Nominated For: Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Original Song "The Place Where Lost Things Go" (written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman), and Best Original Score.
Decades after her original visit and tenure at the Banks household, the magical nanny Mary Poppins returns to 17 Cherry Tree Lane, London to help the Banks siblings and Michael's children through a difficult time in their lives.
Based on P.L. Travers' children's books, Mary Poppins Returns is directed by the renowned Rob Marshall and features a screenplay by David Magee and screen story by John DeLuca, Magee, and Marshall. Following up a beloved Disney classic fifty-four years later is not an enviable task, but Rob Marshall's taken the challenge to heart and delivered a long-awaited sequel which recaptures the spellbinding magic and musical whimsy of the original without completely recycling the first film. I foresee grossly over-exaggerated complaints that Mary Poppins Returns merely rehashes the original with the incorporation of somewhat similar story beats akin to fan complaints regarding Star Wars: The Force Awakens' love affair with A New Hope. There's admittedly an equivalent scene for all of the original's iconic moments, but much like The Force Awakens, the context surrounding each is drastically different (though some still aren't willing to concede that). It's surely the safe route, but Marshall traverses that beaten path in the most delightful way!
Mary Poppins Returns is the kind of old-fashioned musical which reminds you Hollywood doesn't make them like they used to. The vibrant, imaginative, and exuberant song and dance numbers pulled from Poppins' bottomless bag are show-stopping, to say the least! While the songs may not catch on as quickly as "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," "Chim Chim Cheree," or "Step In Time," the new array of tunes are no doubt charming! I haven't listened to any long enough to pick a favorite, but I quite like the renditions of "(Underneath the) Lovely London Sky," "Can You Imagine That?," "A Cover Is Not The Book," "Trip a Little Light Fantastic," "The Place Where Lost Things Go," and "Nowhere to Go But Up." The songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman are all enchanting while Shaiman's score is sensational. It's been a while since I've been swept away by a string of stellar show tunes, but John DeLuca, Joey Pizzi, and Marshall have staged an extraordinary set of musical numbers!
Meanwhile, The blend of live-action and hand-drawn animation is seamless and, of course, evocative of the original. The animation was so well done in fact that I would love to see another feature-length, hand-drawn animation from Disney soon! It's, of course, time-consuming and Disney had to ask animators to come out of retirement to accomplish it here, but I'm hoping the inevitable success of Mary Poppins Returns will inspire studio executives to give two-dimensional animation another go! Other technical elements deserving of praise are the colorful costuming and thorough production design. In particular, there were some porcelain costumes (which can be glimpsed above), that really impressed me. I would not be surprised if Mary Poppins Returns swooped in to take many technical awards at the upcoming Oscars given the Academy's love affair with the original and the awards buzz surrounding this sequel.
As Mary Poppins, Emily Blunt is practically perfect in every way! Much like Alden Ehrenreich had to do in Solo: A Star Wars Story earlier this year, Blunt faced a Herculean task of stepping into an iconic role made famous by another actress. I'm referencing the magnificent Julie Andrews of course, and I'll say Blunt successfully put her own stamp on the role rather than offering a pale imitation of what had come before. I'd describe Blunt's Poppins as wittier and more sarcastic where Andrews often felt more serious I suppose. Otherwise, Blunt's singing and dancing were tremendous!
Stepping in for Dick Van Dyke's Cockney chimney sweeper Bert, Lin-Manuel Miranda's street lamplighter Jack was a suitable replacement. Many best know Miranda for his theatrical productions In The Heights or Hamilton, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he knows this role out of the park! Miranda's singing, dancing, and fast-spoken vocal delivery (rapping?) were all spectacular, not to mention he's quite convincing in the active role. The three Banks children, Anabel, John, and Georgie, played by Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, and Joel Dawson are pleasant inclusions as well, helping to maintain the sense of fun, awe, and whimsey amidst the imaginative, animated insanity.
Meanwhile, Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer are splendid as an older Michael and Jane Banks, imbuing their characters with sentiment and a touch of gleeful, childlike innocence at times. Regarding the film's flaws, I wish there had been more to Colin Firth's character and Meryl Streep's scene was honestly expendable, though she's excellent in it. There are also some cameos which I won't specify since some may consider them spoilers, but just know the actors I'm referring to are billed on the posters and their characters have been featured in the promotional material.
As many hoped, Mary Poppins' return to the cinema screen amounts to an utterly delightful sequel which matches the quality of the original. It is with great pleasure I say Mary Poppins Returns is as sweet as a spoonful of sugar!
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