Mary Poppins

I just saw the movie Saving Mr.Banks (it`s about the making of Mary Poppins) and I want to review it. It is based on a series of books by P. L. Travers. By the way I totally recommend the books. So lets take a look at Mary Poppins. 

 

Meet Mary Poppins

So the movie opens in London in 1910 where we see Bert (Dick Van Dyke) perform as a one-man-band. Oh since every one who watches/reviews this films say it, I will too. Dick Van Dyke has a really bad fake accent. So after Bert finishes performing,  he shows the audience to number 17 Cherry Tree Lane. Inside the house the Banks latest nanny Katie Nanna (Elsa Lanchester) is quitting because she is upset that the Banks kids Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber) have gotten lost/ran off for the fourth time in one week. Katie leaves just as Mr.Banks (David Tomlinson) comes in. Mrs.Banks (Glynis johns) tells Mr.Banks the children are missing Mr.Banks calls the police but the door is immeadeetly answered by the Constable (Arthur Treacher) with the children who ran off chasing a kite. Later that night Mr.Banks decides that the children need a new nanny one that is very strict and firm.  The children write an advertisement saying that they want a kind caring person. But as soon as the children leave  Mr.Banks tears up the advertisement and throws it in the chimney and the pieces float away. The next day a bunch a nannies are standing outside but are swepted away by a gust of wind then a magical nanny named Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) lands on the front porch. The maid Ellen (Hermione Baddeley) lets her in. When Mr.Banks intervews her she is what the children asked for and she even has fixed version of the advertisement. Mary Poppins decides to sign up for a trial period of three weeks before becoming a nanny full time.

Mary Poppins goes up to the children. Jane and Michael show her to her room. Mary Poppins decorates it with her bottomless carpet bag. Then she tells the children to help clean up the nursery. Mary Poppins and the kids use magic to clean the room and Mary Poppins sings the song "A Spoonful of Sugar". After that Mary Poppins takes the kids to the park. But along the way they meet Bert who is making chalk drawings. Bert convinces Mary Poppins to transport them into one of the chalk dreawings. After the song "Jolly Holiday", Bert, Jane, Michael, and Mary Poppins ride on a carousel. Then carousel horses break off and they all go on an adventure in which they save a fox from some hunters and Mary Poppins wins a horse race. After she wins she sing the song "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and then it starts raining and the chalk drawing washes away. Mary Poppins and the kids return home. The next day Mary Poppins takes the children to the house of uncle Albert (Ed Wynn). At the house it turns out that uncle Albert floats when he laughs (don't ask me why). It all end with Mary Poppins the kids and Bert on the ceiling with uncle Albert having a tea party. After some good/bad jokes, Mary Poppins says it's time to leave and it makes everyone sad and they get back on the ground.

Later that night Jane and Michael tell Mr.Banks about what happened. Mr.Banks is worried about his children. He has a talk with Mary Poppins. But she tricks/convinces Mr.Banks to take the kids to his job at the bank. Mary Poppins tells the children about the outing to the bank. She also tells them about a woman (Jane Darwell) who sells crumbs that you can feed the birds(through the song "Feed the Birds" which I think is Walt Disneys favorite song in the film). The next day when on the way to the bank they see the woman who sells crumbs and the children ask if they can buy some But Mr.Banks say no. When they get to the bank they meet Mr.Dawes junior (Arthur Malet) and Mr.Dawes senior (Dick Van Dyke again) and some other bankers. The bankers try to convince Michael to invest his tuppence in the bank. But Mr.Dawes senior takes the tuppence from Michael but Michael tries to get them back. Everyone else in the bank hears Michael screaming for his tuppence back and they all misunderstand and it starts a run on the bank. The bank is forced to suspend business. The kids get chased by the bank gaurd (Jimmy Logan). But luckily the children run into Bert who takes them home. Mrs.Banks answers the door. But it's Mary Poppins day off. So Mrs.Banks gets Bert to look after the children and sweep the chimney.  You now i don't think it was a good idea to let a chminy sweep who you just met (I know he is harmless) to look after your kids. Anyway Bert the children and Mary Poppins get sucked up the chiminy after some adventures on the rooftops we get the song "Step in Time" with Bert, Mary Poppins, and some other chiminny sweeps. Now I love this song because you can see how much energy Dick Van Dyke and the other dancers have. Anyway everyone (including the other chiminny sweeps) comes down the chimminy and Mr.Banks chases the chimney sweeps out. But then Mr.Banks gets a call from Mr.Dawes junior and tells Mr.Banks to come to the bank. By the way scene where Mr.Banks Walks to the bank is (probabley) the best scene in the movie. Anyway when Mr.Banks gets to the banks to the he gets fired. But then Mr.Banks realizes he has to be a better person/father. Mr.Banks gives Mr.Dawes senior the tuppence and tells him joke. Mr.Banks happily skips out the door. The next morning Mr.Banks fixes the kite from the beginning and the whole family (as well as everyone else in the city)  goes to fly a kite (and we get the song "Let's Go Fly a Kite"). So it ends with Mr.Banks getting his job back and Mary Poppins leaveing the family.The End

This movie is a classic. It has very catchy songs(the best one being "Chim-Chimney"). the danceing is amazing and it has very well developed characters. It is also one of the few movies that has the cliche of having a father who always puts work before his children work. But if there is one bad thing about it...it's that some of the musical numbers go for too long.  If you have not seen it check it out.