Mary Poppins Movie Review (1964)

I am so absolutely, absolutely thrilled for this next movie. I have been waiting to get to this movie since the start of the project! A masterpiece of the Walt Disney Studios, I have loved this movie since I was a child and continue to love it as an adult. For this project, I’m focusing on the story itself, including dialogue, character development, any subplots, how a story presents itself, the speed at which it moves, if it slows down unnecessarily, etc.

A Brief Summary

(Taken from D23)

A magical English nanny, Mary Poppins, arrives at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Banks, facing the park at No. 17, Cherry Tree Lane in London, to the delight of their young children, Jane and Michael. The proper English father is too preoccupied with his responsibility at the bank; the mother, an ardent suffragette, is not really aware that their two children, left in the care of one nanny after another, are unhappy and unable to communicate with the parents they truly love. Mary Poppins has come to change all this. She settles into the house, and soon has everyone wrapped around her little finger. Mary, along with her friend Bert and a host of chimney sweeps, teaches the children how to have fun, and in so doing makes the Banks household a happier place. By the time she opens her umbrella and flies off on a beautiful spring evening, the family is united together in the park, flying a kite.

What works

• I like that Bert treats the audience as part of the movie. I don’t think that it’s considered breaking the 4th wall? Because it’s not him knowing that we’re outside the movie, it’s that we become a character in the movie.
  • Bert is a reliable narrator. His explanations of what is going on in the world of this movie match with what we the audience see. However, as it is not his perspective that we are viewing this story, he wouldn’t be considered the true and proper narrator.
• Mr. Banks is my favorite character. His character arc is the best. One of the best I’ve ever seen.
• Mrs. Banks is a fascinating character. She is a bit flighty, being so passionate about the women’s suffragette movement. But she really is quite intelligent.
  • “You getting this?” Mr. banks
  • “Oh yes dear, every word.” Lightning quick hands
• Also wanted to point out that Mrs. Banks is quite confident in her position. She knows when to let Mr. Banks lead, but she is also able to firmly take charge when needed. Like when the kids want to share the ad that they wrote.
  • “George, I think we should listen.” That whole scene, she keeps him at bay. 
• Jane & Michael are so great because they are simply children. There’s a genuine, authentic feeling about them. 
• The scene, early in the film, when the constable brings the children home and tries to act as a ‘mediator’ figure is such a good show-and-tell scene of Mr. Banks’ character. In just a few lines of dialogue, it establishes the necessity of Mary Poppins’ appearance as well as a good starting point for Mr. Banks’ character arc.
• The plot is pretty tight. It moves forward at a remarkable speed and there doesn’t seem to be any unnecessary scenes included. 
• I like that there are signs that Mary Poppins isn’t a new person, that she’s done this before. Especially ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ hints at past events with Mary and Bert,
  • While it’s not crucial to the plot or to the enjoyment of the audience, it adds layers to the world of Mary Poppins,
• Even Mr. Banks seems to acknowledge that Mr. Dawes Sr is a bit tough to understand for a child. (and Mr. Dawes Sr does technically take Michael’s money)
• I love that Bert’s the one to find the kids and help calm them after their frightened run from the bank.
• I mentioned this earlier, but the plot timeline is so tight. There’s no time for the story to drag because of how neatly it’s put together. The screenwriters did a really good job at adapting this.
• Having Bert have the heart-to-heart with Mr. Banks. That scene, from one adult to another to give an ‘outside’ perspective, was a good nudge going into the climax of the movie.
• I love that we follow Mr. Banks’ walk to the bank
• It wraps up quite well. I’m not left with lingering questions. Everything is seamlessly tied up, not forced.

What may or may not work

• I don’t fully understand the popping of the hat, umbrella, flower bit at the bank. Like I know but I don’t know, you know?

Honorable Mentions

• I like that it opens with a shot of Mary Poppins, a tease (but more so) of what is to come.
• The matter-of-fact manner in which they take care of the cannon blast/belongings at the beginning and throughout the movie is wonderful. It implies a learned behavior as well as top-notch skill.
• “Though we adore men individually, we agree that as a group, they’re rather stupid.” – love this line from Mrs. Banks’ number.
  • Side note, but Mr. Banks doesn’t stop Mrs. Banks from being an activist. Good for him and good for her!
• “Will she be firm, will she give commands, will she mold our young breed.”
  • “You know, Winifred, I think she will. I think she will.” Mr. Banks
    • True
    • Also, I love the fact that Mary Poppins really does get to work right away
• I totally tried to ride a carousel horse side-saddle like MP, but they wouldn’t let me for safety reasons. When I was much younger. 
• “Feed the birds” is my favorite song from the movie, immediately followed by the Bert/Mr. Banks song, “A Man Has Dreams”.
• “Feed the birds and what have you got? Fat birds.” Mr. Dawes senior 
• “Oh, that’s a pie crust promise. Easily Made, easily broken.” – MP
• In Mary Poppins Returns, it’s mentioned that Mr. Banks gives the tuppence to the bank and says “guard it well”. I had totally thought he used the tuppence for the kite, but nope. He does in fact give the tuppence and say guard it well. Happy surprise.
• “As the ship lay in Boston Harbor, a party of the colonists, dressed as Red Indians, boarded the vessel, behaved very rudely, and threw all the tea overboard. This made the tea unsuitable for drinking, even for Americans. – Mr. Banks
  • Boston Tea Party. So funny.
• “Oh George, you didn’t jump in the river. How sensible of you.” – Mrs. Banks
• “Father died laughing.” – Mr. Dawes, Jr.
  • Now we’re flying kites and you can be a senior partner. That’s a quick turnaround time (not disliking it, just funny, though I could make some comment about his dying laughing and being the happiest in his life inspired them to go fly a kite because happiness)
• I would also like to mention that there were numerous moments and bits of dialogue that I would have loved to include, but to avoid the Honorable Mentions section becoming the entire focus of this post, I have refrained from including them. Consider them extra reasons to watch this movie.

Side Questions

• I wonder if the torn ad pieces really were the ones that formed the ad that MP uses.
• “I’ll give you one week. I’ll know by then.” So how long exactly does she stay?
• Do Bert & MP take a long walk in the same direction as Jane//Michael or do they go a different way before meeting up again?

Would I watch this movie again?

• Absolutely. Without question. To be fair, I probably spend more time listening to the soundtrack than I do actually watching the movie, but Mary Poppins is definitely on my ‘comfort movie’ list.

If you’ve seen Mary Poppins, what are some of your thoughts? Share in the comments below!

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