Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
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Mary Poppins Returns Movie Review
Mary Poppins Returns is a 2018 musical fantasy film directed by Rob Marshall and starring Emily Blunt. It’s an exceedingly charming, truly wonderful sequel.
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“Some people think a great deal too much.
Of that I am certain“
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This might serve as a reboot, but it’s in essence a sequel. And yes, it’s highly similar to the first movie, but to me this time around I did not mind that because honestly a Mary Poppins movie needs to be extremely old-fashioned and childlike and charming or otherwise it wouldn’t work at all. And that’s exactly what we got here – a film full of traditional British charm and whimsy.
This is literally a sixties flick. It felt like a 60s film in its entirety and I personally adored it to pieces for that. Some may find that antiquated, but because I love traditional Hollywood musicals, I adored this one too. There are some truly moving homages to the original film and some great fan service, but thankfully that was brought to a minimum. The rest is definitely highly similar to/inspired by the original, but it’s still its own thing in the end.
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Emily Blunt killed it as the new Mary Poppins and honestly came pretty darn close to Julie Andrews’ portrayal of the character. I liked that she did not just copy her style, but was more modern, edgy and comedic in her approach. This role along with her great turn in ‘A Quiet Place’ meant that she owned the year of 2018 and it further solidified her as a truly great actress. Her British accent is brilliantly on-point, the emotion is there, the humor is great and her delivery of each and every line of dialogue is exceptional.
I personally did not care for Jack played overly theatrically by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Yes, he is likable, but to me he’s more annoying at times than truly endearing and I simply found his voice grating in some songs. But Ben Wishaw is awesome as Michael Banks and is one of the emotional cores of the movie. His highly emotive performance and a tragic backstory really made this movie highly melancholic and sad in tone.
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Jane is very likable herself and I bought her relationship with Jack. Ellen is fun, but underused. Dick Van Dyke brought it in his sole scene and Angela Lansbury’s cameo was just such a nice surprise. All three of the kids are overly mature at first, but ultimately more memorable and likable than the original film’s children. Admiral Boom is so amusing. Meryl Streep as Topsy is too silly and her scene does not fit the movie at all. And I just found Colin Firth’s character ridiculously over-the-top and such an overly cartoony villain even for a family flick.
Mary Poppins Returns is a full musical in line with the original, but so infinitely inferior to it that it might be the only area where it’s miles below the first film. Lovely London Sky is actually rather charming and quite traditional. It’s a love letter to London, but it would have been better had it not been for the weaker voice of Miranda.
A Conversation is so moving and one of the saddest scenes in the film. Can You Imagine That? is fun and magical, but overshadowed by the great visuals themselves. The Royal Daulton Music Hall is overlong in both the song and the scene, but A Cover is Not the Book is actually rather catchy and with solid lyrics. Turning Turtle is that Meryl Streep song which was more annoying than endearing for sure.
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Trip a Little Light Fantastic is overlong. The two highlights are by far Nowhere to Go but Up which is accompanied by such sweet lyrics, a great chorus plus the entire sequence is gorgeous and of course The Place Where Lost Things Go is the clear winner of this entire middling soundtrack. It’s such a melancholic song that still manages to be inspirational and positive in its message of the acceptance of the death of loved ones. The lyrics are so beautiful and the tune is so sweet that it entirely deserved its Academy Award nomination.
Mary Poppins Returns employs hand-drawn animation in one prolonged, but terrific segment if you discount some of the weaker musical elements. I absolutely loved how traditional and faithful to the original this animation is and I also was surprised at the dark path that that segment took in its last action sequence. I ultimately both loved it and respected it.
The movie also features a couple of truly inspiring quotes that should inspire each of us watching the movie. The humor is amazing and better than before with such hilarious one-liners that cracked me up and charmed the heck out of me as did the movie’s wonderful visuals, terrific costumes, superb sets and a fine score. The direction and pacing could have been better, but the movie is so irresistibly charming and timeless that I adored most of its pieces.
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Mary Poppins Returns could have been better paced, the villain is overly cartoony, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Jack is more annoying than endearing and the soundtrack is ultimately much weaker than the original one, but still some songs are pretty good with the standout one being deservedly Oscar-nominated, beautiful The Place Where Lost Things Go. The costumes are superb as are the sets plus the hand-drawn animation brought a big smile to my face. It also has a plethora of very funny one-liners and a big heart. It’s a flawed, but irresistible movie which felt like a 60s musical in style and I adored most of its scenes. And Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins is a revelation and a proof that she simply owned the year of 2018.
