Mary Poppins Returns

Here's the thing about Mary Poppins Returns: it is a well-made piece of family entertainment, with brilliant production design, cinematography, and an excellent performance by Emily Blunt, in a role that Julie Andrews made her own over fifty years ago. But, if you have seen that first movie, you might feel deja vu, because this sequel is a palimpsest, a copy of the original that just doesn't seem like the real thing.

A sequel to Mary Poppins has been brewing since the first film was a hit, but P.L. Travers would not allow Disney to make any more (apparently that big speech he made in Saving Mr. Banks didn't work twice). Now the Travers estate, probably with an eye more on the dollars than principle, allowed the film to go forward. Set in the 1930s (when Travers' books were set) it once again has Mary saving the Banks family, this time in the reliable "losing their home" plot.

As I watched the film, I enjoyed it, but I also noted how it perfectly fit the template of the first film. Instead of visiting Mary's Uncle Albert, they visit Cousin Topsy (both relatives end up on the ceiling). Instead of jumping into an animated world through a sidewalk drawing, they enter the world of a decorative bowl. Instead of dancing chimney sweeps, we have dancing lamplighters (and surely London had electric streetlights by the '30s). Instead of ending with kites, it's balloons. Instead of putting the children to bed with "Stay Awake," Mary sings the equally calming "The Place Where the Lost Things Go." Instead of a Banks family member marching for the women's vote, she marches for labor rights.

So if the film isn't terribly original, it's still of great quality. Blunt never brought Andrews to my mind, even while she was saying things like "Spit-spot!" Instead of Dick Van Dyke as a sweep, Lin-Manuel Miranda plays Mary's sidekick, a lamplighter (and Miranda's cockney accent is much better). Ben Whishaw, who has perpetually limpid eyes, and Emily Mortimer are fine as Michael and Jane Banks, all grown up, and the three child actors who play the children are also excellent.

And the film looks smashing. The design was just nominated for an Oscar, and some sets stand out, such as Cousin Topsy's repair shop. The cinematography perfectly captures the smoky quality of a London sky. The songs are okay--certainly nothing can match the Sherman Brothers' songs from the first film, several of which are commonly known around the world.

I do recommend this film. If you've never seen Mary Poppins, it will be new to you. IF you have, just sit back and enjoy, and you may even get a sentimental tear in your eye remembering how you reacted to that first film when you were wee.