Lately, Disney has been regularly revisiting their movie vaults to find films they can revisit, either with live action remakes, both Aladdin and The Lion King are on their way in the next year, or in the case of Mary Poppins Returns a very belated sequel. Certainly an intimidating prospect if there ever was one, the cast and crew manage to pull of the seemingly impossible with style as they create a worthy follow-up to one of Disney's most beloved classics.
25 years have passed since we last visited the Banks family. Michael (played by Ben Whishaw) and Jane (played by Emily Mortimer) have grown up. Michael is living in his childhood home on Cherry Tree Lane with his three children, Anabel (played by Pixie Davis), John (played by Nathanael Saleh) and Georgie (played by Joel Dawson). Michael's wife passed away a year prior and Michael has barely been keeping things together, with help from his sister Jane, who in her spare time volunteers as a political activist (not unlike her late mother was). When Michael receives a foreclosure notice on the house, it finally becomes too much for him to bear. Luckily, from the clouds should return the one and only Mary Poppins (played by Emily Blunt), returned to help the Banks children once again. She minds the Michael's three kids, with some help from a local lamplighter Jack (played by Lin Manuel Miranda), who apprenticed at one time under a certain chimney sweep named Bert. Together, they embark on a series of adventures while the three children try to figure out a way to help their dad when they find out he's in danger of losing the house. Meanwhile, Michael and Jane are desperately searching to come up the certificate of shares their father had in the bank before the deadline of the end of the week, as stipulated by the shady bank manager, Mr. Wilkins (played by Colin Firth).
Rob Marshall directed the film from a script by David Magee. Together, they really manage to recapture the spirit of the original film while also being uniquely it's own film. Composing the music this time is Marc Shaiman, with consulting from Richard Sherman (who composed the music for the original film with his late brother Robert) also does a fantastic job of recapturing that same feel of the original film in each of his compositions. Rob Marshall also quite rightly insisted on hand drawn animation for the sequences that meld live action and animation, much like the first film. It is wonderfully done and nice to see the effort was made to make sure it seamlessly matched the style of the original film, while maybe a little more polished given the progress made in effects since the first film. The production design is also quite good as the film seamlessly mixes it's sets and actual London locations. They also do a great job bringing to life a number of fantastical set pieces, including a room that turns completely upside down every second Wednesday of the month. Even the opening credits over the painted backdrop that foreshadow key moments in the film, like many a Disney film before it, was a nice touch.
The film has a fantastic cast led by Emily Blunt in the title role. Blunt wisely did not re-watch the original film, but rather read the original P.L Travers novels to research her role and crafts a Mary Poppins that is entirely her own rather than merely an imitation of what came before. She is absolutely delightful in the role and genuinely succeeds in making it her own. Lin Manuel Miranda was absolutely delightful as Jack, putting his massive singing and dancing talents to work and the results are nothing short a incredible. He makes Jack such a lovable character as well, from the opening scene all the way to the end. Ben Whishaw is left with much of the emotional heavy lifting as Michael, trying to move on after the death of his wife and keep his family together when everything seems to be falling apart. Whishaw is up to the task though and is great in the role. Emily Mortimer has a nice turn as Jane, and has some nice chemistry with potential love interest Jack. Colin Firth has a supporting turn as the villainous bank manager Mr. Wilkins, which is a fun change of pace from his usual good guy, romantic lead roles. He gives the role a certain two-faced smarminess that fit the classic Disney villains. Julie Walters has supporting role as the family's forgetful maid and gives the role a great comedic spirit in the classic Julie Walters style. Meryl Streep turns up for a cameo role as Mary Poppins' cousin that Mary and the kids visit for one of the more visually unique musical numbers in the film. Dick Van Dyke also pops up, reprising his role from the previous film as Mr. Dawes, the previous Bank Manager, (Bert, on the other hand, is on Holiday to parts unknown) and gives as spirited a performance as ever. Angela Lansbury also has a delightful cameo as well at the end of the film.
Overall, Mary Poppins Returns manages to do the impossible and recaptures the spirit of the original film while branching out and doing it's own thing as well. Of course, I should mention I did deliberately not revisit the original film prior to seeing this one because I wanted to experience this film, as well as Emily Blunt and Lin Manuel Mandela, on it's own merits without Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke fresh in my head. Nonetheless, it's a revisit rather than a retread and all the better for it. The only nitpick I could make is there is one plot element that was really predictable to me but in the end it still paid off beautifully. There is something that it just infectiously fun about this movie as I sat in the theatre, grinning from ear to ear from beginning to end. At one point at the end of the film, Michael remarks that he feels like a kid again. I almost responded, "Yeah, me too."
