Review - Mary Poppins (1964)

       Hey guys, Chuck here, and yeah. In a year celebrating one hundred years of Disney, there was no way I was leaving this one off of my list. Widely considered as a genuine Disney classic, Mary Poppins is based on the literary character of the same name created by P.L. Travers, and stars Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynis Johns, Ed Wynn, Karen Dotrice, Matthew Garber, and far too many others to name off. 

       So, the movie is set in London in the year 1910, where apparently Jane and Michael Banks, children of George and Winifred Banks, have disappeared during an outing in the park. The Banks family nanny, Katie Nanna, has grown fed up with the children disappearing on her watch, and has decided to resign from her position, much to the dismay of Mrs. Banks. Upon the return of Mr. Banks from his job at Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, he attempts to call the police, when Constable Jones of the police department arrives with Jane and Michael, who only wandered away from Katie Nanna because their kite got away on the massive gusts of wind that day. Later that evening, Mr. Banks opts to take out an advertisement in the newspapers to hire a new nanny, as do the children. Mr. Banks, after the children head upstairs to bed, rips their advertisement into pieces, and tosses the pieces into the fireplace. 

       The next morning, several potential nannies are lined up along the street of Cherry Tree Lane, and are blown away by a massive gust of wind. Riding along the wind by her umbrella is yet another potential. However, she is more in line with the children's preferred nanny, and she even has the discarded advertisement that the children wrote. Ultimately, Mr. Banks agrees to hire the nanny, or so he's led to believe it all goes by so fast. The nanny ultimately sets up shop with personal furnishings in her carpet bag, including a lamp, a hat stand, a mirror, a houseplant, and a tape measure. She then uses it to measure up both children: Michael is "extremely stubborn and suspicious," while Jane is "rather inclined to giggle, and doesn't put things away." As for the nanny, here's how she measures up: "Mary Poppins - practically perfect in every way." So, yeah, this is how we learn that the Banks' new nanny is named Mary Poppins. Anyway, Mary Poppins get the children to tidy up the nursery, and once that's done, it's time to go to the park. 

        It's here where I'd like to introduce you, my readers, to Bert. Bert is an old friend of Mary Poppins from before, and he's a jack of all trades. In other words, we see him have several jobs throughout the movie, including a one-man-band, and as an artist creating chalk pavement pictures. One of these, Bert and Mary Poppins take Jane and Michael into. And while Jane and Michael head to a local fair, Mary Poppins and Bert take a stroll through the countryside, ending up at a cafe where the staff are penguins. After having a snack at the cafe, which includes a dance-off between Bert and the penguins, he and Mary Poppins eventually catch up with the children, and the four enjoy a ride on the carousel, which ultimately sees all four horses lift off from the ride and continue onward. Mary Poppins, Bert, and the children witness a foxhunt, with Bert rescuing the little fox, and Mary Poppins ends up winning the horse race. And it's here where we learn of a word that one can say when they can't think of anything else to say: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Unfortunately, rainy weather ruins the day, and Bert's drawings, so Mary Poppins takes the children back home. 

       The next morning, things in the Banks household are getting very cheerful. Both the family maid, Ellen, and the cook, Mrs. Brill, are actually getting along for once, and everyone is in a pleasant and cheerful mood... except for Mr. Banks, that is. So, after he goes off to work z he leaves a list of things that need to be done, which Mary Poppins and the children head off to do, wishing the Banks' neighbors, Admiral Boom and Mr. Binnacle, a good morning. Unfortunately, the three are intercepted by Miss Lark's dog, Andrew, who informs Mary Poppins of something serious that needs her attention. So, Mary Poppins takes the children to see Bert's Uncle Albert. Bert is already there, having gotten there quickly. So, what's Uncle Albert doing? Laughing his ass off and floating around up on the ceiling. Yeah, apparently excessive laughter makes one lighter than air, which is ridiculous, obviously. But, let's pretend, shall we? 

        Anyway, as Uncle Albert's laughter becomes more infectious, Bert, Jane, and Michael all end up on the ceiling with him, all laughing their asses off at various jokes and silliness. One such jokes is about, for example, a gentleman who works at a watch factory, where he sits around all day, and "makes faces." Or another more noteworthy one about a man with a wooden leg named Smith. What's the name of his other leg? Oop -- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, let me try to contain my own laughter or I might end up on the ceiling myself. Anyway, Mary Poppins joins them, and she even brings up a table with a tea spread. And, they continue to have a fun time having tea and cracking jokes, and it's learned that the only way down is thinking of sad things. Uncle Albert does have a sad story about his neighbor. A gentleman came to her door to inform her that he ran over her cat, and would like to replace the cat. And Albert's neighbor responded by saying "That's alright with me, but how are you at catching mice?" Oop -- HAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! But, ultimately, Mary Poppins breaks the mood by saying it's time for her and the children to go home, which is really sad, and leaves Uncle Albert in tears. 

       Back at the Banks' home, Jane and Michael recount their day to Mr. Banks, who sends them upstairs and requests to speak with Mary Poppins, furious at hearing the things she'd been doing as far as outings with the children. And, she reworks it by convincing him that he suggests that the children go with him to his work at Fidelity Fiduciary Bank. And Mr. Banks, of course, thinks that it's a fantastic idea. Mary Poppins heads upstairs to tuck the children into bed, and lets them know of their outing with Mr. Banks the next day, and precedes to tell of a Bird Lady who sits on the steps of St. Paul's cathedral asking for passers by to "feed the birds. Tuppence a bag." 

       En route to the bank, Jane and Michael point out the Bird Lady, and Michael wants to use his tuppence to feed the birds. Mr. Banks, however, refuses such a notion, and has another idea of what can be done with the tuppence at the bank. So, Mr. Banks takes the children to meet Mr. Dawes Jr. and Mr. Dawes Sr., who run the bank, and look to take the tuppence as an investment for a bank account. Unfortunately, Michael demands his tuppence back, leading other customers to seek their money back, and the bank stopping as many payments as possible. Michael gets his tuppence back, and he and Jane run, ending up taking a wrong turn. Luckily, they find Bert, who is working as a chimney sweep by this point, and he calms them down, and offers to take them home. 

       Returning the children to Cherry Tree Lane, Mrs. Banks thanks Bert for bringing the children home, and asks if he can clean their chimney. He agrees, and shows Jane and Michael about cleaning chimneys. Michael gets ahold of a brush, and gets sucked up through the chimney up to the roof. Jane, Bert, and Mary Poppins follow suit, and the four walk along the rooftops of London, ending up meeting with other chimney sweeps. The jubilations that follow catch the attention of Admiral Boom, who shoots off fireworks at the chimney sweeps, all of whom head through the chimneys to safety. Many of them enter the Banks' home, and upon the return of Mr. Banks, Bert clears all of the chimney sweeps out of the house. Mary Poppins takes the children upstairs, and Mr. Banks and Bert talk about everything that's happened to the Banks family since Mary Poppins arrived. Bert points out that, in spite of all his hard work providing for his family, eventually the children will grow up, and it'll be too late for family time with them. 

         Mr. Banks, who is on his way to the bank after being summoned, is approached by the children who apologize for their behavior and give him the tuppence. Mr. Banks then takes a long, quiet, lonely stroll through London, arriving at the bank, where Mr. Dawes Jr. recounts how in 1773, a loan was taken out of Fidelity Fiduciary to finance a mass shipment of tea to the American colonies. Ultimately, the Boston Tea Party happened, and while in America, it was the prelude to the American Revolution, the loan was defaulted back in London, and there was a run on the bank that day. And after that, a run on the bank would not occur until Michael's outburst caused one. Mr. Banks assumes full responsibility for Michael's actions that day, and is ultimately defrocked by Mr. Dawes Jr. Suddenly, it all hits him at once, as Mr. Banks repeatedly blurts out the word "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," repeats the joke about a man with a wooden leg named Smith, and gives the Dawes' the tuppence, telling them to "guard it well," leaving the bank happy and possibly high as a kite. High on life, that is. Mr Dawes Sr. starts to think about the "wooden leg named Smith" joke, and as soon as he gets it, starts laughing and floating up to the ceiling. 

       Unfortunately, it's time for Mary Poppins to pack up and leave, as she'd earlier promised to only stay until a change in the wind. Constable Jones is in the house, speaking to one of his superiors about Mr. Banks, who had disappeared. Mr. Banks, however, comes back, happy and glad to be home. And he calls for the children, having a surprise for them: he fixed their kite, and Mr. and Mrs. Banks take the children out to fly it, along with several others who are flying kites as well. Heck, Bert is even selling kites. Cool. Mr. Dawes Jr. is even flying a kite along with the rest of the bank's directors, and tells Mr. Banks that Mr. Dawes Sr. died laughing at the "wooden leg named Smith" joke, to which Mr. Banks apologizes. Mr. Dawes, however, says there's no need, as it was the happiest he'd seen his father in a long time, and offers him a seat as a partner at Fidelity Fiduciary Bank. Mr. Dawes happily accepts, and continues to spend time with his family. Mary Poppins takes her leave, and the movie ends. 

       Okay, so there's very little I can really add to this movie that hasn't been said already. Simply put, it's a Disney classic for a reason. The acting from the likes of Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynis Johns, Ed Wynn, and so forth was absolutely fantastic. The animation used in the chalk pavement picture sequence was legendary. The songs by brothers Richard and Robert Sherman are just as legendary today as they were nearly sixty years ago. Even the subtle, quiet moments are just stunning. In other words: this movie is practically perfect in every way. 

         No real surprise here, I'm giving Mary Poppins a rating of 5/5. I'd say to check it out, but chances are you already have. Honestly, of this movie wasn't part of your childhood in some form or another, chances are you didn't really have much in terms of a childhood. Seriously, I love this movie. My dad loves this movie. My grandparents love this movie. Doug Walker/the Nostalgia Critic loves this movie. I can't think of a single person who doesn't love Mary Poppins. 

       Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off. Be sure to join me tomorrow when I take a look at the first season of the anime series Sword Art Online, as well as the 2021 movie Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night.