Mr. Disney, Is That Really You?

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2013)

Wait, what? Disney is making a film about Walt Disney? This surely can't be good or genuine. Fortunately, I was proved wrong because even for those who're desperately attempting to discover some substantial flaw, the movie quickly wins you over. Saving Mr. Banks essentially covers the real-life accounts of Disney's and P.L. Travers' (the author of Mary Poppins) relationship. By the time of the early 1960's, Walt Disney had already become the greatest of moguls in Hollywood and his vast empire had already been established. In sum, he was largely successful- living the dream- but one astronomical desire plagued his mind: the wish to capture one of his favorite books (Mary Poppins) on the big screen in typical, magical Disney fashion. However, Travers wasn't exactly the friendliest and easiest individual to work with, fretting over every single detail of life. Once her agent and Walt Disney Pictures finally convinces her to take a flight to LA and sign on for the project, firstly ensuring her significant control behind the production, the true issue emerges: how will the picture come to be when you have two powerful storytellers vying with their own visions? Throughout the narrative, we alternate between the present and Travers' past in which she grows up in Australia with a troubled family that are forced to deal with life-threatening difficulties.
Basically, we're allowed the room to breath and laugh for a certain amount of time, and then, we're relocated to the tear-jerking story of her past, and it switches back and forth from thereon. This institutes a welcoming balance between raw emotion (I could honestly feel the tears lingering in my eyes, waiting to descend) and fun/hilarity. Using the sheer feistiness of Emma Thompson's character (Travers), we're met with plenty of hysterical scenes in which she struggles to adapt to an environment she's not exactly fond of. A significant factor behind the amusement- aside from its utter joviality- to be had with this film are the mesmerizing performances. Emma Thompson is exceptional and will undoubtedly be one of my nominees for Best Actress this year when considering her ability to convincingly pull off a truculent role, being exposed to various circumstances as we observe the genuine reactions. Colin Farrell portrays her alcoholic and deeply distressed father whenever we encounter yet another flashback. Needless to say, his performance definitely deserves recognition; in fact, Farrell and Thompson persistently compete with one another as I found both renditions highly remarkable. Rarely do I witness Farrell take on such a dramatic and mentally taxing role, and he fully delivers in this case. And, of course, we have everyone's favorite, Tom Hanks, who depicts Walt Disney in all his larger-than-life stature.
Quite interestingly, the premise sees a rare storyteller (who still possesses artistic integrity and a strong will in what the next step is) face off against a standard businessman who is looking to persuade and reap profits. Here is ultimately where my issue lies: it seems like an overly positive and safe representation of the Walt Disney who (reportedly) infamously supported the Nazi's, carried a sexist mentality, and so on. That's particularly why I was bothered by Disney Pictures' involvement in this cinematic piece since- no matter what- they'd most absolutely downplay any negative characteristics of Walt Disney. With the story's progression, we never caught any hints of his greed (any instances were played off as light jokes), aggressive ambition for seizing his goals, etc. No, apparently, Walt Disney was thoughtful, kind, and joyous.
As we continue along with this sensational tale, a terrific soundtrack, brought to you by the amazing Thomas Newman's talent and vigor, complements the varying emotion we encounter therein; sometimes lively and gleeful- effectively capturing the alluring atmosphere- and sometimes tragic and melancholy- focusing on the troublous life her younger self led- (what Newman does best as can be proved by the likes of Road to Perdition, The Green Mile, American Beauty, etc.). With that being said, some of the tracks feel slightly too similar to The Newsroom's theme song. From time to time, Newman enjoys repeating himself, but it's still beauty to one's ears, regardless.
While we're on the subject of Travers' childhood, I found the whole "flashback" storyline more intriguing than the main one with the plot's advancement. There was just so much more transpiring in history- dramatic, surprising- while the present merely concentrated on Travers' predictable development as a human being. This being a Disney movie at the end of the day, to no surprise, the story loses a fair share of cynicism towards the end, and the last half an hour just feels too "Disney-like," which is jarring when regarding the more authentic feel of the first half. In a predictable manner, Travers loses that fiery flare, and a sense of sentimentality suddenly invades the story. All in all, there's no doubt that I immensely enjoyed Saving Mr. Banks, and the time of year is certainly fitting for such a pleasurable and humorous experience. There's too much likability within for me to expect any probable disappointment, and thus, I enthusiastically recommend this magical picture to everyone.