Mary Poppins [50th Anniversary Edition] [2 Discs] [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray/DVD]

Director: Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson

Overview

Long resistant to film adaptations of her Mary Poppins books, P.L. Travers finally succumbed to the entreaties of Walt Disney, and the result is often considered the finest of Disney's personally supervised films. The Travers stories are bundled together to tell the story of the Edwardian-era British Banks family: the banker father (David Tomlinson), suffragette mother (Glynis Johns), and the two "impossible" children (Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber). The kids get the attention of their all-business father by bedevilling every new nanny in the Banks household. Whem Mr. Banks advertises conventionally for another nanny, the kids compose their own ad, asking for someone with a little kindness and imagination. Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews in her screen debut) answers the children's ad by arriving at the Banks home from the skies, parachuting downward with her umbrella. She immediately endears herself to the children. The next day they meet Mary's old chum Bert (Dick Van Dyke), currently employed as a sidewalk artist. Mary, Bert, and the children hop into one of Bert's chalk drawings and learn the nonsense song "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in a cartoon countryside. Later, they pay a visit to Bert's Uncle Albert (Ed Wynn), who laughs so hard that he floats to the ceiling. Mr. Banks is pleased that his children are behaving better, but he's not happy with their fantastic stories. To show the children what the real world is like, he takes them to his bank. A series of disasters follow which result in his being fired from his job. Mary Poppins' role in all this leads to some moments when it is possible to fear that all her good work will be undone, but like the magical being she is, all her "mistakes" lead to a happy result by the end of the film. In 2001, Mary Poppins was rereleased in a special "sing-along" edition with subtitles added to the musical numbers so audiences could join in with the onscreen vocalists.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/10/2013
UPC:	0786936836110
Original Release:	1964
Rating:	G
Source:	Walt Disney Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:19:00
Sales rank:	2,608

Special Features

English SDH; All-new becoming mr. sherman - enjoy a conversation between legendary composer Richard Sherman and actor Jason Schwartzman (who plays Richard Sherman In Saving Mr. Banks) about writing songs for Mary Poppins; All-new mary-oke sing-along; Deleted song "Chimpanzoo"; A magical reunion with Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and Richard Sherman; Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: the making of Mary Poppins

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Julie Andrews	Mary Poppins
Dick Van Dyke	Bert
Glynis Johns	Mme. Banks
David Tomlinson	M. Banks
Ed Wynn	Oncle Albert
Hermione Baddeley	Ellen
Matthew Garber	Michael
Reta Shaw	Mrs. Brill
Karen Dotrice	Jane Banks
Elsa Lanchester	Katie Nanna
Arthur Treacher	Constable Jones
Reginald Owen	Admiral Boom
Jane Darwell	Bird Woman
Arthur Malet	Mr. Dawes Jr.
Don Barclay	Mr. Binnacle,Actor
Alma Lawton	Mrs. Corry
Marjorie Eaton	Miss Persimmon
Marjorie Bennett	Miss Lark
Cyril Delevanti	Mr. Grubbs
Lester Matthews	Mr. Tomes
Clive L. Halliday	Mr. Mousely
Doris Lloyd	Depositor
Major Sam Harris	Citizen
James Logan	Actor
Dal McKennon	Fox
J. O'Malley	Actor
Irwin Kostal	Conductor,Composer
Richard M. Sherman	Composer,Composer

Technical Credits

Don DaGradi

Bill Walsh

Robert Stevenson	Director
Don DaGradi	Screenwriter
Bill Walsh	Producer,Screenwriter
Walt Disney	Producer
Peter Ellenshaw	Special Effects
Eustace Lycett	Special Effects
Robert A. Mattey	Special Effects
Hamilton Luske	Special Effects
Bob Broughton	Special Effects
Robert O. Cook	Sound Effects
Dean Thomas	Sound Effects
Franco Bassi	Sound Effects
Chris Pinkston	Sound Effects
Kevin Porter	Sound Effects
May Boss	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

Mary Poppins was one of the most successful of a long line of Disney musicals, enjoying enduring and widespread popular acclaim. The film introduced Julie Andrews to the silver screen and offered Dick Van Dyke an opportunity to stretch his television-honed talents in a more demanding medium. Andrews' performance has become iconic, as her prissy and tight-lipped title character ironically liberates the children trapped in a stultifying Edwardian England home. She can sing like a bird, and uses that talent to great advantage in the film's delightful and award-winning tunes. Despite a ridiculous Cockney accent, Van Dyke is full of playfulness and creative spontaneity. The story's attack on the materialistic values and staid lives of turn-of-the-century England is undercut by the Disney-like romanticizing of the lives of the working class, particularly the chimney sweeps. The children give predictably too-cute performances, but the direction by Robert Stevenson keeps things moving briskly enough that we don't get stuck in sticky sweetness. The entire set was constructed indoors and it shows: the "outdoor" scenes are bathed in a dull gray light. Still, there are a number of unforgettable song-and-dance sequences that stand the test of time, and the tale's overall subversiveness is distinctly appealing. Nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, Mary Poppins took home five statuettes, including Best Actress for Andrews, an award widely interpreted as a consolation prize for being passed over when Audrey Hepburn was cast in the movie version that same year of My Fair Lady, the role that made Andrews a star on-stage.