Mary Poppins

Walt Disney's "Mary Poppins" is the pinnacle of the studios success. No film till that point or since then has been able to match the amount of accolade and success this film had received. It holds the record for the most Oscar nominations, 13, and wins, 5, any Disney movie had ever received. The movie was also a huge financial success becoming the highest grossing movie of its year, 1964, and the following year, 1965. The film went on to gross a whopping $102,000,000>, not much by today's standards, but ticket price was around a dollar per person, so that means over 102,000,000 people have seen this film in theaters and a countless amount of people have seen it on home video. "Mary Poppins" wasn't only a money making juggernaut or Oscar gold, it was also a landmark in special effects. From mixing live-action with animation to using wires to the full effect. It was seamlessly infused into the movie and enhanced it to another level.

I hadn't seen "Mary Poppins" in years, the last time was probably when I was in elementary school, but with the power of Netflix and my recent obsession with musical, I was able to watch this classic film. I completely love this film and had  a smile on my face the whole time. The depressing parts had me choked up and the more funny scenes had me laughing out loud. And I was completely astonished  by the special effects. I could not fathom how they had done it all without the use of computer graphics.

"Mary Poppins" is the story of The Banks children, Jane and Micheal, who are often neglected by their busy parents, so they always need a nanny around. After their last nanny quits on them the father, Mr. Banks, makes an ad for a more stricter nanny. However the kids have their own ideal nanny that they want. The father disagrees and rips up their ad and throws into the fire place. However the winds of change blow and Mary Poppins comes across the letter and immediately packs her bag and enters the lives of the Banks.

The story of "Mary Poppins" is very strong, at times it is very whimsical, but hefty with symbolism For instance wind plays a very strong role in the movie. It suggests that Mary Poppins can't stay at one place for a long time. It gives her enough time to change the hearts of people she comes into contact with. Laughter and being a kid is another strong part of the film. Laughter is important and states that i when a person laughs they can rise from any kind of situation. Regardless of what kind of job we have or how much money we make laughing is the key to happiness, as shown by the character Bert. Bert isn't very rich, but he is happy because he has laughter and his imagination.  It can pick us up and make up feel good again. The movie puts heavy emphasis on being a kid and how precious it is and also on the fact of giving. Not only give money, but giving joy and nourishing the youth.

The songs are probably some of the best in any musical. The Sherman brothers did a magnificent job with the songs and the score. The job they did on this movie is probably their best work. The music is varied from whimsical and fun, to ironic, to very emotional. They are all mostly catchy and a sound track that you might be humming all day long. No matter what the song it fits well into the movie, it doesn't feel like it's just there for show, but instead it's there to enhance the story with smart and full of symbolism lyrics. "Feed the Birds" for instance is a song that may sound like what the title says, but it is much more than that. It is about giving and looking past your nose. Many of the songs are like this and have double meaning that people realize as they get older.

The characters are fantastic, they are colorful and fun. However my favorite character and I am guessing most other peoples favorite as well is Bert. He represents the every man who is happy with what he has and enhances it through other means. He has hobbies like chalk drawing and singing to occupy his time. Bert is played by Dick Van Dyke and he escalates this character to another level, just with his sheer screen presence. He makes the character very charismatic. And Julie Andrew does a great job playing the lead Mary Poppins. Her voice is amazing, screen presence is powerful and charismatic, and she looked pretty good back then too.

Overall "Mary Poppins" is a fantastic movie, it achieves the highest level of story telling, with amazing characters, memorable music, and state of the arts special effects that don't look too dated by today's standards.. The movie also captures the imagination and the youthfulness of childhood in a timeless classic. I give "Mary Poppins" a 5/5, a stunning film and anything else I say will not do justice for the film.