Doesn't deserve the Oscar hype!

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2013)

'SAVING MR. BANKS': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Disney's Oscar hopeful about the production of their 1964 classic 'MARRY POPPINS'. The title 'SAVING MR. BANKS' refers to the father in that film (and the book it's based on). It centers around the novel's author, P. L. Travers, and Walt Disney's struggles to adapt her popular work into a movie. Emma Thompson stars as Travers and Tom Hanks plays Walt Disney. The film also features Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti, Bradley Whitford, Jason Schwartzman, B. J. Novak and Kathy Baker in supporting roles. It's overly sappy and doesn't deserve awards attention but it is a decent family drama film.
Thompson plays Pamela "P. L." Travers (as an adult) in the movie, which is set in 1961 and also has flashbacks to 1907 (when Pamela was just a young girl growing up in Australia). The film revolves around Walt Disney's (Hanks) attempts to convince Travers to let him turn her popular kids' book, 'Marry Poppins', into a Disney movie. Travers was very reluctant to do so and didn't trust Disney. She also didn't want any changes made to her story. The film focuses on Disney's long fight to win over Travers and also pays a lot of attention to Travers' inner struggles with letting go of her past. Farrell plays Travers' alcoholic but loving father (in the 1907 flashbacks).
The film is entertaining but it's drama and sentimentality seems really forced. I like a good emotional and touching movie but not when it's forced down my throat (like Disney often does with their films). I enjoyed Hanks and Thompson's performances but the P.L. Travers character is just a little too unlikeable (to relate to at all). It is funny though and the supporting cast is all good as well. It just feels way too much like a Disney movie (in a modern 'bad' way; not like the good old classics). Other than the forced drama it definitely isn't a bad film though (it just doesn't deserve the Oscar hype).
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