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!
