This month on Dispodopolis we discuss the movie Mary Poppins. That would be the original Mary Poppins that was produced by Disney in 1964. We have decided to call this review the 101 analysis of Mary Poppins. Fiona, Ryan and I take a look at the cast and crew, as well as talk about some of our favorite parts of the movie. We finish by discussing the great leaps in technology that the movie made and the money it provided to push that envelope at Disney.
The ensemble cast that was put together by Disney, is an amazing cast that was hand picked by Walt Disney. Some of these actors contributed their best work that we would ever see on the big screen. One of those actors is Dick Van Dyke, as Bert and Mr. Dawes Senior. Mostly known for his small screen work before and after, Mary Poppins really stretches his wings. We see him as an over the top street performer, to a chimney sweep, and finally as providing the advice at the climax of the movie that changes the heart of Mr. Banks.
The man playing Mr. Banks, David Tomlinson, borrows from his own personal tragedy to bring a performance that outshines and captures our hearts. He changes from a stern distant father to a loving father wanting to be an essential role in the upbringing of his kids. This is also one of David Tomlinson’s best performances on the big screen.
From the amazing Julie Andrews, as Mary Poppins, and her first movie appearance to the last performance by the Academy Award winning Jane Darwell, as the bird lady, this movie showcases the talents of every generation of Hollywood. This movie has incredible chemistry in its cast. You can’t stop yourself from falling in love with every character.
We also discuss the amazing music that was created by the Pop artists Richard and Robert Sherman. Coming from a commercial pop background really helped them create amazing tunes that we walked out the theater singing. To finish off our discussion of the crew, we dive into the writing careers of Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi. This writing team brought to life many live-action movies that filled the screens from 1963-1971. They retired from Disney at the same time. Bedknobs and Broomsticks was their swan song and the last movie that Walt Disney had his hand print on before his death. But both of them, Walsh and DaGradi, were so much more than just writers at Disney.
To finish off this segment we discuss the creation of the animatronics division of WED Enterprises, MaPo. We go into details of how without the money produced by Mary Poppins, Walt Disney would not have had the ability to strengthen and grow his technological experiments at WED. Which of course leads us to the technological advances we see being created for Star Wars Land: Galaxy’s Edge.
Before we jump into our discussion of the movie Mary Poppins, we ask ourselves the question “What live action Disney movie would we like to be rebooted or sequel created?” Ryan and I get to choose one movie and once again Fiona picks two choices. Fiona has one conventional choice and one not as expected.
We would love to hear from you and your family. If you have any comments, questions or fun and fancy free thoughts for us, email us at comments@dispodopolis.com. Please enjoy our latest podcast, Dispodopolis.
Images from: waltdisneystudios.com
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