An immensely enjoyable sequel to the popular Disney classic, Mary Poppins Returns succeeds as both a follow-up and a standalone fantasy adventure with the world’s most magical nanny, as Emily Blunt seals her mark on a role once thought untouchable.
Good things, they say, come to those who wait. Yet 54 years for a sequel is downright absurd. The reasons for such a delay between Mary Poppins films, however, are reasonable. As anyone who has seen Saving Mr. Banks can attest, the working relationship between Mary Poppins creator P.L. Travers and Mr. Walt Disney was tolerable at best. Travers was not a big fan of Disney’s take on her beloved creation, and any talk of Disney doing another film went nowhere fast. Yet time has mended old wounds, and once again the magical nanny from parts unknown delivers an imaginative, toe tapping, heartfelt adventure as only she can.
Set decades after the first film, Mary Poppins Returns focuses again on the Banks children: Michael (Ben Whishaw) now a widower with three children John (Nathaniel Saleh), Anabel (Pixie Davies), and George (Joel Dawson); and Jane (Emily Mortimer) an activist for the union movement. When a grieving Michael finds himself at risk of losing his childhood home to scrupulous bank manager Mr. Wilkins (Colin Firth), the ever-reliable Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) returns to help set this family back on course. The way that she does so is filled with imagination, fun, and a goodness that is infectious in its spirit.
Director Rob Marshall (Chicago) has done a terrific job in tapping into the nostalgic tone of the Mary Poppins classic, while utilising the very best of modern filmmaking technology to create a film that is both aesthetically and narratively relevant. A collection of original songs written by Hairspray duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Whittman may not quite match the bar set by those Sherman brother classics from 1966, yet are never the less wonderfully crafted and performed compositions sure to play soundtrack to a new generation of Mary Poppins fan. Excellent too is the exquisite art direction and costume design, that is wonderfully captured by cinematographer Dion Beebee (Memoirs of a Geisha.)
Most impressive is the performances. Ben Whishaw brings a sympathetic melancholy to his portrayal of Michael overcome by grief: Colin Firth is suitably slimy as the film’s money hungry villain; and Lin-Manuel Miranda makes an impressive feature film debut as Jack the lamplighter, the Hamilton star singing and dancing his heart out and bringing that patented awful cockney accent that’s known for this role. A recent Golden Globe nomination for Miranda was well deserved.
The main draw and highlight is (of course) Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins. Movie history has shown that there are certain roles forever associated with the one actor. Sean Connery with James Bond. Harrison Ford with Indiana Jones. And indeed, Julie Andrews with Mary Poppins. Emily Blunt has successfully taken that mantle from Andrews’ prestigious hands, for her Mary Poppins is a performance for the ages. The diction, the poise, the on key delivery of her dialogue, and pitch perfect comedic chops, combined with a vocal delivery that is nothing short of magnificent, Blunt delivers beyond expectations, in the process taking on the Mary Poppins mantle and making it her own.
Good things come to those who wait. In the case of Mary Poppins Returns, that wait has proven to be worth it and then some!
