When I first heard that Disney was making a sequel to 1964’s Mary Poppins and that Emily Blunt was to play the title character, I made a pact with myself to actually see the film in theaters. I’m a fan of Emily Blunt, not only because she is a truly fantastic actress but because she just seems so …cool and classy. And I have fond memories of watching Mary Poppins when I was younger and loving every second of it. I went into the theater with excitement and ready to walk out feeling like a little kid again.
Image Courtesy of Variety
The movie takes place, like its predecessor, in London. It’s now the Great Depression, Jane and Micheal are grown up, Micheal is a widower, and his three children are practically little responsible adults raising each other. The house is soon to be foreclosed and stolen back by the bank unless the Banks family can provide paperwork cementing their father left them shares to keep it. The only problem is that no one seems to know where Father left the important papers. So, on a windy, blustery day, the three Banks children set off across the park and, with help from Lin Manuel Miranda and a kite, Mary Poppins floats down from the clouds to help. Mary Poppins gains the trust of the family again and sassily takes on the job of looking after the children. They set off on adventures, singing and dancing the entire time, while Colin Firth plays the scheming bank manager determined to see them out on the street. Of course, since this is Disney, the Banks family doesn’t find the paperwork until the literal last second, but they manage to save their home, the villain is chased away, and Mary Poppins gives them all one last bit of magic before she leaves.
It’s a cute little story, albeit one that has been filmed and made over and over again since cameras existed. I thought each of the actors did a wonderful job, particularly Emily Blunt as the title character. She’s just as sassy and sweet as Julie Andrews’s original. Lin Manuel Miranda is fine as his role of Jack the chimney sweep willing to help the family again and again. Ben Whishaw plays Micheal at peak stress level. He’s very earnest in his portrayal of a depressed and busy father. The three child actors who play the Banks children were just adorable. Each performer seemed to be earnest in their performances, which made me really want to adore this film.
While I did walk out of the theater happy, I found my biggest issue with Mary Poppins Returns is that it’s just too d*mn long! It clocks in at 2 hours and 10 minutes. At 22 years old, I could barely sit through the whole film without shifting in my seat. Even with all the colors, bright animation, and fun songs, I don’t know how the theater full of kids did it. In my opinion, the film could have cut out a couple of songs/choreography and shortened the chase scene involving the Banks children. Meryl Streep makes a cameo and sings as Mary Poppins’s cousin, but it was totally unnecessary. Watching the “Turning Turtle” number seemed to take a good ten minutes, which is followed shortly after by another long dance number. This one involves Lin Manuel Miranda and the rest of the chimney sweeps dancing on streetlamps and doing stunts on their rickety bicycles. Throughout the film, it seemed just when the singing and dancing stopped, the just dancing portion began.
I usually love Disney movies, because they’re so bright and colorful. However, Mary Poppins Returns was over-the-top and not in a good way. They tried to cram every idea brainstormed into the movie and inject it with a super-strength spoonful of sugar, which took away from it. The sequel is good, but for more magic, you should stick with the original Mary Poppins.