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Mary Poppins Returns Movie Review

“Perhaps we’ve learnt, when day is done, some stuff and nonsense could be  fun! Can you imagine that?” - Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins Returns is a new sequel to the 1964 Disney classic Mary Poppins.  The film is directed by Rob Marshall, and stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep, and Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins.  When the now grown up Jane and Michael Banks find a notice of repossession on the door of their house, Mary Poppins shows up once more to save the day.
To start with the things I liked, I thought that the acting was stellar all around.  Emily Blunt brings back the old Mary Poppins that we know so well, but also makes the character her own.  Lin-Manuel Miranda was great as usual, and Meryl Streep brought a charmingly zany performance which really worked well in contrast to the prim and proper aspects of Blunt’s Poppins.  I could tell that everyone relished their time on screen, and that was really a good thing to see.
The music was fantastic and it had the same classic qualities as the music from older musicals.  If there’s one thing I couldn’t praise more in this film, it’s the visual aspects. I loved the choreography, and there is no scene that exemplifies this better than the truly spectacular “Trip A Little Light Fantastic” scene.  The animation is great, the effects are phenomenal, and the costumes are flamboyant, and amazing. In all honesty, this film feels like it could’ve been made around the same time as the original. It has an old fashioned quality that I really loved.  It’s nice to see that Disney is loyal to fans of the original film.
As for flaws, the villain was very much just a standard generic villain.  He didn’t really have any motivation, he just did things because he’s the big, evil, bad guy.  Also, the film felt a bit overlong, and there were definitely some scenes that could have been cut out to decrease the runtime.   
In the end, Mary Poppins Returns is not really going to do anything to make you a fan of the franchise if you weren’t a fan of the first film, but if you did enjoy the original movie, you’re going to love this one.  It’s great to see a movie in our time that actually understands what made people love old musicals, and embraces what musicals used to be. Just like the first film, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any moment in Mary Poppins Returns where you don’t feel happy.  This movie will put a smile on your face that will stay there even after the film has ended.
Rating: PG

Grade: B

Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 20, 2018 at 8:16 PM

    I saw this movie and can definitely agree with Grant's assessment. While I agree the antagonist was a pretty typical Disney villain, the animation and musical numbers were simply amazing! I loved the fact it was an all-new soundtrack but still brought back many of the themes and elements found in the original musical.

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  2. UnknownJanuary 8, 2019 at 5:28 AM

    My husband and I saw this movie over the holiday break. We grew up with the first film, and were somewhat underwhelmed with this one. After seeing it, we chose to not take our young (ages 7 and 4) grandchildren to the film, due to the scary sequence in the middle with the wolf snatching the youngest boy. We also felt that the Emily Blunt Poppins was a little bit creepy, although were are aware that she was modeling the original Travers writings. I am a huge Lin-Manuel Miranda fan, and thought that this film, though it gives him a much wider audience, wasn't a great outlet for his strengths. I did think that the inclusion of the bike tricks was a great addition to the lamplighter dance sequence. It was a joy to see Dick van Dyke hoofing on the desk at age 90+! And to hear Angela Lansbury sing again was simply divine! I agree with Talia that the songs and dancing were stunning. I think Grant's B grade is a great assessment.

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