MARY POPPINS RETURNS

Spit spot! Mary Poppins is back, and she has just as much to impart to us this time as she did her previous visit. Yes, times have changed since we saw her last, but life’s quandaries are still solved the same way. Mary makes sure we know that remaining positive will always give us the best outcome, that every task can have an element of fun if we choose to find/see it, and that one need never apologize for who they are.

Sequels of classic films rarely live up to anyone’s expectations. For this reason, I thought it best to avoid seeing Mary Poppins Returns when it debuted in 2018, lest it sully my appreciation for the original flick (Mary Poppins). However, since I made it my 2022 goal to view every motion picture featuring Meryl Streep, I was forced to take this sequel in. And now that I have… I’m very appreciative of the experience. It was an enchanting escape.

Emily Blunt took on the unenviable task of stepping into an iconic role established in 1964 by the legendary Julie Andrews. Blunt wisely chose to make the character her own, rather than attempting to act like Julie Andrews. Her Poppins is a bit sterner but still imbued with a sense of whimsy and humor. Lin-Manuel Miranda plays a new character, Jack, who is a former protégé to Chimneysweep, Bert, from the original film. Jack is a lamplighter who is aware of who Mary Poppins is before she arrives.

Mary Poppins Returns to 1930’s London to help Michael and Jane Banks. Michael and Jane were the children she nannied in the original film. Now they are grown and in peril of losing their family home in a foreclosure to the bank. Michael is a widower with three precocious children of his own. Actors Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, and Joel Dawson play Annabel, John, and Georgie Banks, and all three are delightful from the get-go. Pish posh! Mary takes the new children on grand adventures, just as she did in the original film. While the movie is just as clever as the original, it isn’t quite as sharp. There are no Super-cali-fragil-istik-expi-ali-docious or Spoon Full of Sugar ditties that you will be humming or whistling for days after. One of the more memorable songs is when Mary’s cousin Topsy (Meryl Streep) sings “Turning Turtle”. Streep, in her usual form, makes the absolute most of her outrageous character and her eight minutes of screen time… in the most delightful way.

If you are a fan of the original Mary Poppins and you have not seen this sequel, do yourself a favor and take some time to do so! Sometimes some saccharine is simply grand for the soul.