If the world around you felt a little more wondrous, magical, and whimsical today, there’s a good reason: Disney released the trailer for the highly anticipated Mary Poppins Returns.
I watched this thing and found myself instantly filled with happy tears. There’s no replacing Julie Andrews, but Emily Blunt embodies the role of Mary Poppins with grace and sparkle in a way that doesn’t try too forcefully to do the original justice. She, along with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s chimney sweep (whose British accent isn’t amazing, but I appreciate his effort) and a new generation of Banks children, are glistening with technicolor pastels in a fantasy land familiar to fans of the original 1964 Mary Poppins. (There’s even animated penguins!)
From the trailer, it appears that the children of siblings Jane (Emily Mortimer) and Michael Banks (Ben Wishaw) have accidentally summoned their former nanny back into their lives via kite, and they need her more than ever, whether they know it or not. “I’ve come to look after the Banks children,” Mary says upon her arrival. “Us?” a younger Banks asks. “Well yes,” Mary replies, “you too.”
Rounding out the cast is an insane ensemble that reassures us at all cost that Mary Poppins is British. Colin Firth! Julie Walters! Just in case you weren’t basking in enough Mamma Mia! realness already, Meryl Streep! And best of all, original Burt the chimney sweep Dick Van Dyke even makes a cameo in the film!
I don’t know if I’m going to be able to hold my emotions together until Mary Poppins Returns’ December 19 release date. Check out the trailer below:
On December 19, the story continues. Watch the all-new trailer for #MaryPoppinsReturns now. pic.twitter.com/QTnXFgY6KQ
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) September 17, 2018