— by Kristen Hawkes
PARENT PREVIEWS –
Making Media Entertainment An Easier Choice For Families
Mary Poppins
Returns
PG
OVERALL RATING:
A-
WALT DISNEY PICTURES
Released on DVD:
March 19, 2019
“
VIOLENCE: (B)
Children argue and tussle over a china bowl, which they drop.
A young boy is abducted by cartoon creatures. A chase scene
follows and there are scenes of peril as his siblings try to
rescue him. The vehicles fall into a void and the children wake
up, unsure if the experience was real or a dream. There are
moments of peril as men climb a clock tower.
SEXUAL CONTENT: (A) None noted.
LANGUAGE: (A) None noted.
ALCOHOL / DRUG USE: (A-)
Song lyrics make a coded reference to
someone being drunk.
For additional information on this
film’s content, visit www.parentpreviews.com
I
was flying a kite and it got caught
on a nanny,” announces an excited
Georgie Banks (Joel Dawson) to
his father, Michael (Ben Whishaw) and Aunt
Jane (Emily Mortimer), who are in the mid-
dle of a discussion concerning Michael’s dire
financial situation. Luckily for everyone, the
nanny Georgie caught is none other than the
inimitable Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt).
Mary Poppins’ special talents are badly
needed because the Banks family is facing
a crisis. Michael, recently widowed after
the premature death of his wife, is flounder-
ing under the debts he assumed to cover the
costs of her medical care. Jane is horrified
to discover that unless Michael can pay back
the loan — which is bigger than his annu-
al income — he will lose the house in five
days. Michael is an artist and part-time bank
teller, and in Depression-era England, there
is little chance of finding better employment.
Their only hope is selling the bank shares
bequeathed to them by their father, but nei-
ther Jane nor Michael know where the share
certificates are, so they undertake a frantic
search of the house.
In the meantime, Mary Poppins takes
the children in hand. Unlike the original
Mary Poppins movie, where Jane and Mi-
chael had to be trained out of being lazy,
selfish, and argumentative, the younger gen-
eration of Banks children are generally ear-
nest, helpful, responsible, and desperate to
help their father and save their home. In this
film, Mary Poppins is much less didactic and
teaches the children gentle lessons, almost
entirely through song. “A Cover Is Not the
Book” warns the kids against judging based
on appearances; “The Place Where Lost
Things Go” comforts the mourning young-
sters; “Trip a Little Light Fantastic” urges
them to find light in dark places…. and so on.
Audiences will not be surprised by the
direction the plot takes. A happy ending is
expected and is provided. But as with any
Disney production, the joy is in the journey.
Mary Poppins Returns dishes out a pleasant
viewing experience, with top quality acting
talent (Colin Firth, Meryl Streep, Angela
Lansbury, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dick Van
Dyke), catchy tunes, energetic choreography,
cohesive visual design, an almost total lack
of negative content, and outstanding CGI
and animation. This is a good family movie
and the audience at the screening I attended
clapped and cheered at the end.
I feel a little churlish at admitting to a
touch of disappointment with this produc-
tion. It may simply be that because the origi-
nal Mary Poppins was my favorite childhood
film, nothing else will measure up to a movie
that is “practically perfect in every way.”
Still, this sequel does come with a few flaws.
The music is appealing but the soundtrack
doesn’t measure up to the unforgettable
songs from the original film. One of the mu-
sical set pieces is centered around a china
bowl, and the manufacturer’s name – Royal
Doulton – is referred to so often in speech
and song that it begins to feel like a product
placement. And, finally and most seriously,
the movie doesn’t draw viewers in. I felt like
I was watching actors on a stage; not like I
had been swept into another world, which
is the hallmark of any great movie. Maybe
the pixie dust was left out or maybe it just
needed a “spoonful of sugar.” Whatever, the
reason, Mary Poppins Returns will provide
a pleasant viewing experience for families,
but it likely won’t be “supercalifragilisticex-
pialidocious.”
TALK ABOUT THE MOVIE WITH
YOUR FAMILY…
Mary Poppins arranges to “turn back
time” (change the clock) to give Michael
more time to reach the bank. Do you think
this is honest? The banker’s behavior is
clearly unethical. Do two wrongs make a
right?
When Mary Poppins takes the kids to
visit her cousin Topsy, on an upside-down
day, they discover that changing your per-
spective can change the way you feel about
your situation. Have you ever discovered
that changing your attitude can change the
way you feel about a problem? How do you
go about making an attitude change?
WATCH AT HOME…
This movie is a sequel to Disney’s Mary
Poppins. The life of P.L. Travers, author of
the Poppins’ franchise, is dramatized in the
movie Saving Mr. Banks.
LOVED THE MOVIE? TRY THESE
BOOKS…
P.L. Travers wrote four novels featuring
Mary Poppins. If your child loves the movie,
take a good look at the books. Christianna
Brand wrote a classic series of novels about
Nurse Matilda, another famous fictional
nanny.
In The Adventures of Nanny Piggins,
R.A. Spratt has created a modern classic
about three children who are cared for by a
pig. These rollicking stories are sure to enter-
tain children looking for fun and adventure
with a side order of laughter.
April 2019 WNY Family 27