Jack and I enjoyed, as we expected, this story of prickly writer P.L. Travers being wooed by Walt Disney to sell him the rights to her novel Mary Poppins. A New Yorker subscriber since the 1970s, I had read the long 2005 article (you can read it too!) so knew a bit of the story. Writers Kelly Marcel (this is her feature debut and next is Fifty Shades of Grey) and Sue Smith (new to me) fleshed out the plot for director John Lee Hancock (I've seen only The Blind Side of his four previous features) to include Travers' Australian childhood. Trivia point: Marcel wrote the first draft, which was on the prestigious Hollywood "Black List" of the best unsold un-produced screenplays of 2011.
In the 1960s-era cast Emma Thompson (last blogged in Brave) is brilliant as the tight-lipped adult Travers; Tom Hanks (most recently in Captain Phillips) endearing as Disney, who just happens to have been a distant cousin of Hanks; Jason Schwartzman (mentioned in Moonrise Kingdom and covered in Fantastic Mr. Fox) and B.J. Novak (last in Inglourious Basterds) are great as the songwriting Sherman brothers; as are Bradley Whitford (he's done a bunch of features but is best known as Josh Lyman on 154 episodes of The West Wing, 22 wonderful episodes of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip as Danny Tripp, and I'm enjoying him in the dumb sitcom Trophy Wife) as the baffled producer and Paul Giamatti (mentioned in 12 Years a Slave, credits listed in The Ides of March) as the sweet driver. In the 1910s sequences, Annie Rose Buckley is adorable in her feature debut as little Helen, Colin Farrell (last in Seven Psychopaths), inexplicably missing from the trailer, is powerful as Helen's beloved father Travers Goff, and Ruth Wilson (The Lone Ranger) is no slouch as Helen's mother Margaret.
In the 1960s-era cast Emma Thompson (last blogged in Brave) is brilliant as the tight-lipped adult Travers; Tom Hanks (most recently in Captain Phillips) endearing as Disney, who just happens to have been a distant cousin of Hanks; Jason Schwartzman (mentioned in Moonrise Kingdom and covered in Fantastic Mr. Fox) and B.J. Novak (last in Inglourious Basterds) are great as the songwriting Sherman brothers; as are Bradley Whitford (he's done a bunch of features but is best known as Josh Lyman on 154 episodes of The West Wing, 22 wonderful episodes of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip as Danny Tripp, and I'm enjoying him in the dumb sitcom Trophy Wife) as the baffled producer and Paul Giamatti (mentioned in 12 Years a Slave, credits listed in The Ides of March) as the sweet driver. In the 1910s sequences, Annie Rose Buckley is adorable in her feature debut as little Helen, Colin Farrell (last in Seven Psychopaths), inexplicably missing from the trailer, is powerful as Helen's beloved father Travers Goff, and Ruth Wilson (The Lone Ranger) is no slouch as Helen's mother Margaret.
John Schwartzman (half-brother of Jason, Oscar-nominated for shooting Seabiscuit (2003), he has other good works including Benny & Joon (1993), Edtv (1999), The Bucket List (2007), and The Amazing Spider-Man) keeps the picture Disney-lush with help from the production design and picture car teams.
Thomas Newman (most recently in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) gives us a lovely suite of music (preview it on amazon) mixed in with the Disney score and a few other tunes, including jazzman Dave Brubeck's 1957 version of Heigh-Ho.
Here are some more articles for enthusiasts to read: one, two, three, four--I can't vouch for all of them--but imagine there are spoilers galore, so read after seeing the movie.
Rottentomatoes audiences are in line with us, averaging 90% to critics' 81. This is not a totally feel-good movie (rated PG-13 for some disturbing themes), but we do recommend it. Don't rush out of the room when the credits begin, as you will be treated to some fascinating vintage photos and audio.
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