Emily Blunt makes ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ nearly perfect in every way for fans of the original film
For many fans, the notion of doing a remake or sequel to Mary Poppins is just ridiculous, yet Disney shocked audiences with the perfect cast.
Mary Poppins Returns is set decades after the original film with the famous nanny returning to advise the Banks children’s children. Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda lead the cast through another amazing musical adventure.
Disney navigates carefully, making homage after homage to the original 1964 classic, yet freeing Blunt to make Mary her own. Sadly, the film is basically the Star Wars: Force Awakens formula with a distracting Meryl Streep scene.
The rest of the cast is acceptable: Michael and Jane, the two Banks children at the center of the original tale, have grown up to become a grieving widower (Ben Whishaw) and an idealistic union organizer (Emily Mortimer). Michael has three children (played by Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh and Joel Dawson).
I say acceptable because they are just set pieces and several different actors could have been plugged into the role without anyone noticing.
It’s no surprise that Dick Van Dyke makes an incredible return, it was just odd that he doesn’t play the seem character. No other spoilers there.
Mary Poppins Returns proves Disney can revisit anything from their library to make a buck if they entertain their core audience carefully.
The film is fun, particularly for fans of musicals and the original, but is a bit too long and can’t escape from the shadow of its predecessor.
2018 started off with Blunt in the surprising A Quiet Place and now ends with Blunt’s Poppins – a pretty good year indeed.
Mary Poppins Returns earns 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars
If you are one of the aforementioned fans, add a star – you’ll love it.
She’s definitely nailed it with all the performance showcasing the characteristics of Ms. Poppins.