Mary Poppins Returns

Starring: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Pixie Davies, Julie Walters, Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Dick Van Dyke, Angela Landsbury, Chris O'Dowd (voice)
Directed by: Rob Marshall
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Decades after her last appearance, Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) returns to help Jane (Emily Mortimer), Michael (Ben Whishaw), and his children.

Review:

Tim: It's fairly hard to believe that over 50 years after the original, Disney was finally able to make a sequel to Mary Poppins. In a lot of ways, this was extremely exciting. In some, it was daunting. How could they make a movie that compares to the great original, so long after its release? I have to say that while this movie suffers from some of the typical sequel issues, Disney got it right. I wouldn't say this movie is as effective as the original, but it's a worthwhile sequel.

I think they got the story right. To be honest, the script is quite conservative and the story follows the path of the original very closely. It makes sense to jump ahead in time to focus on the grown-up Banks children. This didn't require much creativity, but it was the right move- it reinforces the "Mary Poppins Return" title, acknowledges the long gap in between films, but also stays true to the original. The children in the first film are grown up, but Michael has children of his own. Mary Poppins returns and mostly does what she did in the first film again. Bert might have retired, but we have Jack who plays a very similar role. The Bank once again plays a major role in the story. Like I said, this film was careful not to stray far from the original. In some ways, this was brilliant- it restarts the franchise by leveraging all the strengths of the first film and it makes it feel like this is a worthy successor- this is what we expect a Mary Poppins sequel to look like. On the other hand, the ultra conservative approach to the story prevents this film from branching out and doing something unique. It makes it hard for this film to stand on its own because it's so closely tied to the original. This approach probably helps more than it hurts, but it contributes to the fact that this is a very good (but not quite great) movie.

Honestly, the hardest part of this whole film was casting a new Mary Poppins. Julie Andrews' performance is iconic and it won the Academy Award for Best Actress. In the 50+ years since it's release, Andrews IS Mary Poppins. How could they find someone who even gets close? In a stroke of brilliance, Emily Blunt steps into this role. I'm not sure they could have done better. Blunt has serious range as an actress and her previous roles have been a mixture of tough (like A Quiet Place, Edge of Tomorrow, Sicario) and sweet. This movie would have been a failure with the wrong actress. Blunt delivers a very strong performance. It might not be as iconic or unforgettable as Andrews', but Blunt is enjoyable in the role. The highest compliment I can give is that she felt like Mary Poppins and I experienced a strong desire to see her reprise this role again. Blunt rose to the occasion for sure.

Lin-Manuel Miranda was likewise brilliantly cast as Jack. I might not have fully loved Miranda's performance, but he was a worthy successor to Dick Van Dyke. He has that same level of playful mischievousness while also being a talented singer and dancer. I like how Miranda brought his own style to the role. It felt like the right casting choice. Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer both give strong supporting performances. Colin Firth's character was a bit too obvious and one-dimensional for my taste. That was certainly a predictable and weak aspect of the film. Meryl Streep felt unnecessary in her small supporting role. It was fun to see Angela Landsbury here and I loved that we got Dick Van Dyke for a scene (which was one of the most brilliant aspects of the entire film).

This film was nominated for four Academy Awards (Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design). It probably wasn't good enough to win any, although it certainly deserved the nominations. I really enjoyed the song, "The Place Where the Lost Things Go". That was a highlight of the film.

It would have been very easy for this film to not work. There was unbelievable pressure for this movie to live up to the classic original. Mary Poppins Returns doesn't quite get to that level, but it gets closer than it could have. The film introduces this character to a new generation of viewers and I'd be interested in seeing what a third film explores. I mostly forgive this film for staying so close to the original. It was a really effective film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Mary Poppins, Saving Mr. Banks