DB Reviews- Mary Poppins Returns

Poster from DVD Release Date

Good day, everyone! It's me, DB, back for another PLEASANT review! This time, I give you my review of Mary Poppins Returns. WARNING: THERE ARE SPOILERS! This film was released in December of 2018! 

In this film, Mary Poppins, played this time by Emily Blount, returns to help the Banks family get out of debt, i.e. pay off a mortgage, in her own magicial way. Not only that, she also helps them find happiness after Michael Banks loses his wife by teaching them that although she's gone, she is never forgotten! This film is packed was fun songs that can be Disney hits. 

I thought that Blount must've seen the original Mary Poppins a lot, because she sounded like the original version of the character, played by Julie Andrews. Perhaps that's what she needed to do in order to learn about the character prior to filming. Is that a good thing to do? In her case, it is in my opinion, but you can decide that too if you've seen the film! 

Lin-Manuel Miranda, of Hamilton fame, played Jack the lamplighter. He was the Bert in this film, from his accent all the way down to his shoes! I thought he brought a little of his Hamilton rap when he sang in a few of the songs. That accent fits him in this role! 

Ben Whishaw plays the adult Michael Banks in this film. The young Banks in the original film was played by Matthew Garber. His character was nervous and worried through most of the film, a natural reaction by a person who has to pay a mortgage before the bank forecloses on that person's house (which is a bad thing, btw). Although he wasn't my favorite actor, I can definitely see the expression he showed when on screen. 

The kids were played by Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh and Joel Dawson. I thought they were good in this film. I know it can be tough directing kids their age in a movie, but I think they did a good job performing these characters despite that. 

The thing that put this movie over the top for me was the songs! These songs were fantastic! I could hear Radio Disney play these songs over and over! My favorite was "Can You Imagine That". I also loved "A Cover Is Not The Book", "Trip A Little Light Fantastic" and "Nowhere To Go But Up". I felt that each song in this film played the same role as the songs in the original film. For example, "The Place Where Lost Things Go" (the Academy Award nominated song) was the slow song in this film, just like "Feed The Birds" was from the original film. Let me tell you I will definitely be buying this soundtrack, or at least a few songs from it! 

I like what they did with the Royal Doulton Bowl scene. That scene was definitely a nice tribute to the original film. The animation was solid and clear. Plus, it had a little action too! You can also tell how different the animation style is today from how it was when the original Mary Poppins first came out. 

So overall, this film isn't as "practically perfect in every way" in comparison to the original film, but it definitely is A MUST ADD TO YOUR DISNEY LIBRARY! I will definitely add it to mine! Thanks for reading! Be sure to check out my new Youtube channel. Just search DB Reviews in the search bar! Part of the DB Network! 

Oh, by the way, Angela Landsbury made a cameo at the end of the film. So did Bert himself, aka Dick Van Dyke, but he played a different role in this film. Plus, good news for those of you that loved Admiral Boom! This character is in this film too, played by David Warner. Although I think he got his "timing" mixed up! 

DB Reviews- Ralph Breaks The Internet

Image from IMP Awards

Hello, reader! It's me, DB and I'm back to give you another AWESOME review! This time, I review Disney's newest hit film Ralph Breaks The Internet! WARNING: THERE ARE SPOILERS, SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED, PLEASE GO SEE THIS MOVIE FIRST BEFORE YOU READ! 

In this movie, BFF's Ralph and Vanellope must journey to The Internet to find a replacement steering wheel for the Sugar Rush game. There, they meet some new friends, interact with some characters from other Disney properities (including all the Princesses) and Vanellope finds a new game  called Slaughter Race, a racing adventure game that she becomes a part of at the end of the film. 

The story was definitely well written and easy to follow. I like that in movies. I think that if a writer wrote a script for a movie, that person should make the script easy to for the movie goer to understand what's going on in the film. I think that Josie Trinidad, the head writer for this film and her team did a great job at doing just that! 

John C. Reilly returned as Ralph, the "bad guy" that wasn't so bad in the original movie, Wreck-It Ralph. I think he does a good job in this role and I do hope Disney brings him back for a 3rd film if they make one. I like him in Chicago and I think his protraying Ralph is just as good. 

Sarah Silverman returns as Vanellope, the kid racer and "princess" from Sugar Rush who is Ralphs's BFF! I think she does a good job as this character, but her singing voice does need some work! Although, I won't be surprised if kids called Radio Disney to request the DJ to play her song " A Place Called Slaughter Race", which she did with Shank from said game. 

Speaking of Shank, Gal Gadot, aka Wonder Woman, provided her voice for this character. She did a good job! This was a different role for her, having previously played an Amazonian Princess! 

Bill Hader played J.P. Spamley and Alfred Molina, aka Doctor Octopus from the original Spider-Man trilogy, played Double Dan and his little brother. Both were good at their respective roles. Hader was uncredited and I think he should've received a credit! 

I thought the game Slaughter Race looked like a Disney version of Mad Max with a little Grand Theft Auto. The goal of the game is to steal Shank's car, which is a pretty valuable item in the video game world! If Disney teamed up with a video game developer, like Activison or Insomiac, to create an actual Slaughter Race video game, I would buy it! I think Disney should do the same with Sugar Rush. That would definitely challenge Mario Kart! (I like Mario Kart a lot and I'll probably like Sugar Rush at lot too!) I think Slaughter Race should get a T for Teen rating, while Sugar Rush gets an E for Everyone. Hey, I wouldn't even mind playing Fix-It Felix, Jr if they made that one! That could get an E too! 

I also thought that the Disney Princesses teaming up to save Ralph was a nice touch! All of them working together and using their abilities together was a very memorable scene and a good one too! All of the original voice actors/actresses (except for Snow White, for which I think her original actress passed away) reprised their roles in the film! Plus, Jacques and Gus Gus made a cameo, along with a whole ton of other Disney characters, like Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy and Eeyore from Pooh! Even Grumpy of the Seven Dwarfs and Nick Wilde from Zootopia made appearances. 

The Stormtroopers and C-3PO from Star Wars also were in the film, with Anthony Daniels reprising his role as 3PO! I think that all the different characters from different Disney franchises added to the fun. 

Oh yeah, did I mention Sonic The Hedgehog? Yep, he's in this one too, with his voice actor, Roger Craig Smith, reprising the role. I guess Sonic must have a good agent cause he's done a gaming series with Mario and has a role with Wreck-It Ralph! 

Overall, the film was PURE DISNEY FUN! I give it 4 STARS! If they do a 3rd film (which they probably will in the future), I think they should take a look at console games, like ones for the PS4 or Switch. Then they could feature Mario (and his bro Luigi or Yoshi. Can't forget about them!). Thanks for reading! 

Felix and Calhoun were in this film too (with their voice actors, Jane Lynch of Glee fame and Jack McBriar, reprising the roles) but they mostly had their roles reduced a bit. This was more of a Ralph and Vanellope movie.