray, causing him to fall behind on a loan and risking the loss of his house in the process. Just as the Banks family seems to be on the verge of collapse, a familiar face rides in on an umbrella, promising a whimsical way out from the darkness.
From this basic set-up, we're treated to a new villain (Colin Firth) and some clever musical numbers, involving everything from lamp-lighters to magical balloons. As someone with just enough familiarity to remember "A Spoonful of Sugar" and "Chim Chim Cher-ee," the fancy contraptions of Marshall's sequel felt novel and fresh, an innovative twist on a Disney formula hellbent on recycling "Be Our Guest" and (presumably) "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" until the end of time. Then I saw Mary Poppins Returns a second time with a friend, who knows far more about the original show and film than I do. Her instant reaction? "It's the same movie."
After watching Robert Stevenson's 1960s classic, I can't help but agree. The similarities go beyond the film's narrative and rhythmic components- the sequel often repeats its predecessor in a moment-to-moment manner. Sure, nobody says "Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious," but is such a careful imitation worth the acclaim I was prepared to give it?
The answer is still yes. Marshall's film gets to have its cake and eat it too- he's able to play off situations we've seen before, but he can also conjure up some serious pathos from the foundation of the original story. There's a cyclical element in play in this sequel- much like J.J. Abrams' recent trip to a galaxy far, far away- and it gives the film a prime opportunity soar out of the shadow of its past.
And once you get out of that shadow, the results are pretty marvelous. Accents and all, Blunt and Miranda light up the screen, and it's just pure fun to watch them dance around. However, the film's MVP- aside from the lengthy, show-stopping animated sequence- is undoubtedly Ben Whishaw (also known as Paddington Brown), who made me tear up multiple times with his vulnerable delivery. If you're willing to let it break through a certain level of cynicism, Returns packs an oddly poignant emotional punch, one that feels both carefully administered and effortlessly logical in the strange world of flying nannies and talking umbrellas.
Finally, we have to talk about the songs, because I feel like they didn't get a fair shake. Yes, "The Place Where the Lost Things Go" received an Oscar nomination, but most of these songs are pretty good! "Can You Imagine That?" is insanely catchy, "Trip a Little Light Fantastic" is gorgeous to behold, and "Nowhere to Go But Up" sends you out of the theater on a helium high. With some tear-jerking moments and a whole lot of classical Disney grandeur, Mary Poppins Returns will likely go down as the studio's most memorable achievement in this IP-obsessed era.
THE FINAL GRADE: A- (8.3/10)
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