Mary Poppins (film)

Mary Poppins is a 1964 American musical Fantasy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney, with songs written and composed by the Sherman Brothers. The screenplay is by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, loosely based on P. L. Travers' book series of the same name. The film, which combines live-action and animation, stars Julie Andrews in the titular role of a magical nanny who visits a dysfunctional family in London and employs her unique brand of lifestyle to improve the family's dynamic. Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, and Glynis Johns are featured in supporting roles. The film was shot entirely at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.

Mary Poppins was released on August 27, 1964, to universal acclaim, receiving a total of thirteen Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture—an unsurpassed record for any other film released by the Walt Disney Studios—and won five; Best Actress for Andrews, Best Film Editing, Best Original Music Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song for "Chim Chim Cher-ee". In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot
In Edwardian London, 1910, Cockney one-man band Bert is entertaining a crowd when he senses a change in the wind. Afterwards, he directly addresses the audience and gives them a tour of Cherry Tree Lane, stopping outside the home of the Banks'. George Banks returns home from his job at the bank to learn from his wife Winifred that their hired nanny, Katie Nanna, has left their service after his children, Jane and Michael, ran away again. They are returned shortly after by the local constable. Taking it upon himself to hire a nanny, George advertises for a stern, no-nonsense nanny. Jane and Michael present their own advertisement for a kinder, sweeter nanny, but George rips up the letter and throws the scraps in the fireplace, which magically float up and out into the air.

The next day, a queue of elderly, sour-faced nannies appear outside. However, a strong gust of wind blows the nannies away, and Jane and Michael witness a young nanny descend from the sky using her umbrella. Presenting herself to George, Mary Poppins calmly produces the children’s now restored advertisement and agrees with its requests, but promises the astonished banker she will be firm with his children. As George puzzles over the ad’s return, Mary hires herself and meets the children, baffling them with her behaviour and bottomless carpet bag. She helps the children to tidy their nursery through song, before heading out for a walk in the park.

Outside, they meet Bert who now works as a screever, drawing chalk sketches on the pavement. Mary uses her magic to transport the group into one of the drawings, which becomes an animated countryside setting. While the children ride on a nearby carousel, Mary Poppins and Bert go on a leisurely stroll and are served tea by a quartet of penguin waiters. Mary enchants the carousel horses, which leave the carousel and rescue an Irish fox from a fox-hunt. They participate in a horse race which she wins. When asked to describe her victory, Mary announces the nonsense word “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”. On another outing, the four meet Mary's jovial Uncle Albert who has floated up in the air due to his uncontrollable laughter. They join him for a tea party on the ceiling, telling jokes.

George becomes increasingly bothered by the cheery atmosphere of his family and considers firing Mary Poppins. Mary inverts his attempt, instead convincing him to take the children to the bank for a day. George takes Jane and Michael to the bank, where they meet his employers, Mr. Dawes Sr. and his son. Dawes aggressively attempts to have Michael to invest his tuppence in the bank, snatching the money from him. Michael demands it back, causing other customers to misinterpret and all demand their money back, causing a bank run. Jane and Michael flee the bank, getting lost in the East End until they run into Bert, now a chimney sweep. He escorts them home, suggesting their father does not hate them but has his own troubles to deal with. The three and Mary venture onto the roof where they have a dance number with other chimney sweeps til George returns home. George receives a phone call from his employers, telling him to meet them later for disciplinary action. George speaks with Bert who tells him that while he needs to work, he should spend more time with his children before they grow up. Jane and Michael give their father Michael’s tuppence in the hope to make amends.

George walks through London to the bank, where he is given a humiliating cashiering and is fired. Looking to the tuppence for words, he raucously blurts out, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!", tells one of Uncle Albert's jokes the children originally told him, and happily heads home. Dawes mulls over the joke, but finally "gets" it, and floats up into the air, laughing. The next day, the wind changes, meaning Mary must leave. A happier George is found at home, having fixed his children’s kite, and takes the family out to fly it. In the park, the Banks meet Mr. Dawes Jr, who reveals that his father died happily laughing from the joke and re-employs George as a junior partner. With her work done, Mary flies away with Bert bidding her farewell, telling her not to stay away too long.

Cast

 * Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins, a magical and loving woman who descends down from the clouds in response to the Banks children's advertisement for a nanny. She is not only firm in her use of authority, but gentle and kind as well, a major departure from the original books, in which the character was strict and pompous.
 * Dick Van Dyke as Bert, a cockney jack-of-all-trades and Mary Poppins's closest friend, who is completely accustomed to her magic. Their playful interactions imply that they have known each other for a long time, and that this kind of story has repeated itself many times. Bert has at least four jobs throughout the film: a one-man band, a pavement chalk artist, a chimney sweep, and a kite seller.
 * Van Dyke also portrays Mr. Dawes Sr., the old director of the bank where Mr. Banks works. During the film's end titles, "Navckid Keyd", an anagram of Dick Van Dyke, is first credited as playing the role before the letters unscramble to reveal Van Dyke's name.
 * David Tomlinson as George Banks, Mary Poppins' employer and father of Jane and Michael. He works at the Dawes Tomes Mousley Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank in London. He is a driven and disciplined man. Tomlinson also provides the uncredited voice of Mary Poppins' parrot umbrella handle and several of the animated characters.
 * Glynis Johns as Winifred Banks, the easily distracted wife of George Banks and the mother of Jane and Michael. She is depicted as a member of Emmeline Pankhurst's "Votes for Women" suffragette movement. Mrs. Banks was originally named Cynthia, but this was changed to the more English-sounding Winifred per Travers.
 * Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber as Jane and Michael, the Banks' two children.
 * Hermione Baddeley as Ellen, the maid of the Banks residence.
 * Reta Shaw as Mrs. Brill, the cook of the Banks residence.
 * Reginald Owen as Admiral Boom, the Banks' eccentric neighbor and a naval officer. He has his first mate, Mr. Binnacle, fire a cannon from his roof every 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
 * Don Barclay as Mr. Binnacle.
 * Arthur Treacher as Constable Jones, a police officer.
 * Elsa Lanchester as Katie Nanna, the disgruntled nanny who quits the Banks family.
 * Marjorie Bennett as Miss Lark, owner of the dog named Andrew, who frequently runs away.
 * Arthur Malet as Mr. Dawes Jr., the director's son and member of the board.
 * Ed Wynn as Uncle Albert, a jolly, gentleman suffering from a condition causing him to float in the air when he laughs.
 * Jane Darwell as the "Bird Woman".
 * Alma Lawton as Mrs. Corry, an old shopkeeper of a gingerbread shop.
 * Marjorie Eaton as Miss Persimmon.
 * Jimmy Logan as a doorman who chases after the children in the bank.

Production


The first book in the Mary Poppins book series was the main basis for the movie. According to the 40th Anniversary DVD release of the film in 2004, Walt Disney's daughters fell in love with the Mary Poppins books, and made him promise to make a film based on them. Disney first attempted to purchase the film rights to Mary Poppins from P. L. Travers as early as 1938 but was rebuffed because Travers did not believe a film version of her books would do justice to her creation. In addition, Disney was known at the time primarily as a producer of cartoons and had yet to produce any major live-action work. For more than 20 years, Disney periodically made efforts to convince Travers to allow him to make a Poppins film. He finally succeeded in 1961, although Travers demanded and got script approval rights. The Sherman Brothers composed the music score and were also involved in the film's development, suggesting the setting be changed from the 1930s to the Edwardian era. Pre-production and composing the songs took about two years.

Travers was an adviser to the production. However, she disapproved of the dilution of the harsher aspects of Mary Poppins' character, felt ambivalent about the music, and so hated the use of animation that she ruled out any further adaptations of the later Mary Poppins novels. She objected to a number of elements that actually made it into the film. Rather than original songs, she wanted the soundtrack to feature known standards of the Edwardian period in which the story is set. She also objected to the animated sequence. Disney overruled her, citing contract stipulations that he had final say on the finished print.

Julie Andrews, who was making her movie acting debut after a successful stage career, got the prime role of Mary Poppins soon after she was passed over by Jack Warner and replaced with Audrey Hepburn for the role of Eliza Doolittle in his screen version of My Fair Lady, even though Andrews had originated the role on Broadway. When Walt Disney first approached Andrews about taking on the role, Andrews was three months pregnant and therefore was not sure she should take the role. Disney assured her that the crew would be fine with waiting to begin filming until after she had given birth so that she could play the part. Julie Andrews also provided the voice in two other sections of the film: during "A Spoonful of Sugar," she provided the whistling harmony for the robin, and she was also one of the Pearly singers during "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." David Tomlinson, besides playing Mr. Banks, provided the voice of Mary's talking umbrella and numerous other voice-over parts (including that of Admiral Boom's first mate). During the Jolly Holiday sequence, the three singing Cockney geese were all voiced by Marni Nixon, a regular aural substitute for actresses with substandard singing voices. Nixon would later provide the singing voice for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady and play one of Julie Andrews' fellow nuns in The Sound of Music. Andrews later beat Hepburn for the Best Actress Award at the Golden Globes for their respective roles. Andrews would also win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role. Hepburn did not receive a nomination. Richard Sherman, one of the songwriters, also voiced a penguin as well as one of the Pearlies.

Disney cast Dick Van Dyke in the key supporting role of Bert after seeing his work on The Dick Van Dyke Show. After winning the role of Bert, Van Dyke lobbied to also play the senior Mr. Dawes, but Disney originally felt he was too young for the part. Van Dyke eventually won Disney over after a screen test. Although he is fondly remembered for this film, Van Dyke's attempt at a cockney accent is regarded as one of the worst film accents in history, cited as an example by actors since as something that they wish to avoid. In a 2003 poll by Empire magazine of the worst film accents of all time he came second. Van Dyke claims that his accent coach was the Irish J. Pat O'Malley, who "didn't do an accent any better than I did".

The film changed the book story line in a number of places. For example, Mary, when approaching the house, controlled the wind rather than the other way around. As another example, the father, rather than the mother, interviewed Mary for the nanny position. Much of the Travers-Disney correspondence is part of the Travers collection of papers in the Mitchell Library of New South Wales, Australia. The relationship between Travers and Disney is detailed in Mary Poppins She Wrote, a biography of Travers, by Valerie Lawson. The biography is the basis for two documentaries on Travers, The Real Mary Poppins and Lisa Matthews' The Shadow of Mary Poppins. Their relationship during the development of the film was also dramatized in the 2013 film, Saving Mr. Banks.

A number of other changes were necessary to condense the story into feature length. In the movie, there are only two Banks children, Jane and Michael. The satirical and mysterious aspects of the original book gave way to a cheerful and "Disney-fied" tone. Mary Poppins' character as portrayed by Andrews in the film is somewhat less vain and more sympathetic towards the children compared to the rather cold and intimidating nanny of the original book. Bert, as played by Van Dyke, was a composite of several characters from Travers' stories. Travers demanded that any suggestions of romance between Mary and Bert be eliminated, so lyrics were written for "Jolly Holiday" that clearly indicated that their friendship was purely platonic. (Some subtle hints of romance, however, did remain in the finished film.)

Travers was not extended an invitation to the film's premiere, but managed to obtain one from a Disney executive. It was at the after-party that Richard Sherman recalled her walking up to Disney and loudly announcing that the animated sequence had to go. Disney responded, "Pamela, the ship has sailed," and walked away. While Travers publicly praised the Mary Poppins film following its premiere, her public position on the film shifted after a proposed sequel did not materialize in the 1960s. Never at ease with the handling of her property by Disney or the way she felt she had been treated, Travers would never again agree to another Poppins/Disney adaptation. So fervent was Travers' dislike of the Disney adaptation and of the way she felt she had been treated during the production, that when producer Cameron Mackintosh approached her about the stage musical in the 1990s, she acquiesced on the condition that only English-born writers and no one from the film production were to be directly involved with creating the stage musical.

Music
Buena Vista Records released the original motion picture soundtrack on vinyl and reel-to-reel tape. Due to time constraints, some songs were edited (such as "Step in Time" and "Jolly Holiday", "A Spoonful of Sugar"), while songs also featured introductory passages ("Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious") or completed endings ("Sister Sufragette", "Fidelity Fiduciary Bank", "A Man Has Dreams"). The "Overture" also featured "Jolly Holiday", omitted from the opening credits presentation and later re-released under the Walt Disney Records label, while "Jolly Holiday" and "A Spoonful of Sugar" would be restored to their theatrical lengths. Written by Richard and Robert Sherman, the songs were inspired by Edwardian British music hall music.

When re-issued on laserdisc in 1997, one of the disc's analog audio tracks featured a mono isolated music score. It has yet to appear on any other home video release. In 2004, as part of the 40th Anniversary (also called Special Edition), a 28-track disc (as part of a two-disc set) was released by Walt Disney Records. In 2014 (the 50th anniversary of the film's release), the soundtrack was released in a 3-CD edition as part of the Walt Disney "Legacy Collection"; this edition includes demos of many of the "lost" tracks described below.

Deleted songs
A number of other songs were written for the film by the Sherman Brothers and either rejected or cut for time. Richard Sherman, on the 2004 DVD release, indicated that more than 30 songs were written at various stages of the film's development. No cast recordings of any of these songs have been released to the public, only demos or later performances done by the songwriters — with the exception of the rooftop reprise of "Chim Chim Cher-ee" and the "smoke staircase yodel" mentioned below.
 * 1) "The Chimpanzoo", was originally to follow "I Love To Laugh" during the Uncle Albert "ceiling tea party" sequence, but it was dropped from the soundtrack just before Julie Andrews and company were to record it. The fast-paced number was not unveiled to the public until Richard Sherman, aided by recently uncovered storyboards, performed it on the 2004 DVD edition. The re-creation suggests it was to have been another sequence combining animation and live action.
 * 2) "Practically Perfect" was intended to introduce Mary but instead the melody of the piece was used for "Sister Suffragette" (used to introduce Mrs. Banks). A different song with the same name was written for the stage musical.
 * 3) "The Eyes of Love", a romantic ballad, was intended for Bert and Mary, but according to Richard Sherman, Julie Andrews suggested privately to Disney that this song was not suitable. In response, "A Spoonful of Sugar" was written.
 * 4) "Mary Poppins Melody" was to be performed when Mary introduces herself to the children. Elements of the song later became part of "Stay Awake". The melody was the basis for a couple of other songs that were ultimately cut from the film.
 * 5) "A Name's A Name". Heard on a recording taken of a meeting between the Sherman Brothers and P.L. Travers, this song was originally intended for the nursery scene that later became "A Spoonful of Sugar." The melody was reused for "Mary Poppins Melody".
 * 6) "You Think, You Blink" was a short piece that Bert was to sing just before entering the chalk painting (and starting the "Jolly Holiday" sequence). In the film, Dick Van Dyke simply recites the lyric instead of singing it.
 * 7) "West Wind" was a short ballad to be sung by Mary. The song was later retitled "Mon Amour Perdu" and used in the later Disney film, Big Red.
 * 8) "The Right Side" was to be sung by Mary to Michael Banks after he gets out of bed cranky. It was recycled for the Disney Channel television series Welcome to Pooh Corner as Winnie the Pooh's personal theme song.
 * 9) "Measure Up" was to accompany the scene in which Mary takes the tape measure to Jane and Michael.
 * 10) "Admiral Boom" was to be the theme song for the cannon-firing neighbor of the Banks Residence, but it was cut by Walt Disney as being unnecessary. The melody of the song remains in the film, and the bombastic theme is heard whenever Boom appears onscreen. One line from this song ("The whole world takes its time from Greenwich, but Greenwich, they say, takes its time from Admiral Boom!") is spoken by Bert early in the film.
 * 11) "Sticks, Paper And Strings" was an early version of "Let's Go Fly A Kite."
 * 12) "Lead The Righteous Life", an intentionally poorly written hymn, was to have been sung by Katie Nanna (Elsa Lanchester) along with Jane and Michael prior to Mary Poppins' arrival. The melody was later reused for a similar song in The Happiest Millionaire
 * 13) "The Pearly Song" was not deleted per se but was instead incorporated into "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".

The Compass Sequence, a precursor to "Jolly Holiday", was to be a multiple-song sequence. A number of possible musical components have been identified:
 * 1) "South Sea Island Symphony"
 * 2) "Chinese Festival Song"
 * 3) "Tim-Buc-Too" — elements of this were reused for "The Chimpanzoo" which was also cut
 * 4) "Tiki Town" — the melody was reused for "The Chimpanzoo"
 * 5) "North Pole Polka"
 * 6) "Land of Sand" — later rewritten as "Trust In Me" for the animated version of The Jungle Book
 * 7) "The Beautiful Briny" — later used in Bedknobs and Broomsticks
 * 8) "East is East" — another variation on the unused "Mary Poppins Melody".

Deleted scores and music

 * The "Step in Time" sequence ends with the chimney sweeps being scattered by an onslaught of fireworks fired from Admiral Boom's house. In the final film, the scene plays out with sound effects and no music. The DVD release included the original version of the scene which was accompanied by a complex instrumental musical arrangement that combined "Step in Time", the "Admiral Boom" melody (see above), and "A Spoonful of Sugar". This musical arrangement can be heard on the film's original soundtrack.
 * Andrews recorded a brief reprise of "Chim Chim Cher-ee" which was to have accompanied Mary, Bert, and the children as they marched across the rooftops of London (an instrumental reprise of "A Spoonful of Sugar" was used as a march instead; however, Andrews and Dick Van Dyke can still be seen and heard singing a reprise of "Chim Chim Cher-ee" in that sequence, just before the other chimney sweeps appear for the "Step In Time" number).
 * The robin Mary Poppins whistles with in "A Spoonful of Sugar" originally sang a lyric as well.
 * Andrews also recorded a brief yodel which breaks into the first line of "A Spoonful of Sugar" which was to have been used to "activate" the smoke staircase prior to the "Step In Time" number. Although cut from the film, footage of Andrews performing this exists and was included on the 2004 DVD. The DVD also indicates that an alternate version of the yodel performed by Dick Van Dyke may also exist.

Release
Mary Poppins grossed between $31 and 33 million during its initial run. The film was re-released theatrically in 1973 and earned an estimated $9 million in North American rentals. It was released once more in 1980 and earned and another $14 million, and achieved a total lifetime gross of over $102 million. The film was very profitable for Disney. Made on an estimated budget of $4.4 to 6 million,  it was reported by Cobbett Steinberg to be the most profitable film of 1965, earning a net profit of $28.5 million. Walt Disney would took his huge profits from the film and purchased 27,500 acres in central Florida and financed the construction of Walt Disney World. Disney died in 1966, just prior to the beginning of the construction phase.

Home media
Mary Poppins was first released in the early 1980s on VHS, Beta, CED and Laserdisc. In 1994, 1997 and 1999, it was re-released three times as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection. In 1998, this film became Disney's first DVD. In 2000, it was released on VHS and DVD as part of the Gold Classic Collection. In 2004, it had a 2-Disc DVD release in a Digitally Restored 40th Anniversary Edition as well as its final issue in the VHS Format. The film's audio track featured an "Enhanced Home Theater Mix" consisting of replaced sound effects (to make the soundtrack more "modern") and improved fidelity and mixing and some enhanced music (this version was also shown on 2006-2012 ABC Family airings of the movie.) On January 27, 2009, the film was released on DVD again as a 45th anniversary edition, with more language tracks and special features (though the film's "Enhanced Home Theater Mix" was not included.) Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray as the 50th Anniversary Edition on December 10, 2013.

Critical reaction
The film received universal acclaim by film critics. Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 100% of critics gave the film a "fresh" rating, based on 43 reviews with an average score of 8.3/10. The site's consensus says, "A lavish modern fairy tale celebrated for its amazing special effects, catchy songs, and Julie Andrews's legendary performance in the title role."

Variety praised the film's musical sequences and the performances of Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, in particular. Time lauded the film, stating, "The sets are luxuriant, the songs lilting, the scenario witty but impeccably sentimental, and the supporting cast only a pinfeather short of perfection."

Critic Drew Casper summarized the impact of Mary Poppins in 2011; "Disney was the leader, his musical fantasies mixing animation and truly marvelous f/x with real-life action for children and the child in the adult. Mary Poppins (1964) was his plum. ... the story was elemental, even trite. But utmost sophistication (the chimney pot sequence crisply cut by Oscared "Cotton" Warburton) and high-level invention (a tea party on the ceiling, a staircase of black smoke to the city's top) characterized its handling."

Legacy


Mary Poppins is widely considered to be one of the greatest films of all time and Walt Disney's "crowning achievement".


 * American Film Institute
 * AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies - Nominated
 * AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs - Nominated
 * AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains:
 * Mary Poppins - Nominated Hero
 * AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs:
 * "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" - #36
 * "Chim Chim Cher-ee" - Nominated
 * AFI's 100 Years of Musicals - #6
 * AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers - Nominated
 * AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies - Nominated
 * AFI's 10 Top 10 - Nominated Fantasy Film