Movie Review - Mary Poppins

Director: Robert Stevenson
Starring: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson
Year: 1964

It's hard to write reviews for great movies.  It's really easy to write them for bad ones, you just rant about all the problems and why the film was horrible, trying to be a little funny along the way.  But with good movies, sometimes it's hard to put your finger on why you liked it, why it was special to you.  Mary Poppins fits into that category.  It's so wonderful, but everyone's seen it, everyone knows the music, and so it becomes difficult to point out the reasons why someone else should love it, not just like it.  So I'll say this; Mary Poppins is magical.  The reason I love this movie is because it has magic in it, a power to take you away that even the most entertaining films don't possess.

This is the story of the Banks family.  The children, Jane & Michael, are fun-loving, care-free, rambunctious, and independent.  Their family is well-to-do, but their father works hard, their mother is busy, and so they are left in the care of nannies.  Their caretakers never last though, and the children long for a companion who is everything that they have ever dreamed of.  Well, wishes sometimes come true, and this one does in the form of Mary Poppins.  She is an extremely unique person who seems to make fun come to life and every day turn into an adventure.  Mary & the children go on outings, meet up with a kind local named Bert, explore the rooftops of London, and generally have a grand time while learning a little more about growing up, their father's life, and how they can all be a better and more loving family.

It really is an enchanting movie.  The character of Mary Poppins is so much of what we wish we could be; free-spirited, kind, firm, beautiful, impacting.  But sadly many of us are rather like Mr. Banks; rigid, unloving, ignorant to the world around.  So the movie has a lot to say about becoming the person you wish to be, enjoying the life you lead right now instead of in hindsight.  And the music, of course, is amazing.  A Spoonfull of Sugar, Feed The Birds, Chim Chim Cher-ee; songs we all know & love.  And now with the new movie Saving Mr. Banks coming out, this film is even more relevant and interesting.  There is so much depth to the story and to the characters, definitely more than I saw there when I was a kid.  So watch it with your family, watch it by yourself; it's a movie that can be enjoyed over & over again and one that never loses its importance or its magic.

My rating: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰