Mary Poppins Poster

Mary Poppins (1964)

Comedy | Fantasy 
Rayting:   7.8/10 158.9K votes
Country: USA
Language: English
Release date: 23 December 1965

In turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.

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User Reviews

Spleen 14 December 1999

`Tart', `not nearly so sentimental as ‘The Sound of Music', `Disney's finest achievement' ... I'd read critics' comments like these with puzzlement. Had they seen the same film I had?

Of course they had: it's just that someone had got it wrong; and as it turned out, it was me. I still think that anyone who calls `Mary Poppins' Disney's finest is being silly - Disney's finest hour was clearly the one that saw `Pinocchio', `Fantasia', `Dumbo' and `Bambi' - but what we have here is a fine, clever film, NOT overly sweet.

What won me over was the ending. David Tomlinson changes from a mechanical banker to a human being with surprising fluency. It's not any one scene: it's the entire extended sequence, from the run on the bank to the end credits. And it's not just Tomlinson's acting, either, but the long, lingering shots of him standing and walking in darkness, and a use of music that's far more sophisticated than I'd first supposed it to be, the general intelligence of the script. The last lines given to Mary Poppins I'd missed the point of the first time round. She's a riddle throughout the film which the film's conclusion partially, but only partially, unravels.

Considered as a musical `Mary Poppins' lacks something. WHAT it lacks is revealed when we hear the Jane and Michael tramping around the house singing `Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' (a great song, by the way) - and they GET THE TUNE WRONG. They get it wrong in exactly the irritating way that children WOULD get it wrong. This may be an inspired touch of realism, but it surely violates the ethos of musicals, as do the deeply pedestrian songs `Stay Awake', `Sister Suffragette' and `A Spoonful of Sugar'. This was the side of `Mary Poppins' I'd remembered. I'd forgotten the haunting quality of `Feed the Birds' and `Let's Go Fly a Kite', and the punch of the score as a whole.

So anyway, I'm now a convert. I can't find anything to seriously object to except Dick Van Dyke's ludicrous accent, which makes him sound almost, but not quite, like Bugs Bunny.

JamesHitchcock 12 January 2018

Fmovies: Christmas is a time when the TV channels normally wheel out classic family movies, and this Boxing Day I caught "Mary Poppins", one of my favourite films as a child, but one which I had not seen for many years. The story is set in the London of 1910. Mary Poppins, a mysterious, magical figure blown in with the wind, takes a job as nanny to Jane and Michael, the children of George Banks, a well-to-do banker. Mr Banks hopes that Mary will reform his occasionally unruly children's behaviour, but it soon becomes clear that it is really their parents who need reforming. George, a stern Edwardian paterfamilias, pays more attention to his work than he does to his family, and his wife Winifred is too preoccupied with political good causes to have much time for her children.

This was the film which Walt Disney tried to make for over twenty years. In the 1930s he had promised his young daughters that he would make a film of their favourite "Mary Poppins" books. For a long time, however, it appeared that Disney would be unable to fulfil his promise. The main obstacle was the author of the books, Pamela Travers, who disliked the idea of her books being filmed, especially by Disney whom she considered a vulgar showman; when she finally relented in 1961 it is said that she was prompted more by financial difficulties than by a genuine change of heart. The story of Disney's battle with Travers is told in the recent "Saving Mr Banks".

I have not read Travers' books since my childhood, but I recall that her Mary was a rather strict middle-aged figure. Here she is played by Julie Andrews as young, beautiful, gentle and kind-hearted. Now it is a truth universally acknowledged in Hollywood, that a single woman in possession of youth, beauty, gentleness and a kind heart, must be in want of a husband, or at least a boyfriend. Universally acknowledged, that is, by everyone except Pamela Travers. Disney wanted to introduce a romance between Mary and Bert, the Cockney jack-of-all-trades played by Dick Van Dyke, but Travers resolutely vetoed this, so their relationship had to remain platonic.

Two battles Travers fought and lost were over the Sherman Brothers' songs, which she disliked, and over the use of animation, which she loathed. (She was even badgering Disney to remove them during the party after the premiere; he replied laconically "Pamela, that ship has sailed", and walked away). I think we can be glad that she lost these battles. The musical score- cheerful, lively, witty and bursting with great tunes- is one of the film's best features; every time we saw it my sisters and I would be singing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", "Feed the Birds" and "Chim-Chim-Cher-ee" for days. The Sherman Brothers, in fact, threw themselves energetically into their song-writing duties; they produced more than 30 original songs for the movie, most of which were never used. As for the animated sequences, they emphasise the fantastical, magical nature of the story, making it something more than just a mundane tale of London in the olden days.

This is the film which made Julie Andrews, previously a well-known Broadway actress, into a huge international star. Her "Best Actress" Oscar must have been the most welcome form of consolation after her disappointment at being (controversially) passed over in favour of Audrey Hepburn for the role of Eliza in "My Fair Lady", a role which Andrews had created on Broadway. (The film as a

reignsong 25 August 2000

AFI blew it by omitting "Mary Poppins" from its 100 greatest American films. It's pure cinema, with state of the art special effects for its time. But the effects serve a lovely story, well told and acted, with charming song and dance numbers. The overture, underscoring Poppins's flight over London, is classic: worth the price of admission or rental; maybe the best overture ever, on screen or stage. I was 3 when the film debuted; I thought I'd die if I never got to see it again.

sryder@judson-il.edu 23 December 2004

Mary Poppins fmovies. Despite the technical achievements and the outstanding musical score, it is the performances that keep the film alive for me. Julie Andrews was right on target when she received her academy award and thanked Jack Warner for turning her down in the film version of My Fair Lady. She conveys both dignity and warmth as Mary. Dick van Dyke had the chance of a lifetime to demonstrate the breadth of his talents, especially his dancing, which could not be fully exploited on his TV series. Disney gave real depth to the film through his use of Elsa Lanchester, Arthur Treacher, Reginald Owen, Ed Wynn and (especially) Jane Darwell (who is cited in the IMDb biography as best known for her cameo portrayal of the Bird Lady, despite her 1940 Academy Award for one of the great all-time performances in Grapes of Wrath). I computed the ages of the five as reaching 418 years when the film was released; their film careers covered 193 combined years, with stage careers going back as far as 1905. Disney's casting of these, as well as a group of accomplished British actors of stage and film demonstrated what should be meant by "supporting cast": it gave strong support against which Andrews and Van Dyke could perform without being under to carry the entire film. Finally: If someone wants to appreciate the care that went into the film, s/he should purchase the new 40th anniversary DVD. Viewing the interviews and other documents enabled me to increase my already great enjoyment. They do not "murder to dissect"; quite the contrary.

Quentintarantado 26 February 2006

The first time I saw this film as a child, I was frightened. I loved the animated sequence and I was scared of (and bored by) the chimney sweep sequence because of these soot-faced sweeps shouting and dancing, I couldn't tell if they were friends or foe. Years later, I watched this in HBO, and I've had a chance to reevaluate it. Brimming beneath Mary Poppins's prim nanny exterior is mischief, subversion and anarchy, and I love the idea she goes around England teaching children to have fun under the thin guise of "proper British behavior". The key song is "Spoonful of Sugar", which is an almost zen-like attitude, with the correct leverage, your finger can turn a boulder into powder, with the correct attitude, an ant can move a rubber-tree plant. However, the song that made me fall in love with the movie forever is, "Feed the Birds". Compassion for the useless is precisely the point. There is no pragmatism in love. I've been a teacher for four years now, and I've never cracked a joke with a smile yet, though I joke all the time. I always try to earn that delicious half second while the students process, is he joking or is he serious? It's my pale imitation of Andrews as Poppins. Yes, I do try my darnedest to make my classes enjoyable.

gue_gg_ila 6 February 2005

I was a big fan of this movie when I was 6, loved it, visually it is fantastic and the music is just too beautiful. It's great fun, and its packed with amazing performances especially from the multi-talented and beautiful Julie Andrews.

I saw it again recently, may be I have more capacity to understand the double sense of things now and found out that this film has so many subliminal great messages that are enriching for the mind and soul...As a little girl I never cried on this film, but it has got so many reasons to cry for(I'm crying now)because it truly is beautiful. The film can be good for children because it actually can stimulate the imagination, and the creativity of a kid, I for example tried to arrange my room by making sounds with my fingers at some point of my life! Still the film contains some messages that can be quite interesting and useful for any other person of any other age.

SPOILERS***** Besides it contains some great effects, especially when you consider the time it was done(1964). Great dancing sequences, and especially those gorgeous songs(each one of them great). The animation part is brilliant, takes a genius to make that and coordinate those dancing penguins with the Bert character.

And I think that all the words that I could possibly say about this film are over, except tat this film is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Mary Poppins, practically perfectly in every way! A MUST SEE FILM!!

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