Mary Poppins Returns is a 2018 American musical fantasy film directed by Rob Marshall, with a screenplay written by David Magee and a story by Magee, Marshall, and John DeLuca. Loosely based on the book series Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers,[1] the film is a sequel to the 1964 film Mary Poppins, and stars Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins, with supporting roles from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Dick Van Dyke, Angela Lansbury, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep, and David Warner in his final film appearance.[5] Set in London during the Great Depression, the film sees Mary Poppins, the former nanny of Jane and Michael Banks, return to them in the wake of the death of Michael's wife.
Walt Disney Pictures announced the film in September 2015. [6] Marshall was hired later that month, and Blunt and Miranda were cast in February 2016. Principal photography lasted from February to July 2017, and took place at Shepperton Studios in England. Mary Poppins Returns had its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on 29 November 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on 19 December 2018, making it the longest interval between film sequels in cinematic history, at 54 years.[7]
The film grossed $349 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances of the cast (particularly those of Blunt and Miranda), direction, visuals, musical score, musical numbers, costume design, production values, visual effects (especially the animated segments), and sense of nostalgia, although some critics found it too derivative of its predecessor. It was chosen by both the National Board of Review and American Film Institute as one of the top ten films of 2018 and received numerous award nominations, including four at the 76th Golden Globe Awards (including for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy), nine at the 24th Critics' Choice Awards, three at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards, and a SAG Award nomination for Blunt at the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards. It also received four Oscar nominations for Best Original Score, Best Original Song ("The Place Where Lost Things Go"), Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design at the 91st Academy Awards.
Plot[]
The scene is set in London, during the Great Depression. Michael Banks lives in his childhood home with his three children, John, Annabel and Georgie, after the death of his wife, Kate, a year earlier. Michael has taken a loan from his employer, the Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, and is three months behind on payments. Wilkins, the bank's corrupt new chairman, sends associates to warn him that his house will be repossessed if the loan is not repaid in full by Friday. Michael and his sister Jane recall that their father left them shares in the bank that should cover the loan, and they search the house for the share certificate. During the search, Michael finds his childhood kite and disposes of it.
The children visit a local park and Georgie, who has found the kite, flies it. Mary Poppins descends from the sky with the kite in her hand. She takes the children home and announces that she will take charge of them as their nanny. She draws a bath for the three children, leading to underwater adventures ("Can You Imagine That?").
Michael visits the bank seeking proof of his shares, but Wilkins denies that there are any records before covertly destroying the page from the official ledger. Annabel and John decide to sell their mother's 'priceless' bowl to pay off the debt. Georgie tries to stop them, and the bowl becomes damaged while the three fight over it. Jack, a lamplighter and Bert's former apprentice, greets Mary Poppins and joins her and the children on a trip into the scene decorating the bowl. During their visit to the Royal Doulton Music Hall ("A Cover is Not the Book"), Georgie is kidnapped by a talking wolf, weasel, and badger that are repossessing their belongings, and Annabel and John set out to rescue him. They do so successfully, fall off the edge of the bowl, and wake in their beds. Realizing they are hurting after the loss of their mother; Mary sings them a lullaby ("The Place Where Lost Things Go").
The children visit Mary Poppins's cousin Topsy, hoping to get the bowl mended ("Turning Turtle") and learn that it has little monetary value. They take Michael's briefcase to him at the bank, where they overhear Wilkins discussing the planned repossession of their house. Believing that he and his associates are the same animal gang who kidnapped him, Georgie interrupts the meeting. Michael is angry with the children for putting the house and his job at risk. Mary Poppins takes the children home, guided by Jack and his fellow lamplighters who teach the children their rhyming slang ("Trip A Little Light Fantastic"). The children comfort a despairing Michael, and the four reconcile.
As midnight on Friday approaches, the Bankses prepare to move out of their house. While examining his old kite, Michael discovers that Georgie had used the missing share certificate to mend it. Jane and Michael rush to the bank while Mary Poppins and the children go with Jack and the lamplighters to Big Ben to 'turn back time'. After scaling the clock tower, they turn the clock back five minutes, giving Jane and Michael just enough time to reach the bank. Wilkins, however, will not accept the certificate as part of it is still missing. Wilkins's elderly uncle and the bank's previous chairman, Mr. Dawes Jr., arrives and sacks Wilkins on the spot for his corrupt business practices. He reveals that Michael has plenty of assets to cover the loan, namely the judiciously invested tuppence he had deposited with the bank many years earlier.
The next day, the Bankses visit the park, where a fair is in full swing. They purchase balloons that carry them into the air, where they are joined by Jack and many others ("Nowhere to Go but Up"). On their return home, Mary Poppins announces that it is time for her to leave. Jane and Michael thank her as her umbrella carries her back up into the sky and away.
Cast[]
Live-action cast[]

Dick Van Dyke, a cast member of the 1964 film, appears in the film as Mr. Dawes Jr., a role originated by Arthur Malet in the previous film.
- Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins.[8][9][10] Julie Andrews portrayed the character in the original film.
- Lin-Manuel Miranda as Jack,[11] a cockney lamplighter and former apprentice of Bert from the original film.
- Ben Whishaw as Michael Banks, Jane's younger brother and father of Annabel, John, and Georgie, who is a widower now working as a part-time teller at Fidelity Fiduciary Bank and is a struggling artist.[10] Matthew Garber portrayed the character in the original film.
- Emily Mortimer as Jane Banks, Michael's older sister and aunt to Annabel, John, and Georgie, who is now working as a union organizer.[12] Karen Dotrice, who portrayed the character in the original film, makes a cameo appearance as an elegant woman who asks Jane for directions.
- Julie Walters as Ellen, Michael's and Jane's long-time housekeeper.[13] The character was previously portrayed by Hermione Baddeley in the original film.
- Nathanael Saleh as John Banks, the oldest Banks child, Michael's elder son and Jane's nephew.
- Pixie Davies as Annabel Banks, the middle Banks child, Michael's only daughter and Jane's niece.[14]
- Joel Dawson as Georgie Banks, the youngest Banks child, Michael's younger son and Jane's nephew.
- Colin Firth as William "Weatherall" Wilkins, the corrupt new chairman of Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, Mr. Dawes Jr.'s nephew and Michael's boss.[15]
- Firth also voices a wolf representing Wilkins in the animated Royal Doulton Bowl sequence.
- Meryl Streep as Topsy, Mary Poppins's eccentric Eastern European cousin called Tatiana Antanasia Cositori Topotrepolovsky ("Topsy" for short) who runs a fix-it workshop in London.[16]
- David Warner as Admiral Boom, a retired naval officer who now uses a wheelchair. Reginald Owen portrayed the character in the first movie. This was Warner's last film before his death in 2022.[17]
- Jim Norton as Mr. Binnacle, Boom's first mate. Don Barclay portrayed the character in the original film.
- Jeremy Swift as Hamilton Gooding, a lawyer who is one of Wilkins' associates.
- Swift also voices a badger representing Gooding in the animated Royal Doulton Bowl sequence.
- Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as Templeton Frye, a lawyer who is one of Wilkins' associates.
- Holdbrook-Smith also voices a weasel representing Frye in the animated Royal Doulton Bowl sequence.
- Angela Lansbury as the Balloon Lady, a kindly old woman who sells balloons at the park. The part was written to be a cameo role for Julie Andrews who portrayed Mary Poppins in the original film, but she turned the role down as she felt her presence would unfairly take attention away from Emily Blunt.[18]
- Dick Van Dyke as Mr. Dawes Jr., the retired chairman of Fidelity Fiduciary Bank and Wilkins’ uncle. Just as in the original film, Van Dyke is credited as "Navckid Keyd" which unscrambles during the credits. The character was portrayed by Arthur Malet in the original film, while Van Dyke previously portrayed both Bert and Mr. Dawes Sr. (Mr. Dawes Jr.'s late father).[19][20]
- Noma Dumezweni as Miss Penny Farthing, Wilkins' secretary.
- Sudha Bhuchar as Miss Lark, the Banks's neighbour. Marjorie Bennett played the role in the first film.
- Steve Nicolson as the Park Keeper.
- Tarik Frimpong as Angus, Jack's fellow lamplighter.
Voice acting cast[]
- Edward Hibbert as Mary Poppins' parrot umbrella. This was voiced by David Tomlinson in the original film.
- Chris O'Dowd as Shamus the Coachman Dog, who is an Irish Setter in the animated Royal Doulton Music Hall sequence.[1]
- Mark Addy as Clyde the Horse in the animated Royal Doulton Music Hall sequence.[1]
Production[]
Development[]
Director and co-producer Rob Marshall (left) and screenwriter David Magee
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Casting[]
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Filming[]
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Visual effects and animation[]
The visual effects were provided by Cinesite, Framestore, Luma Pictures, Pixomondo, the Government of Victoria with the assistance of Film Victoria (both in Australia), and TPO VFX and supervised by Christian Irles, Christian Kaestner, Brendan Seals, Matthew Tinsley and Matt Johnson.[21] Like the original film, this film includes a sequence combining live action and traditional hand-drawn animation. According to Marshall, he asked for an animated/live-action sequence rather than employing modern CGI animation, feeling that it was vital to hold on the classic hand-drawn animation to protect the spirit of the original film.[22]
The animation sequence was developed and overall supervision was handled by Jim Capobianco, with Ken Duncan supervising physical animation production at his studio in Pasadena, California. Over 70 animation artists specializing in hand-drawn 2D animation from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, and other animation studios were recruited for the sequence.[1] The animated drawings were created using pencil and paper and scanned onto the computer to be digitally inked and painted. Character designer James Woods and animator James Baxter also helped redesign the penguins from the first film. All of the hand-drawn animation was created by Duncan's animation studio, Duncan Studio, in Pasadena.[23]
Musical score and soundtrack album[]
- Main article: Mary Poppins Returns (soundtrack)
The music and score for the film was composed by Marc Shaiman, with song lyrics written by Scott Wittman and Shaiman.[24] The complete soundtrack album was released by Walt Disney Records on 7 December 2018.[24] Shaiman had heard about the film in 2014 and begged director Marshall to be allowed to write the songs for the film. Shaiman, in regards to working on the film, stated “Our love for the original movie overrode our fears, we re-embraced the thing we loved as children. There’s no need for irony or snark. This is our love letter to the original”.[25]
Release[]
Mary Poppins Returns was originally scheduled to be released on 25 December 2018. However, in July 2018, it was moved up from its original release date to 19 December 2018.[26]
Marketing[]
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Home media release[]
Mary Poppins Returns was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on March 19, 2019.[27]
Reception[]
Box office[]
Mary Poppins Returns grossed $172 million in the United States and Canada, and $177.6 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $349.5 million against a production budget of $130 million.[4]
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Critical response[]
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Accolades[]
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References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 [TBA Mary Poppins Returns – Press Kit]. Walt Disney Studios.
- ↑ [TBA Mary Poppins Returns (U)]. British Board of Film Classification (19 November 2018).
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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- ↑ 4.0 4.1 [TBA Mary Poppins Returns (2018)]. Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Titanic and Omen actor David Warner dies at 80"] Check
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value (help). BBC News. July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022. - ↑ Template:Cite magazine
- ↑ [TBA 10 Movies with the Longest Gap Before a Sequel] (22 April 2021).
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- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Julie Walters remembers her nursing career: 'I used to fall in love with the male patients'"] Check
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- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "David Warner, who played villains in 'Titanic' and 'Tron,' dies at 80"] Check
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value (help). Today. July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022. - ↑ [TBA 'Mary Poppins Returns': Why Julie Andrews Turned Down a Cameo] (November 30, 2018).
- ↑ [TBA Retire? F- that]. The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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- ↑ [TBA MARY POPPINS RETURNS - The Art of VFX Art of VFX] (September 17, 2018).
- ↑ Solomon, Charles (December 23, 2018). [TBA Mary Poppins: The peculiar challenge of animating her world]. The New York Times.
- ↑ McCarthy, Kelly (November 22, 2018). [TBA 'Mary Poppins Returns' pays homage to first film with hand-drawn animations, including penguins]. ABC News.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Mary Poppins Returns original Motion Picture Soundtrack Today"] Check
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value (help). Burbank, CA: Walt Disney Records. PR Newswire. 8 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018. Check|archive-url=
value (help) - ↑ [TBA 'Mary Poppins Returns' Composer Channeled Sherman Brothers for Fresh Songs] (November 21, 2018).
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 10, 2018). [TBA "'Indiana Jones 5' Shifts to 2021, 'Mary Poppins Returns' moves up a week & more Disney release-date moves"] Check
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value (help). Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 25, 2018. Check|archive-url=
value (help) - ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Long, Christian (February 20, 2019). [TBA "Mary Poppins Returns Set for March Home Video Release"] Check
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External links[]
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