Post by Rob W. Case on Apr 2, 2019 13:18:43 GMT -6
The Story:
Set 25 years after the events in the original Mary Poppins, we see an entirely new situation amidst a familiar backdrop. At number 17 Cherry Tree Lane in London, amidst “The Great Slump” (Britain’s version of “The Great Depression”) Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw), now heir of the house he grew up in, recent widow, and father of three children, finds himself in a new and challenging situation. Two lawyers from Fidelity Fiduciary Bank (the bank where Michael’s father was a senior partner, and the bank where Michael now works as a part time teller) confront Michael about a loan that he took out against the value of his home to pay the mounting bills. Falling three months behind in payment, the lawyers tell Michael that he has to pay the loan in full by the end of the week, and if he fails to come up with the money, they will repossess his house and he and his family will have to leave. Trying to come up with a plan, and fast, Jane, Michael’s sister (Emily Mortimer) remembers that their father left them shares in the bank. And so, Jane and Michael set off trying to find their certificate of ownership to prove that they own shares in the bank, in order to use some of them to pay off the loan.
And so, while searching the house for the certificate, Jane and Michael find relics from their childhood (and their time with their childhood nanny Mary Poppins), and start throwing things away. Janes finds the old patched up kite that she and Michael flew in a joyful moment with their parents in the park. But Michael disregards it as garbage now, and the kite is put out front with the other garbage. And so, out of the blue, a gust of wind takes the kite out of the trash and flies around the town, and into the park, where Michael’s three children are playing. Georgie, Michael’s youngest child, takes the string of the kite and tries to take control over it, only to be lifted off the ground. It is at that point the street lamplighter Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda) takes a hold of Georgie and helps him take control of the kite. At that point, the clouds open up and Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) flies down holding the tail end of the kite. When the kids come home with Mary Poppins, Jane and Michael are both stunned and amazed at the whole situation. Mary Poppins proposes to stay to “look after the Banks children” in their time of uncertainty.
Mary Poppins return comes at the most crucial time for the Banks household. As Michael is “anchored" down by the worries, cares, anxieties, and uncertainties about the future of his family (not to mention the fact that Michael and his kids continue to grieve over the loss of his wife), while taking on the most likely impossible task of paying back a loan that he doesn’t have the money for, Mary Poppins attends to the needs of the children, and instills within them valuable life lessons, the value of imagination, and bringing to them joy, fun, and excitement. As the kids express these things in their father’s presence, Michael becomes resistant and irritated by them. It is from his children though that Michael learns from and through the impression that Mary Poppins has on his children, Michael is brought back to the foundations that Mary Poppins left in him and his sister as a child. As circumstantial pressure builds up against Michael, additional pressure is added to his situation due to the current greedy president of the bank (Colin Firth) who resorts to evil means to steal both the house and the shares that Michael has ownership of to make the bank’s profits look outstanding at the expense of jeopardizing the trust and integrity that people had come to rely on towards the bank.
And so from there, everything amounts to leaving the “possible” in the hands of the “impossible”, to mend a lot more than just a broken bowl, and also to restore and prosper amidst the difficulties and hardships mounting up against them.
My Take:
As someone who loves the original 1964 classic, and is usually cynical towards modern day sequels to movies that don’t need them, I found that I really enjoyed this movie too. The concept of this movie reminded me of the concept that “Superman Returns” sort of pioneered in that it was a sequel to a popular movie that was ideally written for the original cast, but performed by a new generation of actors who had to fill some big shoes and step it up. This is the same thing here. However, in this film, Blunt’s portrayal of the popular British nanny was not really referenced by Andrews’ portrayal, but by the original literary sources written by the original creator of the character, P.L. Travers. That said, this Mary Poppins is a bit more stern, strict, rude, and sharper in her dialogue. That in itself earns the respect of the children and helps, not hurts the values she is trying to instill within them. Another thing that I thought was very clever within this movie was how the circumstance of Michael possibly losing his home allowed for Jane to be a central character within the film, as opposed to making an appearance here or there. But the most important thing, in my opinion, is the plot. I thought that the storyline was very clever, and strong enough to hold enough dramatic intrigue in the situations and circumstances that followed to take the film to its conclusion on a high note, rather than looking at the time and yearning for it to be over. Then there is Jack the street lamplighter, who lends a presence, a helping hand, and a friendship the same way Bert did in the original film. Bert's absence in this film is explained as he is away exploring the world. That said, Jack was sort of an "apprentice" to Bert, and it is through his relationship with Bert, Jack is aware of the person of Mary Poppins.
The movie also has its share of guest appearances. Most notably, Dick Van Dyke has an appearance as Mr. Dawes Jr., the owner of the bank. Other appearances are by Meryl Streep as Mary’s cousin “Topsy” and Angela Lansbury (from Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks) as the balloon lady who sings “Nowhere to go but Up.”
The film is rated PG and runs 2 hours and 10 minutes.
To view a trailer, please click on the play buttons below.
The Original Teaser Trailer:
The Main Theatrical Trailer:
A Bonus, more condensed trailer:
Mary Poppins Returns is available on 4K-HD, blu-ray, DVD, and is available on multiple streaming services. Mary Poppins Returns is also available at Redbox kiosk machines everywhere.
Set 25 years after the events in the original Mary Poppins, we see an entirely new situation amidst a familiar backdrop. At number 17 Cherry Tree Lane in London, amidst “The Great Slump” (Britain’s version of “The Great Depression”) Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw), now heir of the house he grew up in, recent widow, and father of three children, finds himself in a new and challenging situation. Two lawyers from Fidelity Fiduciary Bank (the bank where Michael’s father was a senior partner, and the bank where Michael now works as a part time teller) confront Michael about a loan that he took out against the value of his home to pay the mounting bills. Falling three months behind in payment, the lawyers tell Michael that he has to pay the loan in full by the end of the week, and if he fails to come up with the money, they will repossess his house and he and his family will have to leave. Trying to come up with a plan, and fast, Jane, Michael’s sister (Emily Mortimer) remembers that their father left them shares in the bank. And so, Jane and Michael set off trying to find their certificate of ownership to prove that they own shares in the bank, in order to use some of them to pay off the loan.
And so, while searching the house for the certificate, Jane and Michael find relics from their childhood (and their time with their childhood nanny Mary Poppins), and start throwing things away. Janes finds the old patched up kite that she and Michael flew in a joyful moment with their parents in the park. But Michael disregards it as garbage now, and the kite is put out front with the other garbage. And so, out of the blue, a gust of wind takes the kite out of the trash and flies around the town, and into the park, where Michael’s three children are playing. Georgie, Michael’s youngest child, takes the string of the kite and tries to take control over it, only to be lifted off the ground. It is at that point the street lamplighter Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda) takes a hold of Georgie and helps him take control of the kite. At that point, the clouds open up and Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) flies down holding the tail end of the kite. When the kids come home with Mary Poppins, Jane and Michael are both stunned and amazed at the whole situation. Mary Poppins proposes to stay to “look after the Banks children” in their time of uncertainty.
Mary Poppins return comes at the most crucial time for the Banks household. As Michael is “anchored" down by the worries, cares, anxieties, and uncertainties about the future of his family (not to mention the fact that Michael and his kids continue to grieve over the loss of his wife), while taking on the most likely impossible task of paying back a loan that he doesn’t have the money for, Mary Poppins attends to the needs of the children, and instills within them valuable life lessons, the value of imagination, and bringing to them joy, fun, and excitement. As the kids express these things in their father’s presence, Michael becomes resistant and irritated by them. It is from his children though that Michael learns from and through the impression that Mary Poppins has on his children, Michael is brought back to the foundations that Mary Poppins left in him and his sister as a child. As circumstantial pressure builds up against Michael, additional pressure is added to his situation due to the current greedy president of the bank (Colin Firth) who resorts to evil means to steal both the house and the shares that Michael has ownership of to make the bank’s profits look outstanding at the expense of jeopardizing the trust and integrity that people had come to rely on towards the bank.
And so from there, everything amounts to leaving the “possible” in the hands of the “impossible”, to mend a lot more than just a broken bowl, and also to restore and prosper amidst the difficulties and hardships mounting up against them.
My Take:
As someone who loves the original 1964 classic, and is usually cynical towards modern day sequels to movies that don’t need them, I found that I really enjoyed this movie too. The concept of this movie reminded me of the concept that “Superman Returns” sort of pioneered in that it was a sequel to a popular movie that was ideally written for the original cast, but performed by a new generation of actors who had to fill some big shoes and step it up. This is the same thing here. However, in this film, Blunt’s portrayal of the popular British nanny was not really referenced by Andrews’ portrayal, but by the original literary sources written by the original creator of the character, P.L. Travers. That said, this Mary Poppins is a bit more stern, strict, rude, and sharper in her dialogue. That in itself earns the respect of the children and helps, not hurts the values she is trying to instill within them. Another thing that I thought was very clever within this movie was how the circumstance of Michael possibly losing his home allowed for Jane to be a central character within the film, as opposed to making an appearance here or there. But the most important thing, in my opinion, is the plot. I thought that the storyline was very clever, and strong enough to hold enough dramatic intrigue in the situations and circumstances that followed to take the film to its conclusion on a high note, rather than looking at the time and yearning for it to be over. Then there is Jack the street lamplighter, who lends a presence, a helping hand, and a friendship the same way Bert did in the original film. Bert's absence in this film is explained as he is away exploring the world. That said, Jack was sort of an "apprentice" to Bert, and it is through his relationship with Bert, Jack is aware of the person of Mary Poppins.
The movie also has its share of guest appearances. Most notably, Dick Van Dyke has an appearance as Mr. Dawes Jr., the owner of the bank. Other appearances are by Meryl Streep as Mary’s cousin “Topsy” and Angela Lansbury (from Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks) as the balloon lady who sings “Nowhere to go but Up.”
The film is rated PG and runs 2 hours and 10 minutes.
To view a trailer, please click on the play buttons below.
The Original Teaser Trailer:
The Main Theatrical Trailer:
A Bonus, more condensed trailer:
Mary Poppins Returns is available on 4K-HD, blu-ray, DVD, and is available on multiple streaming services. Mary Poppins Returns is also available at Redbox kiosk machines everywhere.