Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Directed by: Rob Marshall | 130 minutes | comedy, family | Actors: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, Joel Dawson, Julie Walters, Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Jeremy Swift, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Dick Van Dyke, Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Jim Norton, Noma Dumezweni, Tarik Frimpong, Sudha Bhuchar

It took a lot of effort for Walt Disney to get the film rights to the book series ‘Mary Poppins’ by author PL Travers. Disney made his first attempt as early as 1938, but he failed because the writer believed that a film adaptation could never be as good as her books. Plus, she couldn’t imagine her brainchild being scrambled into a cartoon. In 1961 she reluctantly agreed, but with a laundry list of requirements and conditions. Despite this, she was not satisfied with the end result, as we saw in the biographical film ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ (2013). ‘Mary Poppins’ (1964), innovative at the time because the Hollywood musicals of the time seldom aimed at a youthful target group, grew into a classic, which, despite its sweetness and corniness, still has a lot of fans. Especially the music and the iconic title role of debutante (!) Julie Andrews is etched in the memory of many. You should not tinker with such a classic, you would think. Still, director Rob Marshall (‘Chicago’, 2002; ‘Into the Woods’, 2014) and producers John DeLuca and Marc Platt decided in 2015 that it was time for a sequel, set twenty-five years after the first film (just like the version of Travers by the way), in the Great Depression of the 1930s. The children from ‘Mary Poppins’ are now adults and have their own problems. Fortunately, the wondrous nanny Mary Poppins – now played by Emily Blunt – is quickly on the scene to save the day.

Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) doesn’t have it easy. Since the tragic death of his wife, he has been left alone to raise his three children Anabel (Pixie Davis), John (Nathanael Saleh) and Georgie (Joel Dawson). He has said goodbye to his job as an artist; he now has a part-time position in banking. In the house he is helped by the old assistant Ellen (Julie Walters), who, like himself, regularly makes a mess of it. His sister Jane (Emily Mortimer), an avid trade unionist, also helps where she can. But then suddenly two bailiffs (Jeremy Swift and Kobna Holbrook-Smith) are on the doorstep with the message that the Banks family must leave the house as soon as possible because of arrears. They were sent by William Weatherall Wilkins (Colin Firth), notably the boss of the bank where Michael works, a villain who doesn’t care that the house has been in the family for decades and the family has nowhere to go. There is only one way to counter the eviction, and that is to track down the stock securities that Michael’s father once owned. While Michael and Jane search for those precious papers, nanny Mary Poppins takes the children under her wing. Together with the cheerful lantern lighter Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda), they experience all kinds of magical adventures while learning wise lessons about life.

Marshall and screenwriter David Magee (“Finding Neverland,” 2004; “Life of Pi,” 2012) chose to stay as close as possible to the Disney original and Travers’ books, making plenty of references to its predecessors and only subtly minor changes. to insert. For example, lantern lighter Jack is a former student of chimney sweep Bert from the 1964 film and the father of the family this time is not a cold workaholic but a broken romantic soul who has not yet been able to cope with the death of his wife. Mary Poppins, however, still flies over London by her umbrella, and she continues to take the children on her wondrous journeys. They end up via the bathtub in a bustling underwater world in which they swim with dolphins. The animation scene so criticized by Travers is also present; Via a porcelain bowl, the children enter a classically animated world that has a strong nostalgic feel. Contrary to what you might expect, this scene was really made with a computer (here and there you can notice that the children have acted in front of a blue screen). The subtle changes make this new film more like a semi-remake than a sequel; it all looks very safe and not very innovative. Why should we change a tried and tested concept, Marshall and his associates must have thought.

We do see innovation in music; composer Marc Shaiman and lyricist Scott Wittman do regularly give out nods to the music of their illustrious predecessors, the Sherman brothers, but this is limited to phrases in newly composed songs. Real earwigs like ‘Chim Chim Che-ree’ and ‘Supercalifragelisticexpialidocius’ are unfortunately not included, but songs that impress are the showstopper ‘Trip a Little Light Fantastic’ by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the moving ‘A Conversation’ by Ben Whishaw and the uplifting “The Place Where Lost Things Go,” sung by Blunt. The British actress is a worthy successor to Julie Andrews; her Mary is less gooey – rather a bit naughty – and is therefore closer to the Mary as PL Travers once intended. She carries the film together with Miranda, who we mainly know as a composer (of ‘Vaiana’, 2016) but also as an actor with his charming appearance and enthusiasm. Whishaw also knows how to steal our hearts; his personal tragedy is what gives the film a heart. The roles of Firth, Walters and Mortimer are too limited to stand out and the character Topsy, especially written for this film, played by Meryl Streep with an indefinable Eastern Bloc accent, could just as well have been left out. Marshall has a surprise in store for fans of the original film at the end: the elderly Dick Van Dyke, who played Bert in 1964, makes a remarkable cameo, as does Angela Lansbury – just like Van Dyke aged 93! – who was briefly considered for the role of Mary Poppins at the time, shows up in a small but crucial role.

Seeing those stars of yesteryear underlines the nostalgic nature of ‘Mary Poppins Returns’. Although Marshall and his crew make safe choices and as a result the film has little of its own ‘face’, let us immerse ourselves with full surrender in that pleasant atmosphere of the time. Although this new variant cannot match its classic predecessor, it manages to nestle in our hearts thanks to an infectious atmosphere, fine acting and high entertainment value.