Simple Joys of Disney Magic

Rating: 7/10 (2 March 2014)

Saving Mr. Banks dramatizes the story behind the Disney classic Marry Poppins, which reveals the dislikes of the author, P.L. Travers, towards the vision of Walt Disney and his crew to her beloved book. The promotions promise to explore the relationship between the author and the filmmakers that then eventually lead to the existence of the said film. But most of the time, this is Travers' story about how this tale means to her life. The two sided stories are compelling enough, though there are times that feels a little lacking, but nevertheless, it is a quite fun light entertainment.
One side of the movie is Travers' troubled childhood that was at first illusioned by his father's stories until reality fades it into something less magical. The other side is where Hollywood wanted to make her work look shallow in comparison which results to a personal outrage. Her demands sounded preposterous at the start, but thanks to the constant flashbacks it surely takes a lot of time explaining her thoughts by reflecting the pain from the past every time there is a contradiction coming.
What's a bit disappointing here is the author's relationship with Walt Disney doesn't seem enough, like Disney is just a friend that sometimes appear with hardly any build up. The most memorable bits of the pre-production segment are the ones when it's making a joke out of Travers' demands. It's easy to understand that she's difficult to work with, but nice conversations with the people she bumped into seems to be the only solution to calm her down. Things may get too easy around, in other terms, it provides a warmth that we rarely get in movies in a while.
It was the actors who made it so likable. Emma Thompson is terrific, she gives more depth than anything else here by realistically delivering whatever P.L. Travers has to express. Tom Hanks brings a charming enthusiasm that nicely fits to Walt Disney. The rest like Jason Schwartzman, B.J. Novak, and Paul Giamatti adds up the delight to its lightheartedness.
The real story of the making of Mary Poppins wasn't actually as ultimately pleasant as this movie portrayed. It would have been more satisfying if it wasn't too afraid to be too negative on the situation, but by the way, this is a Walt Disney production, how could this be a less nicer play? In other mindset, this is a totally feel-good movie that is loyal to the genre's emotion and heart, and I don't think anyone wouldn't like to have that kind of pleasant experience. Saving Mr. Banks is already pretty amiable to be enjoyed.