A Reel 60: MARY POPPINS

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" 

This week marks the 60^th anniversary of Walt Disney Pictures’ MARY POPPINS. 

 

Often considered to be Walt Disney Pictures’ crowning live-action achievement, MARY POPPINS was directed by Robert Stevenson and based on the books by P.L. Travers. It told the tale of a magical nanny who visits a dysfunctional London family and uses her unique style to bring them together. 

 

The film was mostly based on the first book in Travers’ series, which was a favorite of the daughters of Walt Disney. Disney attempted to buy the rights to the books as far back as 1938, but was refused by Travers. He would finally succeed in 1961, with Travers holding script-approval rights. The relationship between Travers and Disney was rocky at first, but would improve throughout the production. 

 

By March of 1961 casting had begun. The role of Mary Poppins would go to Julie Andrews, who would be appearing in her first feature film. The rest of the cast would include Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynis Johns, Karen Dotice, Matthew Garber, Elsa Lanchester, and Ed Wynn. Filming would take place from May to September of 1963, with post-production and animation work taking another 11 months. A sequence involving Andrews and Van Dyke dancing with animated penguins would use new techniques combining live-action and animation. The music and lyrics would be composed by brothers Richard Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. 

 

MARY POPPINS would have its premiere on August 27, 1964, at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles ahead of its September wide-release date. It would receive universal acclaim from critics, and would finish as the highest-grossing film of the year. At the 37^th Academy Awards, it would receive 13 nominations, a record for any Disney film. It would win five; Best Actress for Julie Andrews, along with Best Film Editing, Original Music Score, Visual Effects, and Original Song (Chim Chim Cher-ee). It would be the only Walt Disney film to earn a Best Picture nomination in his lifetime. In 2013, it was selected for preservation in the United States Film Registry. A biographical drama on the making of the film, SAVING MR. BANKS, was released in 2013. A sequel, MARY POPPINS RETURNS, arrived in 2018. 

 

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After 60 years, MARY POPPINS has become so embedded in our culture that it is difficult to imagine a world without her. Glances at chimneys spark visions of dancing chimneysweeps, cherry blossom trees remind us of the Banks’ beautiful and charming Cherry Tree Lane, and moms across the world will say “spit-spot” in an attempt to keep their kids moving along…and sometimes while mimicking Julie Andrews’ razor-sharp delivery. Even for those who have barely watched the film, there is a little bit of MARY POPPINS in everyone. 

 

In 1964, MARY POPPINS brought Walt Disney Pictures back into relevance after a string of box office troubles. Since then, the character has become as big of a part of Disney as Cinderella’s castle. The film represents everything that Disney would master so well; family films that are fun, serious, important…and even magical. 

 

“…Practically perfect, in every way.”