Mary Poppins Returns review: Wind’s in the East, mist coming in, something is brewing, about to begin. It must mean that, after 54 years, Mary Poppins is returning to cast her spell on audiences once more. But how does this belated sequel match up to the beloved original?
Mary Poppins Returns review – Photo Credit: Walt Disney Pictures
Mary Poppins Returns review
Mary Poppins has charmed generations of viewers across the years, becoming a firm family favourite in many households as parents introduce it to their children and so on and so forth. There is no doubt that there is a great deal of affection for the film, proving nostalgic for people of all ages. While this reviewer has never been that enamoured with the original (ducks for cover), there can be no denying the love out there for it, which automatically puts a great deal pressure on this five decades later sequel with an all-new cast and an all-new Mary.
The film takes place in the 1930s, two decades after the original, picking up with the Banks children, Michael (Ben Whishaw) and Jane (Emily Mortimer) when they’re all grown up. With the Great Depression looming over the city, Michael and his young family, made up of Annabel (Pixie Davies), John (Nathanael Saleh) and youngest Georgie (Joel Dawson), have been met with hard times following the death of Michael’s wife, made worse by the fact their family home is threatened with repossession by the bank. Now would seem the perfect time for some magical intervention from a certain Nanny.
From the very first frame, there is no doubt that director Rob Marshall and his team adore the original and are going out to do all they can to recapture the spirit that made that film cast such a spell on audiences for 50+ years. All the ingredients are here, banking subplots and all, with Lin-Manuel Miranda in place of Dick Van Dyke as lamp lighter Jack. There’s an animated sequence pretty much in exactly the same place in the narrative, there’s a dance in the misty London evening with Jack’s lamplighter pals, and even a musical number with an eccentric relative that goes all Topsy Turvy.
Marshall and his team figure the best way to recapture the spirit of the original is to hit the same beats, simply swapping out details of the sequences with new characters and new songs, offering a pastiche that clearly is aiming to tap into nostalgia by cloning the structure of the original. As a result though, it loses a certain spark. It doesn’t feel particularly fresh at any point despite the razzmatazz of modern visual effects (which range from impressive to pretty ropey), and often lulls when you end up anticipating pretty much every sequence before it arrives.
This approach to copying the original’s structure clearly comes from a place of adoration for the original, but it does make this sequel feel rather slavish to what has come before it. Where that sense of duty to the original comes in handy is in the performances of the cast. Everyone is on their A-game to go out and entertain, clearly buoyed by the fact that they are all starring in a Mary Poppins sequel. Miranda’s cockney is stronger than Van Dyke’s before him, while Whishaw and Mortimer really add a great deal of heart to the proceedings with two very endearing performances, and the young child actors are clearly having the time of their lives.
Related: Three new character posters for Mary Poppins Returns
The gem of the cast though has to be Emily Blunt. It is no easy feat following in the footsteps of an Oscar-winning Julie Andrews performance, but Blunt makes it look effortless. Her Mary feels more sarcastic with more of a wicked sense of humour beneath her prim and proper demeanour. It makes Blunt’s Mary all that much more enchanting, more than maintaining the spirit of Andrews while contributing something new to the mystifying figure of Mary Poppins.
Even while the film feels far too slavish to the original for its own good, there is no stopping a smile from forming on your face during some of the magical sequences. Surprisingly, and to be honest quite refreshingly, none of the original songs are recycled, with Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s brand-new song-book capturing the spirit of the Sherman’s Brothers work while adding more of a Broadway flavour in their music and lyrics. While the songs aren’t quite as catchy as anything in the original (to be fair, they do have 50 years of existence on their side), they prove to be quite fun in the moment, with ‘Can You Imagine That’ and ‘The Cover Is Not the Book’ standing out as highlights.
The occasion of making a new Mary Poppins film has clearly gotten to everyone involved, for better and worse. While the film often feels like a weird, sometimes manic, clone of the original that offers little that’s new, it is the cast and new songbook which make this return worthwhile. Those who are absolutely enamoured with the original will find a great deal to love, but those less attached to it may struggle to find that much to enjoy. But there’s certainly heart and enchantment in here that has the power to occasionally sweep you off your feet. While far from practically perfect in every way, there is still some magic and charm to be found that should prove to be irresistible to anyone who’s been longing for Mary to return.
Mary Poppins Returns review by Andrew Gaudion, December 2018.
Mary Poppins Returns is released in cinemas on 21st December 2018.
