MARY POPPINS RETURNS – A Movie Review

Cast: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, Joel Dawson, Julie Walters, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep, Jeremy Swift, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, David Warner, Jim Norton, Dick Van Dyke, Angela Lansbury

Creative Team: Songs by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman • Choreography by Rob Marshall, John DeLuca & Joey Pizzi • Screenplay by David Magee • Based upon the novel by P. L. Travers • Directed by Rob Marshall

My Rate: 10 (from 1 to 10)

The Plot: Michael Banks, is now a widower with three little sons, on the brink of losing their home. But Mary Poppins is back to help him and his family 

The Movie: Since I saw the trailer for this movie that I’ve been very excited about it, but I never expected to fell in love with it in just a couple of minutes. But I fell head over heels for it! I know the original is an eternal classic and I enjoyed it very much, but I’ve to confess that, although it had better songs, I prefer this sequel… it’s very rare for that to happen to me!

I think director Rob Marshall did an amazing job recreating the magic of the original and giving it a modern pace that takes us from one scene to another with rhythm, imagination, humour and magic! He has a terrific sense of how a movie musical should work and took full advantage of the means at his disposition. Visually, the movie is amazing and the scenes between humans and cartoons are so real that we forget they are special effects.

It’s true, the characters sing and dance every time they get a chance and I love it! The sequence at the “Royal Doulton Music Hall” is fabulous and “Trip a Little Light Fantastic” is terrific and contagious. But there’s more, including a hilarious Meryl Streep giving us “Turning Turtle” and the great Angela Lansbury with the melodious “Nowhere to Go but Up”. The song “The Place Where Lost Things Go” is beautiful and “Can You Imagine That” magically funny.

In the title role, Emily Blunt is perfectly perfect, showing us what a great and versatile actress she is (early this year she was fighting monsters in A QUIET PLACE). I love Julie Andrews, but Blunt made the role her own. At her side, Broadway’s Lin-Manuel Miranda is the nice Jack, a lamp lighter who believes in magic. As Michael Banks, Ben Wishaw is like a lost big kid in need of a miracle and, has his sister, Emily Mortimer is sweet and always giggling. In a change of character, Colin Firth convinces as the bad guy and Julie Walters is funny as the Bank’s house maid. I already mentioned Meryl Streep, she’s at her best here, enjoying every minute of her performance and dear old Angela Lansbury is sweet as over. One last word for Dick Van Dyke, who played the characters of Bert and Mr. Dawes Senior in the original, and here plays, sings and dance as Mr. Dawes Jr. Having him in the cast was a nice touch by Marshall.

I can’t recommend this movie enough! The world is in terrible need of believing in the magic of Mary Poppins and the movie melted my heart, put a big smile on my soul and made me cry of happiness! I don’t know about you, but this is one of the best movies I saw this year! Don’t miss it and let Mary Poppins magic live in you; it’s good to be a child again!