Saving Mr. Banks

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2013)

Mary Poppins is one of my favourite Disney films of all time, and when I heard that the studio were making a film about how it came to be, I was very much intrigued, not just by the good casting but the highly positive reviews definitely grabbed me, from director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side). Basically, set in 1961, Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) has been wanting to make a movie based on the popular Mary Poppins novels by British author Pamela 'P.L.' Travers (BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated Emma Thompson), she has refused for the last twenty years to agree to him obtaining the rights, it is only because of her lack of book sales and money running out that she is reluctantly going to Los Angeles to meet the filmmaker in person. She has no intention of accepting her magical nanny books becoming films unless she is assured that it will not be mauled by the Hollywood machine, she especially dislikes the idea of Disney creating an animated or musical adaptation, and she signs a contract that promises this will not all happen, but Walt, his scriptwriters and composers are pulling out all the stops to make her happy to accept the deal. In the two weeks she spends at the Disney studios, and driven around some places by her cheerful driver Ralph (Paul Giamatti), Pamela is shown imaginative storyboards and sketches for costumes and sets, and the talented Sherman brothers, Richard (Jason Schwartzman) and Robert (B.J. Novak), have many chirpy and enjoyable songs written, but it seems no matter what she will not be satisfied by any of these ideas. Pamela, while going through this creativity process, is being reminded of her childhood in 1906, when she grew up Queensland, Australia, and through flashbacks we see her as a little girl, real name Ginty (Annie Rose Buckley), with her siblings having many happy times with her delightful father Travers Goff (Colin Farrell), but of course she and her mother Margaret Goff (Ruth Wilson) know that he is slowly descending into depression and alcoholism, and of course it comes to the point where his addiction is killing him. Walt is surprised to see the small moments when Pamela may be being swayed by the magic of what the Mary Poppins film could become, especially by the wonderful songs from the Sherman brothers, and a short visit to Disneyland, Walt himself becomes highly excited that the deal may happen after all, but then with the mention of animation in the film, i.e. penguins, she is very angry and returns to London, England with the deal broken. Some time later Walt surprises Pamela at her house and reemphasises why the film means so much to him and his daughter, she is eventually swayed again, having been enchanted by the progress they have made, and Disney understanding how much the father Mr. Banks is a key element to the overall story, and after returning to America a few months pass, and in 1964 the movie Mary Poppins is ready. Pamela is not informed on an invitation to the world premiere, so she heads back to Hollywood herself and is ready to see the finished movie at the Graumans Chinese Theater, she looks around to see all of the audience laughing, singing along and having good fun, and she is moved to tears seeing David Tomlinson as Mr. Banks having bad luck, but in the end it is happy, Walt is happy to she that she cannot help but singalong with a song she joined in with earlier. The final shots of the film are photographs of the real Walt Disney and P.L. Travers during the making of the film Mary Poppins, and there is also the real tape recordings of them and the filmmakers during the script read through meetings. Also starring The Cabin in the Woods' Bradley Whitford as Don DaGradi, Kathy Baker as Tommie and Rachel Griffiths as Aunt Ellie. Thompson is fantastic playing the mostly cranky but slowly turned woman whose stories obviously mean a great deal to her, Hanks is equally fantastic as the most famous animation genius who is determined to create the film as the stories mean a lot to him too, the film is filled with both funny and highly moving sequences, mixing the lead female character's troubled past and the creation of one of the most treasured films of Disney, the best scene is definitely Travers moved and singing along (as I did) to "Let's Go Fly a Kite", this film definitely makes you think differently when you next watch Mary Poppins itself, a brilliantly enjoyable drama based on a true story. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Music for Thomas Newman, and it was nominated the BAFTAs for the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film, the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Kelly Marcel and Best Costume Design. Outstanding!