An Umbrella Wielding Nanny Goes Up Against A Mouse

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2014)

This is a story of a curmudgeon Australian born author bound to keep her story of a magical nanny out of the hands of Hollywood. It's also the story of a man named Walt who was determined to keep a promise to his daughters to turn the curmudgeon author's story into a movie. As Walt tries to persuade the author to hand over the rights to her books, the author keeps telling him that the story of Mary Poppins is not meant to be turned into a motion picture, for it is a story of her life, a story of her childhood and a story about her beloved father, the inspiration for George Banks in her tale.
That's exactly why this film is called Saving Mr. Banks. It's not just about P.L. Travers trying to save her stories from the gloved hands of Mickey Mouse, it's about letting go of the past, learning from it and using it to become the person that you are. This film makes you think of Mary Poppins in an entirely different light. I always liked that the meaning of the 1964 film was about Poppins helping Mr. Banks realize that he didn't need a nanny after all and that he should be the one to guide his children in the right direction, but to see the development, the struggles, the conflicts and the overall madness that occurred to get Mary Poppins made just makes you think to yourself.......We are so lucky that this film exists.
We can see why Travers didn't want her story mauled by the mouse house but at the same time, we can see why Walt Disney wants to turn Travers' beloved tale into a movie. There's no good guy or bad guy, it's just two entirely opposite individuals at entirely opposite ends of the fence. And I just love how Travers and Disney go at each other's throats, I mean they really play off of each other and you can really feel the tension between the two as they try to get their own ways. Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson were spectacular choices to play both Travers and Disney respectively and I think they'd be perfect contenders to receive Oscars.
There's also Dick and Bob Sherman, the songwriting team behind the 1964 classic as well as Paul Giamatti as Ms. Travers' car driver. The relationship between Thompson and Giamatti's characters is another highlight of the film and very heartwarming at times. Colin Farrell is also grand as Travers' father, an alcoholic banker who stills has a heart of gold. I also liked the woman who played the Travers' nanny, the obvious inspiration for Mary Poppins in Pamela's books.
You can also expect to hear a lot of songs from the beloved Disney film such as Feed The Birds and Let's Go Fly A Kite. And I have to admit that at the very end of this film, I got a bit choked up. Not that the ending was necessarily sad and depressing, but because it was bittersweet and changes the very way you look at things. From this day forward, I won't look at Mary Poppins the same way again. Seeing the making of one of my all time favorites has altered my entire view and I can honestly say that I like the film a heck of a lot more now than I did when I was 6 years old.
Saving Mr. Banks is a great film to close out 2013 and a great way to celebrate Mary Poppins' 80th anniversary. It has a tad for everybody, plenty of laughs, cries, and a timeless story about a timeless story. It's simply.....Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
I don't know if I spelled that right.