Mary Poppins Returns

I'm certainly not the biggest Mary Poppins fan on the block, largely because I have a large gap of memory when it comes to that film. 

I watched it when I was very young (likely under 10) and haven't revisited it since. I generally know/remember that it was colorful, musical, whimsical, and gave us Supercalifragicexpialidocious which, as a word, blew my damn mind as a little kid. 

When Disney announced a Mary Poppins sequel, I moaned a little bit at the obvious cash grab that it appeared to be. "How far back are we reaching now to continue certain stories?!" I thought to myself. 

Then Emily Blunt became attached. Then Lin-Manuel Miranda. And my perception began to change. 

Now, I was never excited for Mary Poppins Returns. I was eager to see how it would do musically and I'm not sure I'll ever have a hard time watching Emily Blunt on screen so it wasn't exactly like you had to twist my arm either.

Luckily, and maybe a tad surprisingly, this was a film that other than one main issue, I enjoyed thoroughly. As a near-Christmas release it's perfect timing (those Disney execs know what they're doing) as it's family friendly for all and puts you in a general happy/Holiday spirit.

Oddly enough, Mary Poppins Returns starts off a little dull and underwhelming. Lin Manuel Miranda's Jack is riding around a dreary London on his bicycle singing about the lovely London sky. Given the sky is gray and polluted, you can tell he's either delirious or just generally our child-like positive character. The first song doesn't quite land either until it's circulated throughout the film as a sort of theme and I came to enjoy it (and have it stuck in my head). We're then given about 10-ish minutes of story building - the Banks family is about to lose their house - and finally Mary Poppins flies [read: floats] in. 

Get ready for some cheeseball effects. I loved em.

From the very first frame, Emily Blunt commands the role and the film is all the better for it. She brings out the light and best in each character she interacts with and acts as if she's been in this role for the entirety of the 50+ years it took to make the sequel. It's really something amazing to watch as it does feel like Disney is genuinely setting up the return of an iconic character and not just giving her a new coat of paint to try and resell to audiences. Not only is she a wonderful singer when the time comes for it, but she's got great comedic timing including some glorious dry wit, and just the perfect air of smugness that a prim and proper English nanny should have. Similarly for Miranda, he comes into his own once she's on screen and the film features him nearly just as much as her. He's obviously got the musical chops but acts a great compliment to Blunt as basically the only adult around that knows what magic is actually going on. 

This looks like a tragic newspaper
headline waiting to happen

Unfortunately Miranda didn't have a heavy hand in the writing/composing of the music and thus it's likely not as iconic as it could have been, but I still found that most of the songs earned their weight of screentime. It sounds odd to say the film has about a 50/50 hit mark with its music but that feels pretty common for a lot of films with musical numbers and also factors in a bit of personal preference. Nothing was outright terrible and the songs I "didn't enjoy" were mostly just slow and forgettable. On the other side of the coin, when Mary Poppins Returns is going all out with its music, it's often some of the most joyous movie making you'll see this year paired with fun visuals. This is a colorful, imaginative film - much like the original - and there are times where everything is swimming so perfectly you might begin to believe that Disney has another classic on their hands. My favorite moment in the film was a musical number in a cartoon land, "A Cover is Not the Book" and it was my high-point for the film. One where I had a smile on my face, was effortlessly entertained by Blunt, Miranda, dancing cartoon penguins, and the catchy tune that you would have thought me high. 

Where Mary Poppins Returns struggles is that it bites off more than it can chew from a plot perspective. Either that or...the more likely scenario...is that it doesn't do a great job managing how it gets to the end. It deals with some heavy themes which work to make it a better film and justify its existence, but it almost refuses to wrap up. And in hindsight it's a movie where several detours end up being so useless outside of giving us more song and dance, that it's a shame there wasn't a final edit somewhere. A film like Mary Poppins Returns shouldn't be over 2 hours long, but alas, it is and it's maybe the single biggest bullet in the "family friendly" sell over the Holidays because it tries to be epic in runtime but forgets the audience its aiming for will likely need to go to the bathroom 1-2 times throughout or may not have the attention span. Even I felt myself getting slightly perturbed with its extended exit, mainly because I didn't want it to keep ruining a good thing.

Miranda: "I'll kill you penguin. Don't you touch her."
Penguin: "Haaa! I'd like to see you try!"
Blunt: "What are you two talking about?"

Despite its questionable length however, Mary Poppins Returns is a surprise success story that will delight you. Once it gets clicking with Blunt's likely-to-be-iconic portrayal of the character, you believe in the same magic that the film sells to its children and be leaving the theater humming the toon of your favorite song.

CONS

• Far too long for a film like this. It shouldn't have gone much over 90 minutes in length
• In this regard it sort of refuses to end with a handful of "false peaks"
• I can think of at least 2 detours the film takes that could have been scrapped for a much tighter package without too much loss
• From a creative decision standpoint, the BMX bike tricks in one of the numbers was the absolute worst
• Handful of forgettable songs

PROS

• Blunt owns the role thoroughly. Beyond impressive and immensely watchable
• Similar story for Miranda with a less iconic character. Their pairing was a smart one
• Remainder of cast, including children actors, does well and there's not an outright weak link
• Surprisingly heavy story which gives it some heart and a decent reason for existing in the first place
• Grand and joyous visuals with lots of color and imagination and just the right tinge of crazy where you wonder if some Disney artists were doing some drugs (just like the good ol days)
• The visuals are coupled with some really catchy, fun, and well choreographed musical numbers
• Easily entertains and brings up your spirits with a lot of fun, a dash of whimsy, and a splash of magic

Rath's Review Score | 8.5/10