Walt Disney is often venerated as being a company that has impacted millions of individuals, whether that be during their childhood or their days of adulthood. Disney produces timeless films that anyone can enjoy regardless of their age. This— and the fact that they produce relatively well-made, cohesive animated and live-action features— has led Disney to great success.
Recently, however, there has been an increase in Disney’s desire to produce more live-action films of merit, which can be very hit or miss when a company shifts its focus from the film type it is most comfortable with. With the release of Disney’s latest attempt, “Mary Poppins Returns,” many are concerned with whether or not this film will maintain the sacred nature of the original film, “Mary Poppins.”
Though there is a lot of anxiety surrounding “Mary Poppins Returns,” it boasts a fairly impressive cast, with Emily Blunt as the title character, Lin-Manuel Miranda playing “Jack” who appears to be the new Bert of the film and even includes Dick Van Dyke (who played Bert in the original film) and Meryl Streep.
The original story of Mary Poppins was dubbed Walt Disney’s “magnum opus,” and follows the story of the Banks family as a mysterious and seemingly magical nanny descends from the heavens in order to answer a listing originally written by the Banks children. The 1964 film, based on P. L. Traver’s novel, was clever in its integration of animated characters and live footage. The music and plot are also well integrated, and, of course, no one could ever forget the angelic voice of Julie Andrews as she sang “A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Jolly Holiday” or “Feed the Birds (Tuppence A Bag).”
The movie has come to be beloved by many, earning an audience score of 86 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and even spawned the creation of a film that explained the film process, “Saving Mr. Banks,” starring Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks. A classic through and through, audiences never cease to enjoy the film regardless of how much time has passed.
“I’m the lucky lady that was asked to do this wonderful movie,” actress Julie Andrews said.
“Mary Poppins” is a character and a film that many consider to be a part of their childhood, if not a classic all together, and they wish to preserve that. Thus, many fear “Mary Poppins Returns” may be yet another live-action fluke.
The benchmark film for the most questionable integration of acting, singing and plot in a live-action Disney film in the past decade comes from the live-action version of “Beauty and the Beast.”
The film came out on on March 17, 2017, and raised a lot of eyebrows on a few major points that are crucial to the success of a film. Though Emma Watson’s acting is flawless, she isn’t well-versed in singing. Every singer’s voice was heavily autotuned for the most part, which distracted from the score which was originally regarded as being brilliant.
The film also had some new storylines that just weren’t cohesive, such as the plotline regarding the death of Belle’s mother. The movie had its strong points, however, they were simply less apparent than its weaker points.
With such promising young actors and even a returning cast member, it seems that the movie is going to yield satisfying results.
But not every live-action Disney movie has to be blemished or flawed.
Though there is a lot of anxiety surrounding “Mary Poppins Returns,” it boasts a fairly impressive cast, with Emily Blunt as the title character, Lin-Manuel Miranda playing “Jack” who appears to be the new Bert of the film and even includes Dick Van Dyke (who played Bert in the original film) and Meryl Streep.
This group of actors is well-versed in how to carry such a storyline on, with Blunt having starred in several films, including “Into the Woods,” and Miranda having created two musicals (“Hamilton” and “In the Heights”) and having helped to create music for several Disney movies, including “Moana.”
With such promising young actors and even a returning cast member, it seems that the movie is going to yield satisfying results.
The director of the film, Rob Marshall, is also known for his work with musical pieces such as “Chicago” and “Into the Woods.” Marshall has also worked with Disney on other projects like “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” and “The Wonderful World of Disney.”
The film has all the makings to rise above the benchmark of Disney live-action films in order to accomplish acclaim and to present a work that honors the original movie it was based on.
Photo courtesy of CNet
