Review: Mary Poppins the Untold Story is a practically perfect celebration of the iconic Disney film
Disney has just released a great special on the making of Mary Poppins that's a perfect tribute to the film's anniversary!
In the long history of Disney films, there have been a lot of live-action hits. There have been Oscar winners, there have been beloved films, cult classics and more. Yet somehow, 60 years after its release, Mary Poppins has a magic unlike any others. From those iconic songs to Julie Andrews Oscar-winning turn to Dick Van Dyke's wild accent to the groundbreaking special effects, the movie is arguably the best live-action Disney film ever and the last truly great one Walt Disney had a hand in.
The movie has been celebrated often, yet 20/20 has worked with Disney for the new special The Untold Story of Mary Poppins. Airing on November 27 and now easy to stream on Disney+, the special may seem "fluff" at times, but it's good insight as to why this movie is so successful.
The special format
The special plays like an extended Blu-Ray special feature, using a score of past interviews with people involved in the film. That includes past interviews with Andrews as well as Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, Emily Blunt (who played the lead in Mary Poppins Returns) and Lin-Manuel Miranda, Walt's grandchildren and fans from Josh Grad to Jon Stamos.
We do get new interviews with Dick Van Dyke, as feisty as ever who still can't believe he was cast as Bert and laughs like anyone else at his nutty cockney accent. Host Chris Connelly does a good job with the talks,even with the odd habit of not looking into the camera while narrating the movie's history.
Many of the tales are familiar like the almost castings of Bette Davis as Mary and how Andrews getting the role only happened because Jack Warner didn't want her starring in the movie version of My Fair Lady. It is mesmerizing to see the footage of filming before the famous animated sequences were finished and how much different it was in the days before CGI.
The best stuff is the talk on how Walt Disney and P.L. Travers clashed on getting the movie made. This is where we get a lot from the underrated 2013 drama Saving Mr. Banks, which starred Tom Hanks as Walt and Emma Thompson as Travers. It did a fine job dramatizing how Travers hated her books watered down by Disney and was not a fan of the Sherman Brothers songs. That's added by audio recordings of their fights, which shows the real Travers was even worse with Walt.
There's good stuff like Grad making a wonderful comparison of Walt and his brother Roy to how Jiminy Cricket had to sway Pinocchio from going too far on his adventures. The past interviews with Andrews illustrate she still feels this was her favorite role, and Van Dyke is good too. It becomes a bit more "fluff" later when talking about the sequel and Broadway show. Yet it's fun seeing the clips of parodies and homages from Marvel to The Simpsons.
What gets you is how much everyone involved loved the movie. Walt always believed in it, and even Travers came around (even if a famous bit had her telling Walt at the premiere, "still work to do," and he had to remind her the film was already finished). It shows why, 60 years after it premiered, Mary Poppins just retains a spirit and heart that's been lacking from Disney releases over the last few years and deserves such praise.
"The Last Verse"
A wonderful addition to the special comes at the end, a tribute to Richard Sherman, who passed away earlier this year. That includes a video with a new take on "It's a Small World," where Sherman provided a never-before-heard new lyric to the ultimate earworm.
That's a great coda to this special, an extensive look that's everything fans of Mary Poppins could ask for. Even if you know some of the stories, the behind-the-scenes footage and talk from those involved make it feel fresh. It's a celebration of the movie and its legacy with a few nice new touches and thus a must-watch to one of Walt's all-time greatest achievements in film.
Mary Poppins and The Untold Story of Mary Poppins streaming on Disney+.