Mary Poppins
is a children’s book released in 1934 and written by P L Travers, a film
adaptation was released by Disney in 1964, with a screenplay by Bill Walsh and
Don DaGradi, both of whom had previously worked with Disney, in particular in
their animation department and had written Son of Flubber. The Sherman Brothers
also deserve some credit for the songs in this movie, which they had written.
PL Travers
objected to the use of musical numbers and animation, but Disney overruled
here, so it’s not hard to see why she was sour on the project. But does it do
justice to the book’s story? No, I’m not going to even pretend that it does, so
here’s my thoughts on the book just as a book.
The Book
Mary Poppins
is a children’s story, it’s filled with a sense of magic and weirdness that
kids are likely to be drawn to but lacks any real nuance or narrative, or
really much in terms of character for adults to enjoy reading on their own.
The Film
This film
does have its problems, in particular in regards to the ending, but I think
they did a marvellous job. Considering the technology that made this film
possible was very new around this, the animation/live action integration is
impressive. The songs are fantastic and the film provides wonder for kids
whilst also providing the depth and narrative the book oh so desperately needed
to appeal to adults.
Please note,
I am only looking at the first Mary Poppins Book, if ideas are taken from its
sequels, that’s great but I haven’t read those, so I’m judging this purely as
an adaptation of the book it’s named after.
