Mary Poppins Reviews

This is a masterpiece of a film, I absolutely love this. Julie Andrews is more than splendid as the nanny, and I absolutely love her voice. Dick Van Dyke, despite the accent, should have gotten an award for his performance for sheer energy and enthusiasm, but I liked him marginally better in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. David Tomblinson is a blast as the father, as are the children. There is solid support also from the likes of Glynnis Johns, Hermione Baddely and Elsa Lanchester. (who I believe was Charles Laughton's wife) Plus Ed Wynn in a hilarious characterisation as Uncle Albert. The songs and choreography are what makes so timeless, as well as the outstanding animated sequences. One of my favourite scenes was the one on the ceiling, with the terrible jokes, but you couldn't help laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. In contrast Mr Banks walking to his financial doom ties with Feed the Birds as the most moving scene of the film. It also teaches some nice family values as well. I highly recommend this film. 10/10, without a shadow of a doubt.

Am I going to be that asshole that dissents on Mary Poppins being a canonized great? Well, yes and no. I think Mary Poppins is a great movie – in parts. The pacing is all over the place, and nearly a third of the film is occupied by the boring story involving Mr. Banks and the bank. Yet there’s still quite a bit to recommend here, like the stretch from “A Spoonful of Sugar” through “Stay Awake,” which is the longest sustained bit of greatness, joy, and weirdness in the film.

 

There’s actually a large amount of weirdness and quirk in Mary Poppins, but only some of it is fruitful and humorous. If they removed Reginald Owen’s Admiral Boom and Ed Wynn’s hysteric Uncle Albert from the final film, things would only improve dramatically. Admiral Boom’s running gag of firing a cannon off his roof every day at 8am and 6pm is just not funny.

 

And a great chunk of the first thirty minutes is given over to the parents, which wouldn’t be a problem if they were engaging characters, but they’re not. Mr. Banks is a working stiff, properly English to the core, and, obviously, in dire need of a lesson in what matters the most in life. Mrs. Banks is a daffy suffragette, who cries for women’s rights on one hand, and on the other proudly states how happy she is that her husband handles things so she can’t bungle it. These aren’t characters, they’re walking punchlines. At least Mrs. Banks gives us “Sister Suffragette.”

 

Much better is the entirety of Dick Van Dyke’s dual roles as Bert and the elderly banker. Yes, that attempt at a cockney accent is atrocious, but he’s having such a fun, whimsical time all by himself that it can be forgiven, even ignored. Bert’s a jack-of-all-trades, and his reoccurring appearances in various odd jobs always provides a bit of warmth, acting as something of guide for the audience in the earliest scenes as an introduction to the world of the film. His chaste romance with Mary is endearing, and he can evidently sense her presence as exhibited in one of the first scenes. Acting as a one-man-band, Bert goes around making silly songs about the people watching him, when he suddenly freezes up, notices a change in the wind, and smiles to himself about “something” coming/happening that’s been there before.

 

These subtle nods to Mary Poppins’ witchy powers and being keep a tiny bit of darkness creeping underneath the sentimental, placid surfaces. While she is sweet and gentle, there are flashes of cold steel in Julie Andrews’ performance. These flashes are hints of just how all-powerful and magical her nanny really is, and that she’s a witch who could just as easily burn London to the ground as she could enchant you with an afternoon spent in an animated chalk drawing. Andrews keeps some of the pricklier edges of P. L. Travers creation as Uncle Walt goes about the business of bluntly rounding off everything else to make it child-proof.

 

Having said that, all of the good in Mary Poppins is firmly found in Andrews and Van Dyke’s performances, and their quirky chemistry together. “Jolly Holiday” is an extended flirtation between them, and they prove a case study in opposites attracting. Mary is reserved, even her dancing is more prim and proper than Bert’s rubbery kicks and wild flailing, but they work so well together. Plus, we get to watch Van Dyke dance in unison with a group of animated penguins, and that’s just damn charming. Two numbers stand out with them leading the way, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and “Step in Time.”

 

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” is the most famous scene in the entire film, and with good reason. Not only is a fun bit of nonsense, but it allows for a bit of levity to exude from the typically prim Poppins as she engages with a series of animated characters. In a film not wanting for joy, this scene in particularly is a ribald, riotous colorful blast. While “Step in Time” is just one hell of a dance number. It perhaps goes on a bit too long, but it’s a series of energetic jumps, kicks, leaps, and spins that provides the single highest moment of dance in the film.

 

A general sense that Mary Poppins is a little bloated at times cannot be escaped, yet it’s still generally a light, weird affair. By the 60s, a musical was a well-oiled enterprise and Mary Poppins, even for all of its flaws, is a very good original movie musical. The special effects are charmingly lo-fi and tactile to modern eyes, the Sherman Brothers songs are generally strong across the board, and the two leads are just fantastic. There’s a whole depth of empathy and feeling here, and in its own imperfection it is no less indelible. 

All is posible when a mogul as Disnye have the will and the way and the book. How to make a magical kingdom of chimneys, boring victorian families, stiffed nannies and strolls in the park.

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since it was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out again. First of all, I have to admit I’m not one of those kids that grew up with this movie, watching it over and over again. Back then, I did watch tons of movies but not this one though. Anyway, my wife thought it was a huge gap in my cultural education and, for once, I had to agree with her and I finally managed to watch it at some point. Unfortunately, since I saw it as a grown-up, I can’t say it was really amazing. It has probably to do with the fact that I’m not a huge fan of musicals. Still, it was a good flick, that’s for sure. Indeed, Julie Andrews gave one of the most memorable acting debut and became at the time an instant star. Furthermore, there were so many iconic scenes. In fact, while I was rewatching the damned thing, I was surprised by how much much I was enjoying myself. Indeed, the beginning scenes were just really fun and even the songs were pretty good. Unfortunately, I'm afraid this feeling only did last for 30 minutes maybe. Above all, what mostly dragged the whole thing down was the fact that this movie is just way too long and the fact that everything happening is completelly random didn't help either. To be honest, I would have a hard time to believe that kids nowadays would manage to see this movie with a running time of almost 150 minutes without getting completely bored out of their minds (obviously, none of my 3 kids have watched the damned thing). Still, there is no doubt that it remains a classic, only therefore it is definitely worth a look, and, even if I'm not huge fan, it was still a decent watch. 

This film touched me a lot mostly because of the pure beauty of it. The Mary Poppins character is just a beautiful character that makes her a really sweet young woman and yet quite a demanding character too. Also, despite of how naughty the little kids are, they are quite beautiful characters too because they really like Mary Poppins a lot. Julie Andrews delivers an absolutely outstanding performance as Mary Poppins. Julie uses a typical British voice for Mary Poppins which she doesnt really use in some of her other films. She makes Mary Poppins a really attractive nanny too. Desptite of how good I think Julie Andrews was as Mary Poppins, I prefered her in The Sound Of Music.


Julie Andrews acting career starts with a bang. She won the Best Actress Oscar after only her third film ever. Dick Van Dyke delivers a really good performance as Bert. His character was sort of loopy and a bit of a nut but obviously in a funny way. He deserved his Golden Globe nomination. Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber were good as Jane and Michael Banks too. Robert Stevenson directs this film really well and makes it a true Disney Classic phenomenon and one of the greatest family films of all time by using beautiful and clever camera angles and also the clever photography that is used. I liked this film a lot more than Nanny McPhee (even though I still really liked Nanny McPhee). Julie Andrews makes a better nanny than Emma Thompson. This film teaches especially kids to have fun as a child no matter what happens and also if a kid has bad problems with either parent then they should at least try and mend it together again.


Mary Poppins is a truly loving musical but I am afraid to say that it isnt one of the best musicals ever. I prefered musicals like Sweeney Todd, Singin In The Rain, Grease, The Wizard Of Oz, The Sound Of Music, My Fair Lady, Beauty And The Beast, Moulin Rouge! and Enchanted. Despite that Mary Poppins is still an adorable film that will always be remembered as a loving musical, loving family film and most importantly a film from the creation of the late legendary Walt Disney.