Mary Poppins

Theatrical Release Date: 2001 04 13 (USA - Limited Rerelease) / 1964 08 27 (USA)

UPC: 786936221916

Studio: Walt Disney Video

MPAA Rating: G   Contains:[Child Classic, Excellent For Children]

Summary: Long resistant to film adaptations of her Mary Poppins books, P.L. Travers finally succumbed to the entreaties of Walt Disney, and the result is often considered the finest of Disney's personally supervised films. The Travers stories are bundled together to tell the story of the Edwardian-era British Banks family: the banker father (David Tomlinson), suffragette mother (Glynis Johns), and the two "impossible" children (Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber). The kids get the attention of their all-business father by bedevilling every new nanny in the Banks household. Whem Mr. Banks advertises conventionally for another nanny, the kids compose their own ad, asking for someone with a little kindness and imagination. Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews in her screen debut) answers the children's ad by arriving at the Banks home from the skies, parachuting downward with her umbrella. She immediately endears herself to the children. The next day they meet Mary's old chum Bert (Dick Van Dyke), currently employed as a sidewalk artist. Mary, Bert, and the children hop into one of Bert's chalk drawings and learn the nonsense song "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in a cartoon countryside. Later, they pay a visit to Bert's Uncle Albert (Ed Wynn), who laughs so hard that he floats to the ceiling. Mr. Banks is pleased that his children are behaving better, but he's not happy with their fantastic stories. To show the children what the real world is like, he takes them to his bank. A series of disasters follow which result in his being fired from his job. Mary Poppins' role in all this leads to some moments when it is possible to fear that all her good work will be undone, but like the magical being she is, all her "mistakes" lead to a happy result by the end of the film. In 2001, Mary Poppins was rereleased in a special "sing-along" edition with subtitles added to the musical numbers so audiences could join in with the onscreen vocalists. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Children's/Family

Awards: Most Promising Newcomer – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – null Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – null Best Original Score – null Best Original Score – null Best Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Color Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Color Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Color Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Color Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Color Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Color Costume Design – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Score – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Original Score – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: ccBonus short: all-new animated adventure hosted by Julie Andrews
Music & more: musical reunion with Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, and Richard Sherman
Never-before-heard deleted song
Games & activities: "I Love to Laugh" set-top game
Backstage Disney: rare behind-the-scenes footage, Poppins pop-up fun facts

Mary Poppins

Format: DVD

Release Date: 12/14/2004

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Vistavision

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo, THX THX-Certified Mastering

Runtime: 139 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 -- Feature
1. Opening Credits
2. Cherry Tree Lane
3. "Sister Suffragette"
4. "The Life I Lead"
5. "The Perfect Nanny"
6. Mary Poppins Arrives
7. "A Spoonful of Sugar"
8. Time for an Outing
9. "Jolly Holiday"
10. Time for Tea
11. "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"
12. "Stay Awake"
13. "I Love to Laugh"
14. A Few Words With Mary Poppins
15. "Feed the Birds"
16. "The Fidelity Fiduciary Bank"
17. "Chim Chim Cher-ee"
18. The Rooftops of London
19. "Step in Time"
20. A Call From the Bank
21. Mr. Banks Is Discharged
22. "Let's Go Fly a Kite"
23. Mary Poppins Departs
24. Closing Credits

Dan Jardine

Mary Poppins was one of the most successful of a long line of Disney musicals, enjoying enduring and widespread popular acclaim. The film introduced Julie Andrews to the silver screen and offered Dick Van Dyke an opportunity to stretch his television-honed talents in a more demanding medium. Andrews' performance has become iconic, as her prissy and tight-lipped title character ironically liberates the children trapped in a stultifying Edwardian England home. She can sing like a bird, and uses that talent to great advantage in the film's delightful and award-winning tunes. Despite a ridiculous Cockney accent, Van Dyke is full of playfulness and creative spontaneity. The story's attack on the materialistic values and staid lives of turn-of-the-century England is undercut by the Disney-like romanticizing of the lives of the working class, particularly the chimney sweeps. The children give predictably too-cute performances, but the direction by Robert Stevenson keeps things moving briskly enough that we don't get stuck in sticky sweetness. The entire set was constructed indoors and it shows: the "outdoor" scenes are bathed in a dull gray light. Still, there are a number of unforgettable song-and-dance sequences that stand the test of time, and the tale's overall subversiveness is distinctly appealing. Nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, Mary Poppins took home five statuettes, including Best Actress for Andrews, an award widely interpreted as a consolation prize for being passed over when Audrey Hepburn was cast in the movie version that same year of My Fair Lady, the role that made Andrews a star on-stage. ~ Dan Jardine, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Sam Harris  Actor 
J. Pat O'Malley  Actor 
James Logan  Actor 
Arthur Malet  Actor 
Dal McKennon  Actor 
Don Barclay  Actor 
Doris Lloyd  Actor 
Don DaGradi  Screenwriter 
Walt Disney  Producer 
Irwin Kostal  Composer (Music Score) 
Richard M. Sherman  Composer (Music Score) 
Robert B. Sherman  Composer (Music Score) 
Robert Stevenson  Director 
Bill Walsh  Producer 
Bill Walsh  Screenwriter 
Julie Andrews  Actor 
Dick Van Dyke  Actor 
David Tomlinson  Actor 
Glynis Johns  Actor 
Hermione Baddeley  Actor 
Ed Wynn  Actor 
Karen Dotrice  Actor 
Matthew Garber  Actor 
Elsa Lanchester  Actor 
Arthur Treacher  Actor 
Reginald Owen  Actor 
Reta Shaw  Actor 
Jane Darwell  Actor 
Cyril Delevanti  Actor 
Lester Matthews  Actor 
Clive L. Halliday  Actor 
Marjorie Bennett  Actor 
Alma Lawton  Actor 
Marjorie Eaton  Actor 

Country: USA