Mary Poppins (40th Anniversary Edition) 1964 Buena Vista Home Entertainment   Buy It Now

A girl was born in 1899, who would grow up to be a dancer, actress and secretary; but this girls true passion (and come to find out, her calling) was writing.  After moving from her birthplace of Australia to Ireland, America and finally England, she found herself ill at the age of 34.  It was during this time, during her recuperation, that she penned out the story of a strange and wonderful nanny who could ride the winds simply by holding her umbrella aloft and who would bring the children in her care no end of joy (and a few lessons in responsibility to boot).  The writer went by the pen-name P.L. Travers, and the story she had held in her head for so long, and at long last transferred to a tangible medium in 1934 was "Mary Poppins".  

Ten years later, a fellow by the name of Walt Disney entered his daughter's bedroom to say goodnight, when he spied a copy of Travers' book amongst his little girl's possessions.  Upon noticing her father's interest, Walt's daughter (I am not sure which of the two it was to be honest) suggested that it was the sort of book that could be made into a movie and that he should give it a read!  Talk about the wisdom of youth...  Walt did as she encouraged and found that he too thought it would be a wonderful idea to bring "Mary Poppins" to the silver screen.  So far it all seemed like a match made in heaven...only one thing was amiss...

History says that P.L. Travers was a bit of a hard-case; never obliged to give a single inch and maintaining an almost fanatical control over her works.  Walt, a childish dreamer and certainly one who liked to give all his projects the "Disney" touch, was just the sort of man that Travers did not want within arms-reach of her sacred works (there were three "Mary Poppins" stories at the time Walt discovered the series and another two before the film was made), but Walt would not take no for an answer.  It wasn't until 1960, sixteen years later (!), that Walt finally managed to convince Travers that a cartoonist from Southern California was just the man to do her creation justice and increase her characters influence on youngsters around the world immeasurably.  

Walt, of course, made some changes...nearly all of which met with resistance from Travers.  Luckily for Walt, he had allowed Travers the power of script approval, but no say in the final draft.  If not for this small miracle, Travers may well have held things up to the point where Disney Studios went bankrupt.  This film was a financial gamble for Mr. Disney, and it would be very safe to say that if Mary Poppins did not do well, then his studio was headed for collapse.  But Walt had more than a roll of the dice with Mary Poppins; he had his own experience as a teller of tales, his ability to understand what the public really wanted and a sharp eye for talent who had the ability to put it all together.  In hindsight, we realize that what Walt had was simply magic...and that he needed never fear for the success of a film as wonderful as Mary Poppins.

A decade or so after the turn of the century, London, England is the home of two young children who suddenly find themselves in dire need of a nanny.  Their father is much too wrapped up in his work and the orderly running of his household to pay them much mind, and their mother wraps herself body and soul into her passionate fight for women's suffrage (the right for women to vote).  This coupled with a former nanny who has just fled the scene due to the unruly (yet very much childlike innocent) actions of the two children, leaves us with two very lonely and very leaderless youths.  A call is put forth for a new nanny to watch the kids and it s not long before the call is answered... 

When Mary Poppins, quite literally, blows in on the wind, it takes the entire Banks family by surprise, and none of them are quite prepared for the wonderful adventures in store for the two children nor the warmth that will be brought to the whole family.  In fact, it soon becomes clear that Mary Poppins is nearly as interested in working on teaching Mr. Banks a few lessons as she is to bring the children up correctly.  This is a family that needs some work if it hopes to continue to function properly, and Mary is just the lady to step in and help.

No mere nanny is Mary.  This lady has some very strange, very wonderful and very surprising tricks up her sleeve.  Whether it is a magical trip into a sidewalk painting and subsequent visits with the painting's residents (which includes some dancing penguins!), or a journey high above the London rooftops with Mary's close friend Bert and his fellow chimneysweeps; one thing is for sure...these children are going to have a magical time of their lives and still come home with a few lessons learned about respect, responsibility, acceptance, tolerance, patience and the family bond.  She can pull towering plants and full size light fixtures from her travel bag, can slide UP a banister, can float through the air with her parrot head handled umbrella, but her real power is mending the tattered pieces of a neglected family back into a loving unit.

Playing such a very stern, yet immeasurably kindly woman in a role of both service and leadership is not an easy task for any actress, let alone an actress who has never appeared on screen before.  But that is exactly what Julie Andrews did here in the role of Mary Poppins.  Having established herself as a force to be reckoned with on the Broadway circuit (so much so that Walt Disney took notice and sought her out), Julie had done her share of performing.  But to take the leap from nightly run-throughs of scripted material to the much more intimate and scrutinizing medium of film was a brave move for this talented lady, but as evidenced by her Best Actress Oscar win for this 1964 film (her first role, keep in mind!) she seemed to be doing just fine in her new chosen profession.  All this and having to perform against imaginary environments for the animated sequences!?  Julie seemed to be a natural.

It was first debated whether or not Julie would even be cast as the magical nanny due to the fact that it was unsure if she had a "face for film" or not.  In a surprising turn of character for the legendarily difficult P.L. Travers, Julie was given her approval after only a conversation on the telephone.  Eventually Walt and his filmmakers came around as well and it was determined that Julie had not only the talent and charisma to pull this role off, but also the physical beauty.  A winning combination if there ever was one...and thus a timeless icon was born.

Not to be outdone by his beautiful costar, actor Dick Van Dyke brings much to the table as Mary's personal friend (and possible love interest...), Bert.  As a goofy one-man-band, a squatting sidewalk painter, and a filthy, dirty chimneysweep, it was not much of an option for Van Dyke to worry too much about his film charisma.  What was, I'm sure, more of a challenge to the already veteran actor of his own TV show and a handful of films, was the adoption of an English accent.  Not just any ol' English accent either, but a fully cockney!  This feat he manages easily and when combined with his light-footed dance maneuvers and his disarming smile, Dick Van Dyke plays a perfectly imperfect opposite to the prim and proper Poppins.  Opposites attract right?  Well, in this formula, they do attract an audience!

Of course, fine acting isn't the only thing to draw fans new and old to Mary Poppins.  Not only was this film's premise filled with fantasy, whimsy and magic, but the production of the film itself took audiences to places that they had rarely been before...in this case, to a world which seamlessly blended live action actors with animated environments and co-stars.  So much of this movie relied on animated sequences and special effects shots that the entire thing was filmed indoors...that's right, each and every shot, including those dance numbers on the roofs of London, were all filmed inside of a soundstage!  This demonstrates the extent to which talent flowed from every cast and crew member.  Matte background painters, riggers, deft lighting technicians, sound effect engineers...all had to rise to levels never before attempted if they hoped to convince audiences that this film takes place in a sprawling city and numerous animated worlds of fantasy.  

It is intriguing to think that a film with this much fantasy should be so firmly grounded in Earthly talent, but one wonderful side effect is a 40th Anniversary edition which is chock full of extra features!  So much blood, sweat and tears went into this picture that a bounty of extras remains behind, whether it is never-before heard original song recordings ("Chimpanzoo"), rare behind-the-scenes footage during the film's production, or coverage of the huge spectacle which was Mary Poppins' premiere screening.

Also included with these aged treats is a bevy of newly created bonus features; including an all-new live-action and animation joint short entitled "The Cat That Looked At A King".  Poppins fans will recognize this title from the book, Mary Poppins Opens The Door by P.L. Travers, and yes, you can relax...Julie Andrews does reprise her role as an incognito nanny.  There is a trivia game to stump your youngsters knowledge of the film and an awesome feature called Poppins Pop-Up Facts which will display a variety of trivia knowledge and interesting tidbits of info about the action on screen...all while you watch the film!

For most, though, the biggest treat of all is the Magical Musical Reunion which gathers Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and composer Richard Sherman around a piano once again after all these years.  For every adult who has known the words to "A Spoonful Of Sugar" or "Feed The Birds" (Walt Disney's favorite song!) since their childhood, this is a real treat.  Upon hearing the songs from this film again, whether while watching it through or perusing the extra features, you will be delighted at the sheer number of memorable classics contained in this one Disney film.

Classic songs, amazing acting talent, a fantastical story, and that special something called "Disney Magic" puts Mary Poppins at the top of the list even 40 years after its release.  Any film that can pull in five Oscars out of its eleven nominations deserves a little recognition.  Any film that can manage to impress just as much over four decades later?  Well, that film is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious indeed!  

-aaron-