Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

“Nothing’s gone forever, only out of place.” – Mary Poppins

Number of Times Seen – 1 (9 Jul 2019)

Brief Synopsis – Years after her first visit, Mary Poppins returns once again to help out the banks family when they get into trouble.

My Take on it – This is a film that I’ve had mixed feelings about seeing ever since it was announced that it was being made.

I have always been a fan of the original Mary Poppins (1964) and it is among my favorite musicals, so I both was curious to see where they would take the story here and was also skeptical that they wouldn’t be able to live up to the level of excellence from that film.

They do a fun job here and are able to make this film seem like an extension of the original movie.

Emily Blunt is able to seamlessly transform herself into Julie Andrews, but unfortunately that isn’t enough because something still feels missing.

Her chemistry with Lin-Manuel Miranda is great and their characters work so well together here.

The songs are quite good, but none of them are able to match the appeal of the songs from the original movie which gave us some very classic memorable tunes.

This movie has two great cameos that were nice surprises and are able to connect this film back to the early days of Disney’s live action musicals and give it a somewhat nostalgic feel.

Bottom Line – Fun sequel that unfortunately isn’t able to live up to the genius of the original. Blunt seamlessly moves into the character of Mary Poppins and lets out her inner Julie Andrews, but even that isn’t enough. The original songs are all quite good, but they don’t manage to be as memorable as the songs from the original one.  The chemistry between Blunt and Miranda is great and they work so well together. The two major cameos in this film are nice surprises and allow us to recall Disney films of old. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – At the age of 93 at the time of the movie’s release, Angela Lansbury is the oldest female actor ever to appear in a Disney film. She is just two months older than the oldest male actor in a Disney film, Dick Van Dyke, who also set the record with this film. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)

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