Tom Hanks as Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks

[Drizzle]

I liked this way more than I thought. A lot of it could be because Mary Poppins was one of my favorite childhood films. Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks and Colin Farrell all gave fantastic performances. Probably the best I've seen from Farrell. Thompson too, for that matter. I knew they sugarcoated a lot of facts, but I can overlook that because the heart of the film was Travers' relationship with her father.

 

[childeroland]

If Disney don't even want to show that their founder had an abusive childhood then what hope is there for a fully-fledged biopic?

You think Disney would ever allow a full-fledged biopic of Walt?

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

8.5/10 for me. One of the best movies of the year! Disney lovers will especially enjoy it.

 

[BestGirl]

I liked this movie a good deal, though I didn't love it. The first half of the movie is far too slow, but after that picks up considerably and gets better as it goes along. I did think it was impressive how Travers was made to seem sympathetic and even understandable given how horribly she comes off in the first part of the film. I was sniffling on her behalf by the end. Her relationship with Ralph was especially touching, and a nice surprise. Watching the musical numbers being written was also neat, especially the spoonful of sugar song.

On the downside, I would've liked to have seen more of the real Mary Poppins. The movie made it seem as though her biggest contribution to the Goff family was to clean their house. Also, the most important line of the film, [BLACKOUT]"He didn't come to save the children. He came to save the father"[/BLACKOUT] was spoiled in the trailer. It's a small point but it bugs me.

I found the premiere was unintentionally funny. First, because of how tacky it was, what with Snow White and Pluto and all the other Disney characters running around. Second, because, even after [BLACKOUT]Disney's heart-to-heart conversation with Travers, he didn't bother to invite her to the premiere. The movie provided a reason for it but, reading between the lines, I bet he loathed her IRL.[/BLACKOUT]

 

[Octoberist]

I liked the movie but I just don't like John Lee Hancock's style. After The Rookie and The Blind Side, he has a 'Hallmark/Lifetime' style that comes off as manipulative than emotional.

HOWEVER, I do like the film. It's probably his best film in his filmography.

 

[Quasimod0]

Beautiful film. Just saw it tonight. One of the best I've seen all year. All the leads were great. Paul giamatti really surprised me. Loved his character

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

Beautiful film. Just saw it tonight. One of the best I've seen all year. All the leads were great. Paul giamatti really surprised me. Loved his character

As soon as I saw your name as the last post, I said to myself, "I know Quasi loved the movie." Then I clicked into the thread, and here we are. t:

 

[Quasimod0]

Ah, you know me!
It was pretty refreshing to see a nice film just about people. No action or romance really.

 

[dark_b]

It was pretty refreshing to see a nice film just about people. No action or romance really.

what do you mean?

 

[Bim]

Saw this one last week, and i enjoyed it way more than i expected. Tom and Emma were fantastic (no big surprise there). The entire cast was solid (even Collin, and he's someone i generally dont enjoy watching all that much) and i found myself quite intrigued and interested by the story. I never realized how Mary Poppins (the movie) came together, and how difficult the whole process was lol. Overall, a solid 8.5/10 for me.

 

[Quasimod0]

what do you mean?

I just meant for me, I've seen a lot of blockbuster type stuff lately. So it was nice to watch a character centric film

 

[The Caped Knight]

such a great film. Brought me to tears.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

I just got done watching the film and I have to say I really enjoyed it quite a bit, such a fun yet dramatic emotional feel to it, the ending giving me that teary eyed happiness I haven't felt from a film in a long time. I really loved Hanks as Walt Disney and appreciated the small nod they gave to Disney's smoking problem, probably the most authentic version of Walt we'll ever see portrayed on screen it's obvious he put a lot of effort into bringing Walt to life.

The period settings were done amazingly perfect and I loved seeing when Walt took Pamela to Disneyland, I'm not sure if they redressed the current Disneyland for those scenes or not but it looked great. Emma was fantastic as Pamela, I felt she was a real living and breathing version of PL Travers. I have to give a small nod to Farrell here not to bash him but this may be the best performance I've ever seen from him he was also great.

Overall I really loved the movie I give it a 9/10

 

[Hunter Rider]

Nice film, my Mom loved it. It was interesting to see behind the story of one of Disney's classics and the difficult process that went into making it.

 

[RetrogradeOrbit]

Great film, gave it a 9. Very moving in places. I also agree it is a wonderful change to have a gentle, character driven film as opposed to an action blockbuster.

 

[cabel]

Being the Disney fan I am, and knowing what I know about the history behind Mary Poppins, I can't help but feel a bit conflicted at some of the more obviously sugarcoated moments in the film. That being said, it's hard not to get wrapped up as threads of what will become a whimsical tapestry of a film are first sewn. That in addition to strong performances from the cast made for one of my favorite film experiences this past year.


So, 7-8 out of 10.

 

[samsnee]

Watched this on Netflix. I know every historical movie takes liberties but holy crap is this revisionist history. Travers hated what Disney did, and swore she would never let Disney near her characters again.

 

[TheVileOne]

Watched this on Netflix. I know every historical movie takes liberties but holy crap is this revisionist history. Travers hated what Disney did, and swore she would never let Disney near her characters again.

Looks like Disney got the last laugh

 

[Drizzle]

Looks like Disney got the last laugh

I guess, but Mary Poppins Returns was really just a rehash that hit all the same beats as the original film and it underperformed. Perhaps Travers did get the last laugh...

 

[TheVileOne]

I guess, but Mary Poppins Returns was really just a rehash that hit all the same beats as the original film and it underperformed. Perhaps Travers did get the last laugh...

Disney still got to do another movie and got their hands on it again though .

The movie made $171 million and $346 million worldwide. Might've under-performed but it didn't bomb either.

 

[Pond]

Looks like Disney got the last laugh

Not really. He is dead. So is she.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Watched this on Netflix. I know every historical movie takes liberties but holy crap is this revisionist history. Travers hated what Disney did, and swore she would never let Disney near her characters again.

Apparently Travers co-wrote a sequel with Brian Sibley and was going to let the Disney studio make it in the 80s. Julie Andrews May have returned with Michael Jackson as a possible co-star in a role as Bert’s brother.

And contrary to popular belief, Sibley insists it's untrue that PL Travers hated the original film.

"She may have mellowed in her views by the time I knew her but she knew there were good things in it. When we got down to work I thought it would be a good idea if we watched the original film first so I arranged a private screening.

"I asked Pamela how long it was since she'd seen Poppins - this was the mid-1980s. She said 'Well not since the premiere, obviously'. I was astonished she hadn't seen this hugely famous film for more than twenty years. But Pamela didn't have a video or even a TV set.

"Throughout the film she gave me notes. There were one or two moments where she said 'Oh that's terrible'. But there were more where she got excited at what was up there on screen. She patted my hand and said 'Oh we must remember that, that's excellent, I like that bit very much...' And that's how we began to build our screenplay."

The Mary Poppins sequel that never was

 

[samsnee]

Regardless, the movie presented the ending as if she liked the movie the moment she saw it at the premiere.

The performances were good, but the fact that Disney made this to reinforce what a nice person Uncle Walt was does make me feel a little ill. I don’t have a strong opinion against Disney as others do, but this movie made me understand how some could.

 

[Drizzle]

The performances were good, but the fact that Disney made this to reinforce what a nice person Uncle Walt was does make me feel a little ill. I don’t have a strong opinion against Disney as others do, but this movie made me understand how some could.

What I remember about this movie was it was a huge deal for them to even show Disney smoking a cigarette, so the chances of us seeing a warts and all Walt biopic depicting any aspect of his life in a negative light is slim to none, at least in the foreseeable future.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Well, yeah. If they made a PG-13 fun for the whole family biopic about Freddie Mercury, Walt Disney's would be saintly.