Mary Poppins Returns (2018) – Review

Nothing is as magical as seeing a movie on the big screen. Because of its size and sound, it is an environment in which you forget everything around you and where you are pulled into the screen. During the running time of the film you are in a place where anything is possible. I thought it would be a good idea to see Mary Poppins Returns at the cinema, because the original Mary Poppins was pure magic. The wonderful role of Julie Andrews, the songs of the Sherman brothers, which stayed on your mind for a long time and of course the fantastic worlds that the nanny took the kids to. It was a pity that after a little over two hours watching this new film, I had not left my chair for a second, looked at my watch regularly wondering when it would be over and questioning why this Mary Poppins movie does not work.

Mary Poppins is a beloved character and since anything is possible, she could be a nanny for any family in the world (and as this film shows, at any moment in time). Yet Disney chooses to let her return to the family from the first film. The two children of that time, Michael and Jane are now adults. Michael has three children (and their mother died, because it is a Disney movie), but the household is a mess and is he about to lose his parent’s house. Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) to the rescue! Bert the chimney sweeper has been replaced by Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda), who lights the lights in London. By not actually changing the setting, the film immediately sets itself up for comparisons with the original and that is not positive in this case.

First of all there is Emily Blunt, who basically acts fine, but does not have the magic of Julie Andrews. When Julie Andrews talked sternly to the children, it still felt warm, and Blunt lacked that. Then there is the music, which simply does not make a lasting impression and there isn’t a song you’ll be humming afterwards. And when these types of basic elements do not feel right, you also notice other details. There is a moment when Jack takes the children and Mary Poppins on his bike (with a ladder right on the back, on which they sit) and you clearly see that the stands to keep this in balance have been removed with some CGI-magic. The bike regularly goes back and forth like a seesaw and when Jack parks it in the middle of the street, without a stand, it doesn’t fall down. Plus there are BMX bikes in this movie at a time when these didn’t exist.

Like the original, this film also contains an animated section in which even the penguins return, but the animation style did not have the charm I had hoped for. If this film had sent Mary Poppins somewhere else and used other elements it might have worked a lot better for me, but this version unfortunately relies too much on its predecessor and therefore can not stand on its own. It lacks the magic that is so important. A severe disappointment.

[score4]