Mary Poppins
I apologize for my tardiness, but somehow I've managed to be extremely busy, even in the summer. Luckily, I have still had plenty of time to keep squeezing in books and movies (especially movies). Today's movie discussion is on an old Disney classic: Mary Poppins.
For starters, let me warn anyone who has not watched this that it is far longer than you would expect, especially from Disney. Secondly, I find it all a little confusing. The world in which these children live seems to be somewhere between normal and magical with a hint of a nonsensical children's story setting thrown in: every day at a certain time the Banks's house shakes and the women must grab everything to stop it from moving or breaking; the grandfather lives in a house that has been altered to appear like a battleship fully equipped with a working canon. Not to mention, despite the fact that they seem to emphasize that magic is not a part of their world, Mary Poppins arrives with all of her magic, a never-ending carpet bag, and an uncle who laughs himself to the ceiling. Surely this is not the England that we all know.
I think that the movie was cute and clever, however I find one aspect of it simply frustrating: Mary Poppins promotes fun and magic the one moment, but the next is begging the children to take life more seriously. Perhaps she is trying to teach balance, but I feel like her methods might send some mixed messages to the children.
I think that the combination of animation and film is bit odd, but also very neat to watch. It is very clearly the predecessor to our amazing graphics and CGI of the 21st century. Also, it adds a childlike whimsy to the chalk world scenes.
Another point of confusion for me is what role Bert actually plays in the story. Surely the whole thing could have occurred without him. Besides, I am not even sure who he is. Is he a chimney sweep, or simply a jack of all trades?
A few months back I watched Saving Mr. Banks and so for part of the movie I was attempting to identify how all of the characters, settings, and events related to the author's life. Here is what I got from my analysis: Mr. Banks is her father, except that he is a more serious version of him. He does not waste his life drinking or spend his free time playing around like a child with the actual children. Instead, Mr. Banks is dedicated to being a mature adult and doing his job at the bank. I think that Bert was made to embody the fun side of her father that she loved so much, but her mother despised. It was also partly this aspect of him that led to his issues later on. Mrs. Banks is a suffragette rather than a stay-at-home mother to show how her mother fought so hard to take control (or to have her husband take control). She appears to have almost flipped her parents personalities when inserting them into the book. Mary Poppins is supposed to be her aunt who came to take care of the family and straighten things up when her father got sick and died. However, she claims that Mary Poppins' real job was not to save the children from their father, but to save their father from himself. And this is where the flipping makes sense. Her aunt was a stern woman who made them all become more serious and face reality. Mary Poppins is able to come in and bring her light to a dark situation and she can save the father. Everyone was flipped and so the ending of the story could also be flipped. The father does not destroy himself, instead he brings his family back together.
Overall, a true Disney classic with a real heartfelt story.
For starters, let me warn anyone who has not watched this that it is far longer than you would expect, especially from Disney. Secondly, I find it all a little confusing. The world in which these children live seems to be somewhere between normal and magical with a hint of a nonsensical children's story setting thrown in: every day at a certain time the Banks's house shakes and the women must grab everything to stop it from moving or breaking; the grandfather lives in a house that has been altered to appear like a battleship fully equipped with a working canon. Not to mention, despite the fact that they seem to emphasize that magic is not a part of their world, Mary Poppins arrives with all of her magic, a never-ending carpet bag, and an uncle who laughs himself to the ceiling. Surely this is not the England that we all know.
I think that the movie was cute and clever, however I find one aspect of it simply frustrating: Mary Poppins promotes fun and magic the one moment, but the next is begging the children to take life more seriously. Perhaps she is trying to teach balance, but I feel like her methods might send some mixed messages to the children.
I think that the combination of animation and film is bit odd, but also very neat to watch. It is very clearly the predecessor to our amazing graphics and CGI of the 21st century. Also, it adds a childlike whimsy to the chalk world scenes.
Another point of confusion for me is what role Bert actually plays in the story. Surely the whole thing could have occurred without him. Besides, I am not even sure who he is. Is he a chimney sweep, or simply a jack of all trades?
A few months back I watched Saving Mr. Banks and so for part of the movie I was attempting to identify how all of the characters, settings, and events related to the author's life. Here is what I got from my analysis: Mr. Banks is her father, except that he is a more serious version of him. He does not waste his life drinking or spend his free time playing around like a child with the actual children. Instead, Mr. Banks is dedicated to being a mature adult and doing his job at the bank. I think that Bert was made to embody the fun side of her father that she loved so much, but her mother despised. It was also partly this aspect of him that led to his issues later on. Mrs. Banks is a suffragette rather than a stay-at-home mother to show how her mother fought so hard to take control (or to have her husband take control). She appears to have almost flipped her parents personalities when inserting them into the book. Mary Poppins is supposed to be her aunt who came to take care of the family and straighten things up when her father got sick and died. However, she claims that Mary Poppins' real job was not to save the children from their father, but to save their father from himself. And this is where the flipping makes sense. Her aunt was a stern woman who made them all become more serious and face reality. Mary Poppins is able to come in and bring her light to a dark situation and she can save the father. Everyone was flipped and so the ending of the story could also be flipped. The father does not destroy himself, instead he brings his family back together.
Overall, a true Disney classic with a real heartfelt story.
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