Rights holder / Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Mary Poppins Returns (Mary Poppins Returns) is a 2018 American family fantasy musical film directed by Rob Marshall from a screenplay by David Magee. It premiered in the United States on December 19, 2018.
The action takes us back to "Cherry Tree Lane" several decades after the events of the original Mary Poppins By 1964, Michael Banks is an adult, has three children, and is trying to keep the family home in a difficult time. His sister Jane is also there for him, but the old memories of childhood are gradually replaced by bills, responsibilities, and worries. It is then that Mary Poppins reappears in the Banks family's life, and with her comes Jack, unusual adventures, and a bit of that imagination that adults too easily forget.
Rob Marshall has the difficult task of continuing one of Disney's most recognizable classics without relying solely on its memory. His approach is deliberately traditional. 1930s London is recreated with impressive sets and costumes, and the song and dance numbers are placed at the center of the show. At times Mary Poppins Returns It almost mirrors the original—there are similar situations, moods, and even a sense of familiar rhythm. This may be seen as a drawback by viewers who expected a bolder sequel, but it also explains why the film retains the spirit of classic musicals so well. Critics have also noted this dependence on the original, although the general reception remains positive.
Emily Blunt doesn't try to copy Julie Andrews, and that's one of the most sensible decisions of the production. Her Mary Poppins is elegant, reserved, and slightly mysterious, but behind the apparent calm there's always a sense that she knows more than anyone else. Emily Blunt carries the role with enough confidence to make it his own interpretation, and Lin-Manuel Miranda energetically complements her image as Jack. Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer convincingly portray the now grown-up Michael and Jane, while Pixie Davis, Nathanael Sale and Joel Dawson bring the necessary childlike immediacy. The presence of Colin Firth, Meryl Streep, Julie Walters, Angela Lansbury and Dick Van Dyke adds another connection to Disney tradition without the film becoming entirely a nostalgic showcase.
The strongest side of Mary Poppins Returns remains the feeling of a great old-fashioned movie spectacle. The hand-crafted mood, musical scenes and fantastic moments have a charm that is difficult to achieve with computer effects alone. The film is not as innovative as the 1964 classic, but it does not try to be. It is a sequel made with obvious respect for its predecessor, which tells a familiar story of family, loss, hope and the ability to look at the world with childlike curiosity again. For fans of family films and musicals, this is a nice opportunity to return for a while to a more fairy-tale type of cinema.
