Ian
(Flash Review)Mary Poppins a movie I still have yet to see (!!!!) and this movie is about the creator of the Mary Poppins character, Mrs. Travers, as Walt Disney attempts to persuade her to give up animation rights so they can make the historic classic. As there is no surprise spoiler at the end, this film is about how they get the movie produced. Travers is portrayed as a stereotypical uptight and overly proper British lady, in contrast to Hanks, who plays Mr. Disney. There were some amusing moments and tidbits of musical numbers with Travers and Disney and his creative team on how they don't see eye to eye. But a big side story was Travers's backstory, told through many flashbacks, about her alcoholic father and him never being proud of her. This tale brought to focus Travers's buried emotional issues and how it interfered with the movie's production. Overall it was more drab emotions versus humor and not much was told about why Mary Poppins is so universally loved yet it was professionally scripted and produced without enough creativity or charm.
marcvalenzuela
Following three years since its release, I can't help but express how thought-provoking Saving Mr. Banks turned out since the day I first watched it on opening night. The 1960s became one of the last prominent moments in Uncle Walt's lifetime that he witnessed before he passed away, but it's really about how one movie almost never came to be. About how the Mouse met the Magical Nanny.The story follows P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson), the renowned author of the Mary Poppins books. In 1961, when Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) asks for her to fly to America to meet her personally about his film adaptation of her book, she reluctantly accepts to meeting him. Despite her tragic and bitter past life that greatly dictated her present self, Travers learns from Walt's experience that it doesn't have to be that way and what really matters is letting go and keep moving forward.Director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) definitely showed the tribulations and conflicts Travers had when overseeing the production of Walt Disney's Mary Poppins adaptation. It may have gotten off to a troubling start with her not being open to how each character in her book should be portrayed as well as showing disdain on a few songs, even the animation that Walt wanted to include, but upon seeing the progress of where the direction was going, there were signs that she was beginning to warm up to it. I loved how a few scenes began to jump ahead back and forth on a recurring basis between glimpses of her childhood and then into how that reflected onto her books.Tom Hanks' take on Walt was pretty uncanny in how he segued into sounding like him and Emma Thompson's portrayal as P.L. Travers showed angst and bittersweetness, yet is misunderstood as a troubled individual that had a rough childhood. I was also left in awe on how in one scene Disneyland was shown as it once looked in the 60s. Looked pretty nifty as though you've traveled back in time. Overall, it's a dramatic and tense element deep beneath the inner workings of light-hearted Disney.
Mark M
This movie was just so gorgeous, gentle and sweet my family loved it. The outback Australia was not quiet right with the palm trees but the costumes perfect. This appealed to me as a dad having two daughters when Walt made a promise to his girls about the story even if it took him 20 years to convince PL Travers. Emma Thompson is the glue and her performance is real, strong and brilliant. This is so much more than an extension of the story of Mary Poppins - being tender and kind.A movie for the entire family, very sad in parts and PL Travers life is rough and hard with both her parents having mental problems.As always Tom Hanks is the gentleman and true Movie Star we all love. Do yourself a favour and add this film to your home collection. A+
WholeNote68
The end of the movie shows Travers watching Mary Poppins with what appears to be acceptance and even enjoyment.That's not at all what happened. The truth is, she watched Mary Poppins and hated it. She never forgave herself for trusting Disney with her creation, and despite Disney's repeated efforts to gain her permission to film a sequel, she denied him at every turn and never forgave him. She went to her grave regretting having ever met the man.That's the real ending, but of course Disney Studios would never release a movie like that. One star and nothing more, for trying to change history.
AD
