Mary Poppins at the Disney Movie Club

 

Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins is the much-loved musical and starring Julie Andrews.  It was released in 1964 and was based on the popular children’s book by P.L. Travers  with illustrations by Mary Shepard.When it was released on August 24 1964, It enjoyed amazing success and was ranked by the American Film Institute as the 6th best musical of all time.

The action centers around the title character, the whimsical nanny Mary Poppins. It’s Spring, 1910, and Mary, played magnificently by Julie Andrews, has come to the aid of the Banks family. Hopefully, she is the  last in a long succession of nannies for the Banks kids; Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber). The children are off on a magical adventure that includes a mid-air tea party. The plot thickens when the Children’s father refuses to invest his money in his employer, a Bank managed by a Mr. Dawes This causes a run on the bank and endangers the father’s position.

In the ensuing chaos, the children flee into London’s East End, where they meet with Mary’s old pal Bert, played by Dick Van Dyke with little success. (Van Dyke’s untrained attempts at an authentic Cockney accent sadly fail, leaving a generation of kids to remember Van Dyke for his “Gaw Blimey, Mary Pawpins”) Eventually the children make an apology to their father, and Michael offers to give his tuppence to Mr. Dawes, causing Mr. Banks, (played by David Tomlinson) to soften towards his children and they all live happily ever-after.

Mary Poppins Book

The original book by P.L. Travers was the inspiration for the film’s plot and Disney personally tried to obtain the rights to the book as early as 1938. The author initially refused, believing that a cartoon version of her work would denigrate her legacy. In 1961, Disney finally secured the rights when he offered Travers final script approval.

Awards

The film was released to rave reviews, and garnered 13 Academy Awards nominations, winning Oscars for Best Actress, Best Film Editing, Original Music Score, Best Song, and Special Visual Effects. Mary Poppins is considered by many film critics to be the best Disney live-action musical ever made.

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