Tag: Mary Poppins

8 Things Parents Should Know About Saving Mr. Banks

Jim MacQuarrie

After 20 years of steadfast refusal, author P. L. Travers, in need of money, grudgingly agrees to entertain a movie offer from Walt Disney for her book, Mary Poppins. She flies to Los Angeles to work with Disney’s production staff, including screenwriter Don Da Gradi (Bradley Whitford) and songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman (Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak). Travers constantly clashes with all of them, as well as her affable chauffeur, Ralph (Paul Giamatti).

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Saving Mr. Banks: A Cast and Crew Roundtable

Jim MacQuarrie

Saving Mr. Banks tells the story of Walt Disney’s effort to film Mary Poppins; author P.L. Travers reluctantly travels to Los Angeles to meet with Disney and consider his offer, which she had previously rejected for 20 years. The intractable Travers and the relentless Disney clash repeatedly over differences major and minor; she objects to the use of animation, the casting of Dick Van Dyke, the inclusion of singing and dancing, and even whether the father in the story should have a mustache. Songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman (Jason Schwartzman and B. J. Novak) and screenwriter Don DaGradi (Bradley Whitford) bear the brunt of Travers’ constant objections, while Disney tries to figure out some way of getting her to sign the contract.

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First trailer for Saving Mr. Banks

Jim MacQuarrie

Disney has released the first trailer for their new film about a key point in the studio’s history, chronicling Walt Disney’s (played by Tom Hanks) relentless effort to acquire the rights to Mary Poppins, and author P.L. Travers’ (Emma Thompson) resistance to the notion. Saving Mr. Banks tells not only that story, but also the story of Travers herself and the events of her own life that inspired the creation of her famous nanny. In her books, Mary Poppins is, like Travers herself, a considerably less sweet and charming personality than the winsome figure played by Julie Andrews; she’s tough, unsentimental, and not given to indulgence of herself or anyone else.

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