A Spoon Full of Sugar is Not Necessary to Enjoy This Movie

We recently stumbled upon the Disney classic, Mary Poppins, on t.v., and my five year old was disappointed that we had to leave in the middle of it to go somewhere. Luckily, I own an older version on DVD, so I promised her we could watch it when we got home. My daughter has never been interested in live-action programs, but the first thing she did when we arrived home that evening was ask me to prove that I did in fact own the DVD, and plop it into the machine.

The Movie
Jane and Michael Banks are the early twentieth century's version of a nanny's worst nightmare. After their most recent nanny walks out on the job, the children make a list of everything they want in the ideal nanny, down to the rosy cheeks. After they give the list to their parents, Mr. Banks (their father) rips up the letter and puts it in the fireplace. Right before the nanny interviews are scheduled to begin, a great wind blows all the nanny candidates away and Mary Poppins floats in with her magic umbrella. Ms. Poppins is everything the children asked for, and even shows up with their list taped together. She agrees to try out the Banks family for a week. Of course, being a Disney film, that is just enough time for Mary Poppins to straighten the children out, take them on magical adventures, and ultimately turn Mr. Banks into an involved, loving father. She is the original Supernanny.

This was one of my favorite movies growing up. Watching it now makes me feel like I am watching a play in a theater in many ways, which really just shows how much things have changed in movies in the past 40 years. A lot of the background scenes are painted on, and a lot of the effects are very simplistic. For example, when Mary Poppins floats down to the Banks' home in her first scene, her movements make it very obvious that she is really floating along a cable.

On the other hand, in a scene where Mary Poppins and the children jump into sidewalk art and find themselves in an animated world, I still find myself impressed by the effects, especially considering the year in which this movie was made. Most blended scenes of live action and animation from that era have a superimposed look to them. They usually include animated characters inserted over a filmed image of live action. That is not the case here. Mary Poppins and the gang are seamlessly inserted into the animated world. Based on this section alone, I can see why this movie won an Oscar for Special Visual Effects.

There is a lot of great music in this movie as well, evidenced by the two Oscars it won for music. Aside from the downer song or two that every musical seems to require, the best known songs from this movie are "Chim Chim Cher-ee," "Just a Spoonful of Sugar," and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocius." My daughter's favorite is the one I consider easiest for children to learn the words to, which also serves as the closing song, "Let's Go Fly a Kite."

For her work in the title role, Julie Andrews won the best actress Oscar in 1964. While I think she did a terrific job in this movie, I think her work a year later as that other singing nanny (sorry, "governess") was more deserving work for an Oscar.

The performance I most enjoyed in Mary Poppins was that of Dick Van Dyke in the role of Bert, the narrator/chimney sweep/sidewalk artist/"friend" of Mary Poppins. He shows great versatility in this role, which also showcases his singing and dancing skills.

The only drawback to this movie for me is a scene where Jane and Michael run away from their father at the bank and end up alone in downtown London. It magically becomes night and they run into some scary looking street people. My daughter hasn't said anything about it, but it scared the bejeezus out of me when I was a kid.

Mary Poppins is a good movie for kids of all ages, with a great message beneath all the singing and dancing that the best way we can take care of our kids is to spend some quality time with them.

Since the story takes place across the pond, I am entering it in ifif1938's French and English Write-Off