Rent Mary Poppins (1964)

"I'd forgotten how good it was!" - Mary Poppins review by RP

Seeing a trailer for the 2013 Disney film 'Saving Mr Banks' about the making of 'Mary Poppins' prompted me to rent the film. I have seen it many times before - one of my daughters virtually wore out the VHS copy we had - but was interested to see if it was anything like I remembered it.

I watched it with two granddaughters, one of whom exclaimed "I'd forgotten how good it was!" - and indeed it is. Forget the embarrassingly bad supposedly 'Cockney' accent of Dick Van Dyke, forget that Julie Andrews is far too good looking and far less strict than the character in PL Travers' books, forget the overall cheesiness and the length of the film (2 hours 13 minutes) and it's great - really, really entertaining.

I'm not a great fan of recent Disney films (I saw the highly derivative 'Frozen' a couple of weeks ago and found it poor, despite good reviews) as they have moved to CGI animation. The early films from the 1920s to 1950s were excellent and 'Mary Poppins' from 1964 is what I consider to be mid-period and has a certain charm - it certainly made me laugh and smile.

5/5 stars - excellent family entertainment. It would of course be a cliché to says that it's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious :)

Watch Now - It's Still Wonderfully Magic - Mary Poppins review by GI

Surely this is Walt Disney's greatest achievement. It's a sheer delight even after many viewings from childhood to adulthood. When you apply a critical eye to the film it reveals even more surprises not least that there is an underlining darkness and mystery to the landscape of the film. It's a pure cinematic vision of early twentieth century London but within the dark, gloom laden and smokey streets lies the magic that is at the heart of the story. Disney did add a lightness where the books on which this is based are much darker including the character of Mary Poppins, who is far colder and slightly menacing. But he was right to do so. This is after all a family film with some magical lessons for all ages. From the simple idea that laughter is a great healer to themes of family, childhood, and the cold nature of materialism. The kite is the emblem of the family here, broken, then mended and able to stretch out to discover endless happiness. Julie Andrews is superb in the title role, a multi-talented actor with a beautiful voice. Dick Van Dyke is also a multi talented performer and whilst, over the years he's been derided for his mock cockney accent, he gives the film an energy and a sense of comedy. Besides that accent just adds to the charm, this is not meant to be a historical drama. David Tomlinson as the father, Mr Banks, is also exemplary and often forgotten when this film is discussed but he's actually the character who is most redeemed by the film's conclusion. This is a remarkable piece of family entertainment and is Disney's biggest Oscar winner to date (it won 5) and it's always worth sitting round on a rainy afternoon with the children and watching it. If they haven't seen this then give them a treat.