My girls and I saw Mary Poppins Returns this afternoon, and I loved it! I arrived home floating through the house, pirouetting as I prepared dinner for my family, sniffling a bit still from the tender parts. I was singing songs from both movies and felt as though I was light as air as I danced through the kitchen. In reality I can't dance a step, but so in the moment was I that it didn't feel that way. The movie was whimsical and touching and so reminiscent of my childhood. I cried no less than four times (even though no one died or had any major traumatic events, although the death of the children's mother was an overarching theme, causing many touching moments for this mamma), but after each teary scene, a lighthearted one followed, drying my tears and making me laugh.
I loved all the casting choices: Emily Blunt as the loving but no-nonsense Mary Poppins was wonderful, even though I am a serious Julie Andrews fan; Lin Manuel Miranda's talent was showcased as Mary's sidekick, and all of the other names made me happy too - Angela Lansbury, Meryl Streep, and definitely Dick Van Dyke's cameo - that man is still so agile at 93! My daughter told me that Julie Andrews was offered a cameo too - I would have loved that! Not sure if it's true or not, but my daughter said that Julie (we're basically BFFs, so I can call her Julie. Or Jules), turned down the cameo, saying that she wanted this to be Emily's movie. If it's true, yet another reason why I love her!
It feels like children today (mine included) seem to need more and more from entertainment and they have shorter attention spans to boot. Mary Poppins Returns was old-school; there were moments of animated whimsy, and it had an overall lighthearted feel. It seemed as if Mary Poppins came to save the day, but the real salvation was in the Banks family realizing that family was more important than material items, no matter their sentimental value.
I'm no movie critic, but this is the stuff I want in a movie - singing, dancing, feel-good storylines, and the realization that family and relationships are at the heart of everything.
Mary Poppins - many thanks, sincerely!
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