No matter how hard I thought life was as a kid, I made it through with a little help from some sound advice. Knowing things like a ‘spoon full of sugar can make the medicine go down’. That and chimney sweepers make great dancers. These things have helped me through this thing called life, to the point that I think I turned out pretty supercalifragillsticexpialidocius. Life though comes at you fast and now I sit here as an adult with my childhood in the rear view mirror making me long for the days when everything was much simpler. Someone has heard my request and with a gust of wind a magical woman is delivered via umbrella at the perfect time.
Like myself Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) and Jane Banks (Emily Mortimer) have grown up, but Michael now has three kids of his own. Having lost his wife, the three little Banks, Anabel (Pixie Davies), John (Nathanael Saleh) and Georgie (Joel Dawson) have had to grow up a little too fast in order to help their father make it through their personal little storm. It is at their most desperate hour, a time when the bank has come to repossess the house that a familiar gust of wind brings a woman on a kite to make things better. The woman is none other than Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt), no stranger to Michael and Jane who were under her care when they were just children. It seems Mary has perfect timing as she, with the help of Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda), a candle lighter, together they remind the children what being a kid is all about all while helping their father find his own way back to that feeling. What follows is a lesson that proves that with the right attitude anything is possible, even the impossible, no matter how hard it seems.
Stepping into the shoes of an iconic character played by the always perfect Julie Andrews would be a task impossible for most. Lucky for us Emily Blunt must believe like Mary Poppins herself, that anything is possible as she forges her own version of everyone’s favorite nanny. Blunt as well as the movie as a whole will make you smile for the entire two hour run time. Under the guide of director Rob Marshall, this version of Mary Poppins doesn’t miss a beat as the new songs are just as catchy as the ones every kid heard while they were growing up. The beauty of Mary Poppins Returns is that it doesn’t make you forget the original, instead it makes you want to see them together as they complement each other so well. As much as I enjoyed the film, I still go back to Blunt who as Poppins had the whole weight of the film on her shoulders and not only does she handle it, she might just be perfect. Knowing what the original film did for me I am glad that a new generation will have their own Mary Poppins, but for us adults who grew up on the original, this is the perfect trip back, that will remind you of the magic the world truly can hold.