A fascinating tale charmingly told

Rating: Null/10 (12 July 2014)

I have not read any of the eight children's novels featuring Mary Popppins and published between 1934-1988 or seen the 1964 movie musical adaptation, but I enjoyed this cinematic explanation of how the childhood experiences in Australia of the author P L Travers inspired the original story and how Walt Disney and his creative team struggled so long and so valiantly to bring that story to the screen.
Tom Hanks never gives a poor performance and is excellent here in his portrayal of Disney, giving a moving testimony towards the end. However, this is Emma Thompson's movie because she is simply wonderful as Travers, hard yet vulnerable, cutting yet clever. The Mr Banks of the title refers to the fictional version of Travers' father Travers Goff who is played by Colin Farrell.