Review of Mary Poppins Returns (2018) by James K — 20 Dec 2018

In 1964, Walt Disney released an adaptation of "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers, and it became a huge hit. Not only did the film win several Oscars, but many have considered the film to one of the best Disney films ever made. However, Travers made more stories to the Mary Poppins character, and Disney never followed up. Until now. "Mary Poppins Returns" is pretty much exactly what one would get from the title alone. The film does offer a spectacular vision in both sight and sound, but lacks a decent story to tell. While "Mary Poppins Returns" may disappoint fans of the original film, it does offer up some great eye candy that's almost practically perfect in every way.

The story is set during The Great Slump (Britain's answer of the Great Depression). Jane and Michael Banks (Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw respectably), are now grown up, and are trying to make a living without their parents. Because of hard times, money is scarce, and Michael is trying to help raise his three children after his wife passed. Then, during a strong wind, Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) comes in and seeks to help Michael and his children have a lesson in fun and not repeat what his father did in the past. With help from a person named Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda), Mary Poppins and the children must try and help their father regain their house before something terrible happens.

"Mary Poppins Returns" is something of a mixed bag.

For starters, the film is very impressive on a technical level. The sound design is excellent as it brings forth a lot of unique and interesting situations For instance, there is a scene near the beginning of the film where Mary Poppins and children are in an underwater world, and the sound design really shows off here.

Next up, the set designs and costumes almost feel like an exact replica of the original film, just with a modern coat of paint. The time period of the 1930s not is a tribute to when the original books were set, but also a good transition of time from the first film. Plus, the costumes look great on each actor, and compliment the movie very well.

Speaking of which, the acting is pretty good here; under the supervision of Rob Marshall, the movie has a wide and varied cast. Blunt really shines as a new and modern Mary Poppins, and she has enough spirit from the first film that she makes the character her own.

One of the big highlights from this film is the special effects. Yes, most of the time, the usage of computers is seen here, but for a brief and very exciting moment, we get a sequence where the main characters are in an animated world, and everything's all done in hand drawn animation. And it looks really good.

Now, onto the main problems with the film.

For instance, the entire songs and music presented in the film just isn't as memorable as the Sherman Brothers main contributions. Plus, there isn't time for the audience to fully take in what just happened and fully catch their breath. This, in turn, can lead to some slow pacing issues, making the film drag; the original was slow, too, but there was a purpose for it as it showed what is happening with the story.

Speaking of which, the story is the biggest issue that the movie presents itself. It almost feels like the audience is watching a different version of the first film, just in a different setting. Plus, this movie has a main villain; Mary Poppins doesn't need a villain, and here, it feels forced and unnecessary.

In conclusion, "Mary Poppins Returns" almost feels unnecessary to do sequel, it does have its moments of creativity, but for intentions and purposes, the film tries very hard to recapture the magic that the original had.