Top 100 Movies Disney’s Mary Poppins. A bit ago, I started going through this list of movies, one by one. I figured I could stand to learn a thing or two about “good movies” from Hollywood’s perspective as I’ve been something of an outsider in the world of film.
Now, I will say this – I cannot possibly come to this movie walkthrough in any sort of fair way. I’m a huge animation buff, and fan… and own one of the original penguin dancing cells. I have loved any films that try to blend reality with animation (confession time? I loved Who Framed Roger Rabbit for this very reason) and just see this as real magic with the artists who managed to pull it off. And Mary Poppins is just such a legendary, groundbreaking piece of art in that regard. But even though I’ve seen it many, many, times, I still gave it a fresh watch – spoiler? I loved it just as much on the 42nd watch.
Top 100 Movies Disney’s Mary Poppins Walkthrough
Mary Poppins opens with a shot of the city of London, England, in 1910. We see a young woman named Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) floating down from the sky, carrying an umbrella. She lands in front of the Banks’ family home, where she meets Mr. George Banks (David Tomlinson), his wife Winifred (Glynis Johns), and their two children, Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber). The children have been looking for a new nanny, as they have scared off their previous ones. Mary Poppins presents herself as the ideal candidate and is hired on the spot after she summons a storm to blow away the rest of the candidates. (Seems like a bit of a moral quandary imho).
As the children soon discover, Mary Poppins is no ordinary nanny. She has magical powers that allow her to fly and to take the children on incredible adventures. Mary Poppins takes Jane and Michael on a magical trip to the countryside, where they visit her Uncle Albert (Ed Wynn), who suffers from an unusual condition that causes him to float in the air when he laughs. The children and Mary Poppins soon find themselves floating as well, and they have a wonderful time.
When they return home, they find that their father is angry with them for being late for dinner. Mr. Banks is a strict man who is obsessed with his work at the bank and does not seem to have much time for his family. Mary Poppins tries to teach him the value of spending time with his children, and they all go on a trip to the bank where Mr. Banks works. There, they meet a man named Bert (Dick Van Dyke), who is a jack-of-all-trades and a friend of Mary Poppins. Bert takes them on a tour of London, and they end up at a park where they have a magical picnic.
One of the main subplots of the movie involves Mr. Banks’ attempts to find a new nanny for his children. He hires a series of stern, strict women who are unable to handle Jane and Michael’s playful nature. Eventually, Mary Poppins convinces Mr. Banks to take the children to his workplace, where they cause chaos and disrupt a board meeting. Mr. Banks is embarrassed by their behavior, but he also realizes that he needs to spend more time with his children.
As the movie progresses, we learn more about Mary Poppins’ magical abilities. She can talk to animals, including a talking parrot named Uncle Albert, and she has a magical bag that can hold an infinite number of items. She also takes the children on a trip into a chalk drawing, where they have a wild adventure with Bert and a group of animated penguins.
At the end of the movie, Mr. Banks is fired from his job at the bank, but he realizes that he is much happier spending time with his family. The movie ends with Mary Poppins leaving the Banks’ family, but promising to return when they need her again. But even more than the general overview of the film, the movie is filled with incredibly delightful music and animated brilliance. Songs like “A Spoonful of Sugar”, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” and “Chim Chim Cher-ee” are so delightfully ubiquitous you’d be hard pressed to find someone unable to hum a bar of one of these songs.
Thoughts on the Film Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins, is one of the most deserving movies to be on this list that I have seen so far as we walk through them one by one. I mean, the only weak point of this film is Burt’s hackneyed British accent. And even that could be defended for the being comical – “ELLLOOOO G’VNAH!” in the film that it is in. The Merry Go Round scene? Brilliant. The Chim Chim Chimney scenes on the rooftop? Just such great choreography, special effects, and music.
If you loved Mary Poppins half as much as I did, you should also check out the Return of Mary Poppins. But the movie you really need to check out is Saving Mr. Banks. So incredible, for so many reasons. The music, the story telling, the really heartbreaking underlying backstory. Pretty much everything there is worth watching.
Edited by: CY