I recently watched the original Mary Poppins (1964) and it's biopic picture Saving Mr. Banks (2013). The former is the family musical classic, and the later is its dramatic story behind the scenes. Let's compare and contrast the two projects. Spoilers may follow.
To start, while both movies have inspiring messages, they tell their messages very differently. Mary Poppins is a fun musical for kids and adults alike whereas Saving Mr. Banks is a PG-13 drama. I'm sure many people were surprised when they first viewed the latter. People heard that it is about the 1964 classic, so they expected a happy story. That's not how it happened.
Author P.L. Travers was extremely skeptical of adapting her novels into pictures and fought it for years. She needed the funds it would bring, but she despised the thought of it being changed and altered. We see her upbringing and how it influenced her writing. Her father was a major influence both good and bad. Also, "thematic elements" of alcohol and depression is not generally in a kid's movie, so this is why it's PG-13.
What do you remember about Mary Poppins? For most people, it's probably the music. Classic numbers such as "Chim Chim Cher-ee" (Oscar winner), "A Spoonful of Sugar", "Stay Awake", and "Feed the Birds" will forever grace our screens. Well, P.L. Travers was totally opposed to this in Saving Mr. Banks. She thought music would take away from the story and be corny. Despite this, we see the making of these songs in the movie.
In fact, there wasn't much she approved of at first for the film. The scene where Mary, Bert, and the children jump into the painting was opposed for instance. She considered animated movies "silly", and this nearly killed the movie.
Julie Andrews won best actress for Mary Poppins, and it's an excellent win. It's the type of performance that spans generations. She draws your attention each time she's on-screen even if someone else is the focus. You can't help it. She's stern yet playful, orderly yet whimsical, and commonplace yet extraordinary. Poppins will purposely deceive the masses of being normal, so she can do her job properly. What is her job? Is is to help unruly children? She does make their lives better, but it's something else. Perhaps, you should look again at the title Saving Mr. Banks.
We see at the end of Mary Poppins that the children don't even say goodbye to her because they are ecstatic about their father, Mr. Banks, for being apart of their lives now. We now know that Mr. Banks is based off her own dad (played by Colin Farrell. I know I've already shared minor spoilers for the biopic, but a couple of plot points are too good to type about. I won't tell you how Mr. Banks is saved. It should be seen.
We hear the word "snub" a lot these days when referring to acting nominations. Here's a definition. A snub is when an actor or actress secures nominations from every major award show except one. While I think George MacKay for 1917 and Paul Walter Hauser for Richard Jewell should've been nominated for everything from 2019, they don't count as snubs. Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers collected a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA, and AACTA just to name a few but no Oscars (granted, things are shifting and the Oscar is starting to lose value today). It was a wonderful performance. You despise her, pity her, and like her when you're supposed to.
Plus, Tom Hanks is the man, so he was a great pick to be Walt Disney. Don't forget about the score too.
Mary Poppins is a forever classic, and Saving Mr. Banks is a fine addition to the story that fans should see as soon as you can! My film rating is an A+ and A- respectively.
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