A biographical drama based on the making of the film,Saving Mr. Banks, was released on October 20, 2013. A sequel,Mary Poppins Returns, was released on December 19, 2018.[10][11]
In 1910, Winifred Banks returns to her home inEdwardian London after asuffragette rally and learns that her children, Jane and Michael, have run away, "for the fourth time this week", which prompted their nanny, Katie Nanna, to quit her job. That night, Winifred's strict and ambitious husband George returns home from his job at the bank and places a newspaper advertisement for a stern, no-nonsense nanny. Jane and Michael present their own advertisement for a kind, sympathetic nanny, but George rips up their letter and throws the scraps in the fireplace. A strong wind draws the scraps up through the chimney and into the sky.
The next day, several sour-faced nannies await outside the Banks family's home, but a strong gust of wind magically blows them away. Jane and Michael then witness a young woman floating down from the sky, gracefully descending with an open umbrella. The woman enters the Banks family's home and introduces herself asMary Poppins. To George's shock, Mary is holding the children's advertisement, and the scraps have been put back together. She agrees with the advertisement's requests, but promises George that she will be firm with his children. Mary manipulates George into hiring her. Upstairs, Mary helps the children magically clean their nursery.
While walking in a park, the trio encounters Mary's friend Bert, ajack of all trades working as astreet painter. Mary transports the group into one of Bert's drawings. While the children ride on acarousel, Mary and Bert sing while strolling. After meeting up with the children, they all then participate in ahorse race, which Mary wins. Mary uses the nonsense word "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" to describe her victory. When a thunderstorm dissolves Bert's drawings, the group is returned to London. While putting the children to bed, Mary sings a lullaby.
The next day, the trio and Bert visit Mary's odd uncle, Albert, whose uncontrollable laughter has caused him to float. George becomes annoyed by the household's cheery atmosphere and threatens to fire Mary. She persuades him to take the children to his workplace. That evening, Mary sings a lullaby about a woman who sellsbird food on the steps ofSt. Paul's Cathedral. The next day at the bank, the children meet George's boss, the elderly Mr. Dawes Sr., who advises Michael to invest histuppence in the bank, ultimately snatching the coins out of Michael's hand. Michael demands them back; other customers overhear the conflict, and they all begin demanding their own money back, causing abank run.
Jane and Michael flee the bank and get lost in theEast End. Bert, now working as achimney sweep, escorts them home. The three and Mary venture onto the rooftops, where Bert dances with other chimney sweeps. George later receives a phone call from the bank, requesting a meeting with him regarding Michael's actions. The children overhear the phone call and become concerned. Bert advises George to spend more time with Jane and Michael before they grow up. Hoping to make amends, Michael gives George the tuppence. Stricken with regret, George slowly walks through London to the bank, where he is given a humiliatingcashiering. Lost for words, George exclaims "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", tells a joke Albert had told the children, and happily walks home. When Mr. Dawes Sr. understands the joke, he floats up into the air, laughing.
The next day, Mary Poppins tells the children she must leave. George mends his children's kite and takes the family out to fly it. At the park, the family encounters Mr. Dawes Sr.'s son, Mr. Dawes Jr., who reveals that his fatherdied laughing at the joke. Mr. Dawes Jr. says his father had never been happier and gratefully rehires (and promotes) George. Mary watches the family and decides her work is done. As Mary flies away, Bert looks up and says, "Goodbye, Mary Poppins. Don't stay away too long."
Julie Andrews asMary Poppins, a magical and loving woman who descends from the clouds in response to the Banks children's advertisement for a nanny. She is firm in her use of authority but gentle and kind as well, a major departure from the original books, in which the character was more stern and pompous.[12]
Dick Van Dyke as Bert, acockneyjack-of-all-trades and Mary Poppins' closest friend, who is completely accustomed to her magic. Their playful interactions imply that they have known each other for a long time and that this kind of story has repeated itself many times. Bert has at least four jobs throughout the film: aone-man band, asidewalk chalk artist, achimney sweep, and a kite seller.
Van Dyke also portrays Mr. Dawes Sr., the old director of the bank where Mr. Banks works. During the film's end titles, "Navckid Keyd", an anagram of Dick Van Dyke, is first credited as playing the role before the letters unscramble to reveal Van Dyke's name.
David Tomlinson as George Banks, Mary Poppins' employer and strict, driven, and disciplined father of Jane and Michael. He works at the Dawes Tomes Mousley Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank in London.
Glynis Johns as Winifred Banks, the easily distracted wife of George Banks and the mother of Jane and Michael. She is depicted as a member ofEmmeline Pankhurst's "Votes for Women" suffrage movement. Mrs. Banks was originally named Cynthia, but this was changed to the more English-sounding Winifred per Travers.[13]
Reta Shaw as Mrs. Clara Brill, the cook of the Banks residence
Karen Dotrice as Jane Banks, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Banks and Michael's older sister. Jane is a high-spirited, bright, and precocious young girl. Dotrice makes a cameo appearance inMary Poppins Returns (2018) as a different character.
Matthew Garber as Michael Banks, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Banks and Jane's younger brother. Michael is an excitable and naughty young boy who simply adores and looks up to his father. Both Jane and Michael are mischievous and misbehave in an attempt to seek attention from their parents.
Elsa Lanchester as Katie Nanna, the disgruntled nanny who quits the Banks family
Reginald Owen as Admiral Boom, the Banks' eccentric neighbor and a naval officer. He has his first mate, Mr. Binnacle, fire a cannon from his roof every 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Ed Wynn as Uncle Albert, a jolly gentleman who suffers from an unknown condition where he floats in the air due to his uncontrollable laughter. Although he likes having company over, he becomes sad and cries when his guests have to leave and he falls back to the ground, since it is the inversion of laughing.
Walt Disney's efforts to obtain the rights toMary Poppins included travelling to Travers' home in London (pictured).
The film's main basis was the first novel intheMary Poppins series. According to the 40th Anniversary DVD release of the film in 2004, Disney's daughters fell in love with theMary Poppins books and made Disney promise to make a film based on them. He first attempted to purchase the film rights fromP. L. Travers as early as 1938, but Travers repeatedly refused; she did not believe a film version would do justice to her books.
Disney was also then known primarily as a producer of animated films, and had yet to produce a major live-action work. For more than 20 years, he made periodic efforts to convince Travers to release the rights, including visiting her home inChelsea, London.[16] He finally succeeded in 1961, although Travers demanded and obtained script-approval rights. TheSherman Brothers composed the music score and were involved in the film's development, suggesting the setting be changed from the 1930s to theEdwardian era. Pre-production and music creation took about two years.
Travers was an adviser to the production, and was billed as the film's consultant. However, she disapproved of the dilution of the harsher aspects of Mary Poppins' character, felt ambivalent about the music, and hated the use of animation so much that she ruled out any further adaptations of the laterMary Poppins novels.[17] She objected to a number of elements that made it into the film. Rather than original songs, she wanted the soundtrack to feature known standards of the Edwardian period in which the story is set. However, due to contract stipulations citing that he hadfinal cut privilege on the finished print, Disney overruled her. In a 2013 interview, Dick van Dyke said that Travers felt that neither he nor Julie Andrews were right for the lead roles.[18]
Much of the Travers–Disney correspondence is part of the Travers collection of papers in theState Library of New South Wales, Australia. The relationship between Travers and Disney is detailed inMary Poppins She Wrote, a biography of Travers by Valerie Lawson. The biography is the basis for two documentaries on Travers:The Real Mary Poppins and Lisa Matthews'The Shadow of Mary Poppins.[19][20][21] Their relationship during the development of the film was also dramatized in the 2013 Disney filmSaving Mr. Banks.
Julie Andrews, who was making her feature film acting debut after a successful stage career, was given the prime role of Mary Poppins soon after she was passed over byJack L. Warner and replaced withAudrey Hepburn for the role ofEliza Doolittle in hisscreen adaptation ofMy Fair Lady, even though Andrews originated the role on Broadway.[24][25] When Disney approached Andrews about playing Poppins, she was three months pregnant. Disney assured her that they were willing to postpone filming until she had given birth so that she could take the part.[26] Disney considered actorStanley Holloway for the role of Admiral Boom, but it went to Reginald Owen, due to Holloway's commitment toMy Fair Lady.[27]
Andrews also provided the voice in two other sections of the film: During "A Spoonful of Sugar", she provided the whistling harmony for the robin, and she was also one of thePearly singers during "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".David Tomlinson, besides playing Mr. Banks, provided the voices of Mary's talking umbrella, Admiral Boom's first mate, and numerous other voice-over parts. During the "Jolly Holiday" sequence, the three singing Cockney geese were all voiced byMarni Nixon, who regularly sang for actresses with substandard singing voices. (Nixon later provided the singing voice for Hepburn inMy Fair Lady, and played one of Andrews' fellow nuns inThe Sound of Music.) Andrews later beat Hepburn for theBest Actress Award at theGolden Globes for their respective roles. Andrews also won theOscar for Best Actress for her role (Hepburn was not nominated for it). Richard Sherman, one of the songwriters, also voiced a penguin, and one of the Pearlies.[28] Robert Sherman provided the speaking voice of Jane Darwell because Darwell's voice was too soft to be heard in the soundtrack. He is heard saying the only line: "Feed the birds, tuppence a bag."[29]
Disney castDick Van Dyke in the main supporting role of Bert after seeing his work onThe Dick Van Dyke Show. After winning the role, Van Dyke lobbied to also play the senior Mr. Dawes. Disney felt he was too young for the part, but Van Dyke won him over after a screen test.[30] Van Dyke had trouble with Bert's Cockney accent. English character actorJ. Pat O'Malley provided some coaching;[31] but although Van Dyke is fondly remembered for the film, hisattempt at a Cockney accent is considered one of the poorer accents in film history.[32] (It was #2 in a 2003 poll byEmpire magazine of the worst film accents.[33]) Van Dyke claimed that O'Malley "didn't do an accent any better than I did".[34] In 2017, Van Dyke received an award for television excellence from theBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), at which time he said, "I appreciate this opportunity to apologise to the members of BAFTA for inflicting on them the most atrocious cockney accent in the history of cinema." A chief executive of BAFTA responded, "We look forward to his acceptance speech in whatever accent he chooses on the night. We have no doubt it will be 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'."[35]
Filming took place between May and September 1963 in Burbank, California;[36][37] post-production and animation took another eleven months.[38]
Actor Dick Van Dyke was inserted into an animated scene of dancing penguins using thesodium vapor process.
The scene in which Mary Poppins and Bert interact with a group of animated penguins is noted for its use of thesodium vapor process. Rather than using the more commonbluescreen process to insert the actors into the animated footage, the actors were filmed against a white screen lit with sodium vapor lights, which have a yellow hue. A special camera was fitted with a prism that filtered this light to a separate reel of film, creating a highly accurate matte that could be used to isolate the actors from the background. This created a crisp, clean image and even allowed the partially transparent veil of Mary Poppins's costume to let through light from the background. The film received theAcademy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1965 for this effect.[39]
Peter Menefee, one of the 12 dancing chimney sweeps supporting Bert, provided some insight into the film's choreography:
The choreography wasn't really done until we got there and they mounted it on us. On the first day of filming, the first thing we shot is the very last thing you see – where we're all dancing down the street at the end. That was hard because, although we had worked for almost a month and a half with the brooms and everything, we'd been working on a plywood floor. And all of a sudden, we get out and we're on a cobblestone street and there's supposed to be four of us tumbling right next to each other, and you put the broom down. Even if it had a rubber point, you'd be all over the place. That was really hard.[40]
The film's choreographers wereDee Dee Wood and her husbandMarc Breaux.[41] Walt Disney attended the rehearsals for the rooftop scenes every day.[42]
The film features music and lyrics by brothersRichard M. Sherman andRobert B. Sherman, who took inspiration from Edwardian Britishmusic hall music.[43]Irwin Kostal arranged and conducted the score.Buena Vista Records released the original soundtrack in 1964 on LP and reel-to-reel tape. Even though RCA Victor Records released a record club edition, it is considered the pivotal release for Disney's in-house record division, selling in the millions.[44] The songs were among the most covered by famous artists such asJohnny Mathis,Louis Prima, andRay Conniff, and even cartoon characters such asThe Chipmunks andThe Flintstones.[45]
Mary Poppins premiered on August 27, 1964, atGrauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.[38][46] The film's poster was painted by artistPaul Wenzel.[1][2] Travers was not extended an invitation to the event, but managed to obtain one from a Disney executive. It was at the after-party that Richard Sherman recalled her walking up to Disney and loudly announcing that the animated sequence had to go. Disney responded, "Pamela, the ship has sailed" and walked away.[21]
Mary Poppins was released in the early 1980s onVHS, Betamax, CED and LaserDisc. The first version released in December 1980 features a VHS cover of Mary Poppins flying with her umbrella. The second release in November 1982 has a cropped image of Mary, Bert, and the Children from the "Stepintime" roof dance fireworks scene, while the third release on November 6, 1985, has a full-length picture on its cover. The fourth and final release, on October 4, 1988, as part of the Walt Disney Home Video collection, features the Penguin dance. On October 28, 1994, August 26, 1997, and March 31, 1998, it was rereleased three times as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection. In 1998, the film became Disney's first feature film released on DVD. On July 4, 2000, it was released on VHS and DVD as part of the Gold Classic Collection. On December 14, 2004, it had a 2-disc DVD release in a Digitally Restored 40th Anniversary Edition as well as its final issue in the VHS format. The film's audio track featured an "Enhanced Home Theater Mix" consisting of updated sound effects, improved fidelity and mixing, and some enhanced music (this version was also shown on its 2006–2012ABC Family airings), but the DVD included the original soundtrack as an audio option.
On January 27, 2009, the film was rereleased onDVD as a 45th anniversary edition, with more language tracks and special features (though the film's "Enhanced Home Theater Mix" was not included).Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released it on Blu-ray as the50th Anniversary Edition on December 10, 2013.[47] In February 2024, theBritish Board of Film Classification reclassifiedMary Poppins fromU to aPG due to Admiral Boom's use of the word "hottentot" to refer to the dancing chimney sweeps.[48]
Mary Poppins earned $31 million in theatrical rentals in the United States and Canada during its initial run.[49] It was one of the top 12 grossing films in the United States for 32 weeks.[50] It earned rentals of $44 million worldwide in its initial release.[51]
The film was re-released theatrically in 1973, in honor of Walt Disney Productions' 50th anniversary, and earned an estimated additional $9 million in rentals in the United States and Canada.[52] It was released once more in 1980 and grossed $14 million.[21] It returned a total lifetime rental of $45 million in the United States and Canada[53] to Disney from a gross of over $102 million.[6]
It was the 20th most popular sound film of the 20th century in the United Kingdom with admissions of 14 million.[54]
The film was very profitable for Disney. Made on an estimated budget of $4.4–6 million,[5][55][56] it was reported by Cobbett Steinberg to be the most profitable film of 1965, earning a net profit of $28.5 million.[57][a] Walt Disney used his huge profits from the film to purchase land in central Florida and finance the construction ofWalt Disney World.[59]
The film received universal acclaim from critics.[57][60] Whitney Williams ofVariety praised its musical sequences and Andrews' and Van Dyke's performances in particular.[61]Time lauded the film, stating, "The sets are luxuriant, the songs lilting, the scenario witty but impeccably sentimental, and the supporting cast only a pinfeather short of perfection."[62]Bosley Crowther, reviewing forThe New York Times, described the film as a "most wonderful, cheering movie … for the visual and aural felicities they have added to this sparkling color film—the enchantments of a beautiful production, some deliciously animated sequences, some exciting and nimble dancing and a spinning musical score—make it the nicest entertainment that has opened at theMusic Hall this year."[63]
ForThe Hollywood Reporter, James Powers applauded the performances, visual effects, musical score, production design, and choreography, and commented: "Mary Poppins is a picture that is, more than most, a triumph of many individual contributions. And its special triumph is that it seems to be the work of a single, cohesive intelligence."[64] Ann Guerin ofLife criticized the creative departures from the novels, particularly the "Jolly Holiday" sequence. She noted that "[s]ome of the sequences have real charm, and perhaps the kids will eat them up. But speaking as a grownup, I found a little bit went a long way." She concluded, "With a little more restraint and a little less improvement on the original, the film's many charms would have been that much better."[65]
On the review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "A lavish modern fairy tale celebrated for its amazing special effects, catchy songs, and Julie Andrews's legendary performance in the title role."[66]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 88 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[67] Critic Drew Casper summarized the impact ofMary Poppins in 2011:
Disney was the leader, his musical fantasies mixing animation and truly marvelous f/x with real-life action for children and the child in the adult.Mary Poppins (1964) was his plum. ... the story was elemental, even trite. But utmost sophistication (the chimney pot sequence crisply cut by Oscared "Cotton" Warburton) and high-level invention (a tea party on the ceiling, a staircase of black smoke to the city's top) characterized its handling.[68]
Mary Poppins is widely consideredWalt Disney's "crowning achievement".[81] It was the only Disney film to receive a Best Picture nomination in his lifetime.[82]
Some of the profits from the film were used to build theWalt Disney World Monorail System; reflecting this is the MAPO (MAry POppins) safety system included on all Disney monorails. Walt Disney World's Railroad steam locomotives are also fitted with a boiler safety device markedMAPO.
Never at ease with the handling of her property by Disney or the way she felt she had been treated, Travers never agreed to another Poppins/Disney adaptation. So fervent was her dislike of the Disney adaptation, and of how she felt she had been treated during the production, that when producerCameron Mackintosh approached her about thestage musical in the 1990s, she acquiesced on the conditions that he use only English-born writers and that no one from the film production be directly involved.[83]
On December 19, 2018,Walt Disney Pictures released the filmMary Poppins Returns. The film takes place 25 years after the original,[85]Mary Poppins, and features a standalone narrative based on the remaining seven books in the series.Rob Marshall directed, whileJohn DeLuca andMarc Platt served as producers, withEmily Blunt starring as Poppins, co-starring Broadway actor Lin-Manuel Miranda. Dick Van Dyke returned to portray Mr. Dawes Jr. Karen Dotrice also appeared in a cameo role.
TheABC television network currently owns the broadcast rights to the film. It most recently aired on November 28, 2024, which was preceded the previous day by a20/20 special about the making of the film, "The Untold Story of Mary Poppins", featuring previously unreleased production footage.[86]
The documentary includes conversations with Dick Van Dyke, Josh Gad, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Walt Disney’s grandchildren. Julie Andrews also shared her memories of creating the original film.
Two episodes ofGilligan's Island reference the film. In the episode "The Hunter,", Ginger says "Are you Mary Ann or Mary Poppins?" In "And Then There Were None," Gilligan dreams he is on trial with Mary Poppins as his lawyer.
InNeil Simon's film version ofThe Odd Couple (1968), Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau) says to his friends, "You get this one stinkin' night a week. I'm cooped up here with Mary Poppins twenty-four hours a day" (referring to Felix Unger (Jack Lemmon).
The film inspired theeighth season episode ofThe Simpsons titled "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", featuring a parody of Mary called "Shary Bobbins" who helps out the Simpson family after Marge loses her hair due to stress, and spoofs of the songs "The Perfect Nanny", "A Spoonful of Sugar", "Feed the Birds" and "The Life I Lead".
In Season 3 Episode 4 ofThe Dick Van Dyke Show, Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam) is brainstorming about ideas forThe Alan Brady Show and says, "how about if Alan comes out as a cockney chimney sweep but he is getting so fat he can't get down the chimney." Since the episode's air date (October 16, 1963) was afterMary Poppins finished filming (in September 1963) but before the film premiered (in 1964), this was both a wink to those behind the scenes who knewMary Poppins was on the way and a nod to the character Dick Van Dyke plays in the movie.[87]
InThe Baby-Sitters Club books, Stacey takes a group of children on a shambolic outing to the Embassy Theatre to seeMary Poppins.
InThe Boss Baby, the titular character refers to Euguena the babysitter as "Scary Poppins" upon being captured along with his brother, Tim.
InGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Peter Quill tells Yondu Udonta that he looks like Mary Poppins, and then, Yondu Udonta yells, "I'm Mary Poppins, y'all!"
^When a film is released late in a calendar year (October–December), its income is reported in the following year's compendium, unless the film made a particularly fast impact.[58]
^Lawson, Valerie (2010).Mary Poppins She Wrote: The Extraordinary Life of Australian Writer P.L. Travers. Sydney:Hachette Australia. p. 214.ISBN978-0733626371.
^Ehrbar, Greg (2024).Hanna-Barbera, the recorded history: from modern stone age to meddling kids. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi.ISBN978-1-4968-5185-7.
^Williams, Whitney (September 2, 1964)."Film Reviews: Mary Poppins".Variety.Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. RetrievedDecember 13, 2013.
^Crowther, Bosley (September 25, 1964)."Screen: 'Mary Poppins'".The New York Times. p. 34.Archived from the original on May 23, 2020. RetrievedFebruary 14, 2020.
^Rich, John (October 16, 1963),Very Old Shoes, Very Old Rice (Comedy, Family), Dick Van Dyke, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Larry Mathews, Calvada Productions,archived from the original on May 21, 2021, retrievedDecember 13, 2020
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