Mary Poppins 40th Anniversary Edition
Filed Under: Film, Reviews | Article Tags : DVD review
By: The Dweeb
December 2004
|
Supercalafragelous…no wait. Supercalafraggle… Oh just forget it! I tried, its just one of the many tunes I can’t seem to get out of my head after watching the 40th Anniversary Edition of Mary Poppins. I have many fond memories of this film from childhood, and at least for me I think it is my favorite (and only!) musical film. Out of all the live action fare that Disney put out during this period, this one ranks at the top. Normally Disney likes to take an iron fist to classic tales and assimilate them until everyone thinks they created them (like Snow White or Alice In Wonderland), but since the author was still alive at the time, Walt couldn’t as easily steal this book. And since P.L. Travers had some control with the studio, the film’s integrity remains in tact and stays loyal to the book.
Mary Poppins is a colorful, witty, and very toe tappingly musical film that can be enjoyed by almost everyone. The dialogue is snappy and funny, and some of the musical scenes are great to watch. I especially like the high energy “Step In Time” number with all those chimney sweeps. There is something about the lyrics to most of the songs, written by the Sherman brothers, I just can’t get them out of my head after hearing them. Very infectious! You too can feel stupid sitting around and humming “Chim Chim Cheree.”
Yes this film is about a Nanny who comes in to ‘save the children’ and take them off on these wild adventures. But what does it say about the parents? For a book written at the turn of the century the themes still resonate today. Negligent parents will always have badly reared children. Maybe they should take some time out and actually interact with them for a bit. If they did that, they wouldn’t have needed Mary Poppins to show up and kick them in the ass. Which is what she basically did, much to the dismay of Mr. Banks (David Tomlinson). Hmmm, I used ‘ass’ in a review of a Disney film for children, sorry.
As with most musicals, the cast is very large and filled with a lot of great characters like Admiral Boom (Reginald Owen) who is more prominent in the book. The best of course has to be Bert, played by the young and energetic Dick Van Dyck. He is a multi talented mystery man, who prods Mary to jump into the chalk with the kids. His sense of humor and delivery are what keep this film rolling. I am very impressed with his athletic abilities during all his dance numbers, especially imitating a penguin. We never find out how he knows Mary, but this is the guy with the 5 jobs who knows everyone and every thing that goes on in the neighborhood. And he’s always out for a good time.
As far as the transfer for this DVD is concerned, Disney took the time and care to remaster the entire thing. Its quite funny to see the THX logo before the film starts, not for a movie like this. The image quality is outstanding. The colors are bright and the grain is barely visible, pretty good for a film that’s 40 years old. The soundtrack is also of the highest quality, there isn’t any hiss evident at all.
If you are the type that likes the extras, this DVD is for you. The film contains a pop up fact track while it plays, although it could have been a little smaller. It covers the bottom half of the film almost. The second disc comes packed with all sorts of documentaries on the making of the film, the music and cast and crew interviews. There is also a new cartoon short, animated in the traditional Disney style that I enjoyed as well. I thought it would be dumb and cheesy, but much to my surprise it wasn’t. They also piece together one of the cut songs and match it to the original story boards. As with the Alice In Wonderland edition, this is a great package to have. Its well organized and nicely put together, and the quality is outstanding. A classic film for the whole family.
Reviewer’s Opinion: BUY IT!!
Loading ...
