The Story of How 'Mary Poppins' was made

Rating: 7/10 (21 December 2013)

I saw "Saving Mr. Banks", starring Tom Hanks-Captain Phillips, Saving Private Ryan; Emma Thompson-Men in Black 3, Nanny McPhee; Colin Farrell- Seven Psychopaths, Horrible Bosses and Bradley Cooper-Trophy Wife-t.v., The West Wing-t.v..
This is the story of how Walt Disney, played by Tom, tried to persuade the author of 'Mary Poppins', played by Emma, into making a Disney movie of her work. Around 1938 is when Tom first tried to get the rights to it because of his daughters loving the book so much. Every year, for twenty years, he kept trying but Emma did not want her beloved piece of fiction to be turned into a cartoon, like Mickey Mouse-she hated animation, and at that time, Disney had only made animated movies. After twenty years, in 1961, she finally agreed to meet with Tom and hear him out, as long as she had final approval-no animation. The movie tells two stories simultaneously; one is the negotiations between Tom and Emma in 1961 and the other takes place in 1907, in Australia. At first, you may wonder what is going on but you soon find out how they are connected. Colin is in the 1907 story in Australia and Bradley is in the newer one in 1961. Emma is very unlikable; she hates just about everything they show her, but there is a reason for it. There is a lot of humor in the movie but be ready for some tearful moments, too. FYI: If you are familiar with 'Mary Poppins', you probably know about the animated penguins sequence and you probably know who Mr. Banks is. Also, in real life, Tom Hanks is a distant cousin of Walt Disney and next year, 2014, is the fiftieth anniversary of the release of 'Mary Poppins'. It's rated "PG-13" for some unsettling images-some smoking and drinking- and has a running time of 2 hours & 5 minutes. It was an interesting and entertaining movie and I enjoyed it, as well as my wife. I'm not too sure if little kids would enjoy it but I would buy this on DVD.