Review: Mary Poppins (DMC #40)
“Oh it’s a jolly holiday with Mary! No wonder that it’s Mary that we love!” Last night we watched the original Mary Poppins, the 40th film in the Disnerd Movie Challenge, and quite a fun one at that! If you need a refresher, check out the synopsis below, otherwise feel free to skip straight to the review!
Synopsis
A cheerful street musician named Bert leads the audience to Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane, London. Along the way, he introduces Admiral Boom and Mr. Binnacle, who regularly fire a cannon from their roof to mark the time. Admiral Boom warns Bert of “a storm” brewing at Number 17. The children of the house, Jane and Michael Banks, have gone missing for the fourth time in a week. This prompts Katie Nanna, the nanny, to quit, while Ellen, the housemaid, and Mrs. Brill, the cook, argue with her. Winifred, Jane and Michael’s mother, arrives home still excited about the women’s suffrage event she just attended. Katie tells Winifred of the missing children and her resignation before she storms out of the house just as Winifred’s husband George returns home. Winifred tells George the children are missing, and George calls the police to look for them. At that moment, Constable Jones arrives with the children. Jane and Michael explain they ran after their kite, which is now tattered. They ask their father to help fix it, but he dismisses them. George dictates an advertisement for a stern, no-nonsense nanny, which Winifred writes down. Jane and Michael draft up an advertisement for a kinder, sweeter nanny. George rips up his children’s advertisement and throws it into the fireplace after the children go to bed. A strong gust of wind blows the fragments of the torn paper up the chimney. The next morning, a strong wind blows all the would-be nannies away, leaving only Mary Poppins who quickly introduces herself to George and takes out the repaired advertisement from the children, much to George’s shock. She immediately accepts the position, then meets with Jane and Michael. The children are amazed at the woman’s magic, and she makes herself comfortable in the room she will be staying in. Mary Poppins comes up with the first “game” for the children: cleaning up the nursery with a “snap” of magic, after which she takes the children for an outing in the park.
Bert is at the park making chalk paintings when he spots Mary Poppins, his old friend. The children declare how fun it would be to visit the chalk painting depicting an English countryside. Bert convinces Mary to use her magic to take them all inside the painting. There, Jane and Michael run off to ride a nearby merry-go-round while Mary and Bert enjoy a “jolly holiday” together. Later, Bert and Mary Poppins join the children at the merry-go-round where Mary sets the carousel horses free. They ride across the countryside, encountering an animated fox hunt followed by an animated horse race, which Mary Poppins wins easily. When asked how she would describe her victory, she and Bert sing “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” — the perfect word for when you don’t know what to say. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm begins in the real world and washes away the chalk painting world. The group return to the park, but Bert cheerfully moves on to another job while Mary Poppins takes Jane and Michael home. Mary Poppins insists the children must take medicine after getting drenched. They complain, but are surprised when the medicine comes out different colors and delicious flavors for each of them. The children ask Mary Poppins to stay forever, but she tells them she will stay until the wind changes. She sings them a lullaby to help them fall asleep. The next morning, everyone in the Banks household is in high spirits—all except for George. While taking the children out for errands, Mary Poppins is approached by a dog named Andrew who tells her something has happened. Andrew leads Mary and the children to the home of Uncle Albert where Bert is waiting for them. Inside, Uncle Albert is flying around on the ceiling, laughing hysterically. Soon, Bert and the children laugh so hard they fly up to the ceiling to join Uncle Albert. Mary resignedly joins them and they all have a tea party on the ceiling. When Mary says they must leave, the sad news causes everyone to float back down to the ground, and Uncle Albert is so sad that he cries. Back at the Banks household, George berates his children for spouting nonsense, and admonishes Mary Poppins for filling his children’s heads with such thoughts. At first it seems as though he may fire Mary Poppins, but she quickly turns things around, planting the idea that George should take his children on an outing to the bank tomorrow, and making George think it was his idea. Upstairs, Jane and Michael are delighted to hear Mary hasn’t been fired, and surprised that their father is taking them to his work.
The next morning, George and the children walk to the bank, and the children spot an old woman feeding birds on the steps of a cathedral. They realize she is the woman Mary referred to in the song the previous night. Michael wants to give his tuppence to the lady to help feed the birds, but George won’t allow it. At the bank, George introduces the children to Mr. Dawes, Sr., Mr. Dawes, Jr., and other directors of the bank, who try to convince Michael to invest his tuppence. Mr. Dawes, Sr. snatches the tuppence from Michael’s hand, and Michael and Jane immediately scream to get it back. Panic ensues as the commotion spreads throughout the bank, creating a run on the bank. Jane and Michael run away as George tries to stop them. The two run into Bert, who is currently working as a chimney sweep and is covered in soot. The children, scared and crying, tell Bert their father doesn’t like them, but Bert tries to help them see things from their father’s perspective. Bert takes the children home, but Winifred asks him to watch over them and clean the chimney while she attends a suffrage event. Jane and Michael are fascinated as Bert tells them about the chimney sweep life. Just as Mary Poppins returns home, Michael and then Jane are sucked up the chimney. Bert and Mary Poppins follow them, leading the group on a trip around the rooftops of London. As they begin to head home, they are joined by a group of Bert’s chimney sweep friends. They all dance on the rooftop until Admiral Boom shoots fireworks at them, and everyone descends into the Banks’ house. Ellen and Mrs. Brill are freaked out at first, but then join in on the singing and dancing. Winifred, too, joins in when she arrives home. George returns home and is immediately angered by all the frivolity. When the chimney sweeps leave, George gets a call from Mr. Dawes, Jr, who tells him to return to the bank that evening. George begins complaining about Mary Poppins to Bert, who is cleaning up, and Bert slyly points out that although George does work very hard, he has missed out on his children’s lives. After Bert leaves, Michael and Jane approach their father and give him the tuppence to make everything better. At the bank, George is fired. Mr. Dawes, Sr., asks if George has anything to say, and as George remembers the tuppence in his pocket, he exclaims “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and tells a joke he heard from his children. George thrusts the tuppence into Mr. Dawes, Sr.’s hand and leaves the bank in joyful spirits. Mr. Dawes. Sr. gets the joke and begins laughing so hard he begins floating above the ground. The next morning at the Banks’ house, everyone is worried for George. Suddenly, George comes up from the basement, singing happily. He asks for his children to come down. Jane and Michael are upset because Mary Poppins is packing to leave now that the wind has changed. She tells them to go downstairs to meet their father, who shows them that he has repaired their kite. Excitedly, they decide to go outside to fly it after Winifred attaches a “Votes for Women” sash as a tail. Out on the street, Mr. Dawes, Jr. is also flying a kite and says his father died laughing, but reassures George that it was the happiest he’d ever been. He re-hires George, making him a new partner at the bank. Mary Poppins watches the happy family from the doorway before flying off into the sky once more.
Thoughts Before Watching
Kevin: I don’t watch Mary Poppins very often, but I always enjoy it when I do! Julie Andrews’ performance is a timeless classic, and I love Dick Van Dyke’s happy-go-lucky portrayal of Bert, horrible Cockney accent and all. It’s so quotable, although it’s one of those movies where I would say the lyrics from the songs are more quotable than the rest of the movie. “Feed the Birds” is one of my all-time favorite pieces of Disney music (an opinion not shared by Megan), and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” is fun to sing along to every time. I haven’t seen this movie in several years, although I did see the sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, when it came out.
Megan: I love this movie! I’ve definitely seen it more times than I can remember, and I rewatched it fairly recently prior to seeing Mary Poppins Returns in theaters. While it’s true that I’ve never liked “Feed the Birds” (such a slow, sad, depressing moment in the film…I don’t understand why it was Walt Disney’s favorite song, or why it’s Kevin’s, but Kevin, at least, can enlighten us), I will say that I love pretty much every other song in this film. They’re just so fun! The chalk drawing travels and “Step in Time” are some of the best parts of the film, and I totally wish I had a bag like Mary Poppins’s carpet bag! I also really enjoy analyzing this story. Bit of a nerdy thing to say, but it’s true. I recall re-watching this movie after graduating college and wanting nothing more than to write an essay analyzing the feminist themes of the film and the film’s commentary on parenthood. I have no idea where that essay ended up, but you can bet I’ll probably have similar things to say after this latest re-watch. I can’t wait!
Thoughts After Watching
A lesson in parenting
Megan: From the moment we meet the Banks family, it’s clear that “parenting” isn’t happening. The children have run off, their nanny either didn’t notice or didn’t chase after them, their mother is too busy with the suffragettes to watch the children herself, the household maid and cook have too many other duties, and Mr. Banks is quite nearly oblivious to the fact that he has children except when it’s convenient for him. While the saying goes that it takes a village to raise a child, this “village” has completely thrown up their hands and said “it’s not my job.” At the outset of this film, one has to wonder, why did Mr. and Mrs. Banks even have children? Was it merely to have “heirs to my dominion” as Mr. Banks puts it? It’s not hard to see why Jane and Michael believe that their own father doesn’t love them. How could one say anyone loves them when instead they’re treated like a nuisance that must be pawned off to hired help? Though they may be children, they know exactly what they need in a parental figure, and they ask for it outright in their letter/song, “The Perfect Nanny”:
If you want this choice position
Have a cheery disposition
Rosy cheeks, no warts!
Play games, all sorts.
You must be kind, you must be witty,
Very sweet and fairly pretty
Take us on outings, give us treats
Sing songs, bring sweets.
Never be cross or cruel
Never give us castor oil or gruel
Love us as a son and daughter
And never smell of barley water
If you won’t scold and dominate us
We will never give you cause to hate us
We won’t hide your spectacles so you can’t see
Put toads in your bed, or pepper in your tea.
Hurry, Nanny!
Many thanks,
Sincerely,
Jane and Michael Banks
While their letter does lean a bit heavily into female ideals of beauty (rosy cheeks, no warts, fairly pretty, etc.), and, like any children, they ask for more candy rather than things that are healthy for them, the heart of their letter shows what they’re lacking in their household. Clearly their experience with nannies and parents up until this point has been one of scoldings and domination rather than love, play, and happiness. Thank goodness Mary Poppins steps in. Between her and Bert, the children finally experience the care they’ve been yearning for, and the Banks family finally gets the healing it deserves, giving us the final image of both Mr. and Mrs. Banks flying a kite with their children—the first time we’ve seen the whole family come together for fun quality time rather than a scolding or an argument.
Well done Sister Suffragette?
Megan: While the film easily passes the Bechdel test and introduces conversations about women’s rights, the backdrop of the suffragette movement presents an interesting yet potentially problematic message for this film. While Winifred is fighting for women’s “political equality and equal rights with men,” she must constantly hide her activism from her husband, George, and she is willingly submissive whenever she’s in George’s presence, running completely counter to her own mission. It makes me wonder, is she too afraid of George to stand her ground? Or is the suffragette movement merely a fun diversion with her friends that she isn’t all that serious about? Meanwhile, the hired help of her own household (all women) must pick up her slack when it comes to domestic work. Nannies like Katie Nanna are (repeatedly) hired to take over child care, and while they do have the power to quit when the job is not what they signed up for, they still rank beneath Winifred. The cook, Mrs. Brill, handles all the meal prep, cooking, and kitchen cleanup. The maid, Ellen, cleans the house (and “Who gets stuck with the children with no nanny in the house? Me! That’s Who!”). One is left wondering, what would Winifred do if she wasn’t fighting for women’s rights? Sit around all day and twiddle her thumbs? And yet we also have the converse—because she has hired help, Winifred has the freedom to pursue things like political activism if she so chooses. This is not to say that all the domestic work should be done by Winifred. George could really stand to pitch in far more than he does since he never so much as lifts a finger to help when the shout of “Posts, everyone!” goes out to protect the household valuables from the tremors of Admiral Boom’s cannon. Yet I find there is quite a disconnect between Winifred’s mission and her life at home given how the women in her employ do not have the same freedom to pursue political activism (or whatever they are passionate about) in the same way Winifred can, and how Winifred is (or, in this case, isn’t) raising her children. Take a look at these lyrics from the song “Sister Suffragette”:
“Our daughters’ daughters will adore us
And they’ll sing in grateful chorus
Well done, Sister Suffragette!”
Winifred’s daughter’s daughter(s) may one day appreciate the work Winifred and the other suffragettes are doing, but what about her own daughter? While Winifred is out organizing protests, her own daughter Jane has no relationship with her. It would appear Jane has no idea about the work her mother is doing, and it’s not hard to imagine Jane growing up to resent her mother’s constant absence had Mary Poppins not stepped in to reunite this family. I’ve never read the original Mary Poppins books, so I don’t know how much of this came from the books and how much was inserted in the film version, but I have to wonder if the writers were trying to make an argument as to why women shouldn’t be political activists, or if they were instead making a case for women being activists and good parents. Since most of the themes of this film revolve around what makes a good parent, I choose to believe it’s the latter.
The redemption of Mr. Banks
Megan: If you’ve seen the movie Saving Mr. Banks, then you already know that this isn’t really the story of Mary Poppins—it’s the story of George Banks and how his world is changed by Mary Poppins. From the moment we meet George, we learn that he is a business man above all else. The lyrics of “A British Bank (The Life I Lead)” say it all—he describes himself as “a king astride his noble steed,” “the lord of my castle, the sovereign, the liege.” The rest of his household are his “subjects.” He speaks to his wife as if he is the CEO and she is an incompetent manager, unable to hire a proper nanny for their children. He sees his children as unruly assets to be managed rather than children in need of affection. Thus, “a British nanny must be a general” and “a nanny who can give commands.” At this point, Mr. Banks is not truly a father to his children. He’s not truly a husband to his wife. And in so alienating his own family, he has no one.
Two of the other men in this story try to help George be a better father: the constable and Bert. When the constable brings the Banks children home, he tells George “I wouldn’t be too hard on them, sir. They’ve had a long, weary walk today.” He begins to relate something about his experience being a father to his own children, but George quickly cuts him off (after urging his own wife not to be emotional over the children’s return).
Bert makes more progress. First, while George is unable to be a father to his children, Bert steps in and tells the children “Bert will take care of you. Like I was your own father,” assuring them “your dad’s a fine gentleman and he loves you” when they believe George doesn’t even like them, let alone love them. In the following exchange, Bert identifies the lonely existence George has created for himself:
BERT: Beggin’ your pardon, but the one my heart goes out to is your father. There he is, in that cold, heartless bank, day after day, hemmed in by mounds of cold, heartless money. I don’t like to see any living thing caged up.
JANE: Father? In a cage?
BERT: They makes cages in all sizes and shapes, you know. Bank-shaped, some of them, carpets and all.
JANE: Father’s not in trouble. We are.
BERT: Oh? Sure about that, are ya? Look at it this way: you’ve got your mother to look after you, and Mary Poppins, and Constable Jones, and me. Who looks after your father? Tell me that. When something terrible happens, what does he do? Fends for himself, he does. Who does he tell about it? No one. Don’t blab his troubles at home. He just pushes on at his job, uncomplaining, and alone, and silent.
MICHAEL: He’s not very silent.
JANE: Michael, be quiet. Bert, do you think Father really needs our help?
BERT: Well, it’s not my place to say. I only observed that a father could always do with a bit of help.
George has so internalized the toxic masculinity of the banking world that he has become caged by it. Not allowed to show emotion or vulnerability professionally, he continues to hide those parts of himself in his home life. As a result, he has no relationship with his wife or children, and no friends to speak of, which leaves him with no social safety net to fall back on when life gets rough. He rejects Constable Jones’s kindness and counsel, denying him one possible friend. Meanwhile, the men he works with at the bank are cut-throat colleagues, eager and willing to turn on him the moment he makes a mistake. It is only when George is at his lowest that we see him dare to share his vulnerability with another man, and that man is Bert. Take a look at the lyrics and dialogue from their exchange in “A Man Has Dreams”:
GEORGE: You know what I think? It’s that woman Mary Poppins. From the moment she stepped into this house, things began to happen to me!
…
GEORGE: You know what she did? I realize it now. She tricked me into taking Jane and Michael to the bank. That’s how all the trouble started.
BERT: Tricked you into taking the children on an outing?
GEORGE: Yes.
BERT: Outrageous! A man with all the important things you have to do. Shameful!
You’re a man of high position,
Esteemed by your peers,
And when your little tykes are cryin’
You haven’t time to dry their tears
And see them grateful little faces
Smilin’ up at you
Because their dad, he always knows
Just what to do.GEORGE: Well, I mean, look, I—I—
BERT: Like you say, guv’nor.
You’ve got to grind, grind, grind at that grindstone
Though childhood slips like sand through a sieve
And all too soon they’ve up and grown
And then they’ve flown
And it’s too late for you to give
Just that spoonful of sugar
To help the medicine go down
The medicine go down, the medicine go down
Even in this vulnerable moment, George still must blame Mary Poppins for all his troubles. In the beginning he believes he is happiest when all in his household are orderly, emotionless, and submissive to him. It’s why he’s so bent out of shape when the headstrong Mary Poppins comes along and makes everyone in the household happier. She, a woman, could achieve the happy home that he couldn’t, and so he is quick to place blame on her the moment something doesn’t go well—even though she played no part in the failed outing at the bank. It isn’t until Bert validates George’s emotions and then plays devil’s advocate, flipping George’s words back to him, that George begins to realize the role he’s played in all this, and how he’s alienated his children. It is with Bert’s words swirling in his head that George goes to meet the “firing squad” at the bank, and it is when he is faced with the utter humiliation of losing his job that he realizes the job was not the most important thing in his life—his family is. Only after this realization do we see George truly happy for the first time in the entire film.
Was George neglected by his own father, too?
Kevin: The film doesn’t go into George Banks’ childhood, but after watching this I couldn’t help but wonder whether George had a similar relationship with his father the way Jane and Michael have with him up until the end of the movie. The film provides one reference to George’s father when Mr. Dawes, Jr. mentions that George’s father had been a long-time employee of the same bank George works at. In fact, although George is a junior officer, he’s so well-known among the upper executives, all of whom are distinctly older than he is, that I wonder if George’s father was also a high-ranking employee of the bank and was a part of this group. Additionally, when we see how stern Mr. Dawes, Sr., Mr. Dawes, Jr., and the other men are, I imagine that George’s father would have been the same way, both in his work life and in his personal life. It’s also important to point out that, given the time period the film is set in, it was not uncommon for men to be stoic and stern, and for sons to follow in their fathers’ footsteps, especially when choosing careers. Given all of this, it’s not unlikely that George’s relationship with his own father would have been a distant one. While it’s possible that George’s banking career and ambitions were entirely his own, or at least were started by his father putting in a good word for him, I think George was raised by a man who also believed children should prepare for adult life and not indulge in fun. Over time, I think George unintentionally took on the mannerisms of his father and the high-ranking bank directors, believing that his children should be like him.
Kevin: Apparently, P. L. Travers, the author of the original Mary Poppins books, had at one time considered adding a backstory where Mary Poppins was also George’s nanny when he was a child. From what I know, this has led to a popular fan theory that suggests that very notion is true about the movie. One bit of evidence fans of this theory point to is one of Bert’s first lines when describing the wind changing: “I feel what’s to happen, all happened before.” I don’t personally buy the theory, because George shows no recognition of Mary Poppins at all (although I think the theory also tries to explain that, too), and I think Bert’s line just simply means that Mary Poppins has been around to visit other children in London before (possibly Bert himself?).
Megan: (Though it would be weird if she had been Bert’s nanny, because then not only is she magically ageless, but they’re kind of flirting with each other during the song “Jolly Holiday.”)
Kevin: What’s also interesting to notice here is how many similarities there are between this movie and Peter Pan. Aside from taking place in London within roughly the same time period and that both of the fathers have the same first name, both George Banks and George Darling are very similar in their personalities and their views on life and growing up (see our review of Peter Pan for more on this topic). In both stories, a mythical, magical figure comes to the home and takes the children on adventures. At the end, both fathers end up somewhat better people (although it’s more obvious with George Banks than it is with George Darling). One major difference is that Peter Pan despises adults and growing up, and admonishes Wendy for even wanting to consider going home, whereas Mary Poppins goes to the Banks household for the sole purpose of reconnecting the family. Still, the similarities are there. What’s more interesting is that the opening narration in Peter Pan includes a line stating, “all of this has happened, and it will all happen again.” It’s very familiar to Bert’s line mentioned above, which just increases the similarities between the two films.
Money doesn’t equal happiness
Megan: While the Banks family is well-off and able to afford three household employees to raise their children and maintain their fine home, the wealth that George earns at his job ultimately cannot buy them happiness. As the song “Fidelity Fiduciary Bank” states, tuppence prudently invested can purchase “affluence,” “railways through Africa, Dams across the Nile, fleets of ocean Greyhounds,” “canals,” “plantations,” “stature,” “influence,” “trust deeds,” “foreclosures,” “bonds, chattels, dividends, shares, bankruptcies, debtor sales, opportunities,” “shipyards, the mercantile, collieries, tanneries, incorporations, amalgamations, banks.” However, nowhere in the lyrics does it mention anything that young Michael and Jane (and I would like to think all humans) value: love, happiness, generosity to those less fortunate. Bert, on the other hand, lives something of a vagabond lifestyle with not one job, but several, changing with the seasons and the weather. And yet Bert is quite possibly the happiest character at the outset of this story. As he puts it himself while working on a chalk drawing, “I does what I likes, and I likes what I do.” We see this sentiment repeated when he sings “Chim Chim Cheree”:
Now as the ladder of life has been strung
You may think a sweep’s on the bottom-most rung.
Though I spends me time in the ashes and smoke
In this whole wide world there’s no happier bloke.
Bert has found a way to do the creative and varied work that he loves and eke out a living for himself. He’s a musician, an entertainer, an artist, a chestnut vendor (so he says in passing), a chimney sweep, and a kite vendor. Though society might place him at the bottom financially, Bert’s happiness really ought to place him at the top. Meanwhile, as Kevin pointed out, it’s unclear if George even enjoys his work at the bank, or if it is something he’s told himself he must do because that is what is expected of a respectable man. Sure, George has enough money to never worry about whether he can afford things for himself or his family, but a life of financial stability does not equal a life of joy. Bert has a wealth that George lacks: meaningful relationships. Bert knows the people in the park by name. He has Mary Poppins, Uncle Albert, the chimney sweeps, and likely several other friends all over London. When Bert’s friends get into trouble, like Uncle Albert getting stuck on the ceiling again or the Banks children getting lost, Bert is there to support them, and it’s quite likely those friends are also there for Bert when he needs someone to lean on. George, on the other hand, has no one. There is not one person he can depend on even in good times, so when his whole world falls apart, he feels that poverty of relationships most of all. It isn’t until he loses his job, his status, and the promise of more money that he realizes he’s neglected the only family he has. Only when he reconnects with his family, mending the kite as well as those relationships with his wife and children, does George find true happiness.
The enigma that is Mary Poppins
Megan: Julie Andrews does a marvelous job playing Mary Poppins, and the magical nanny has always been one of my favorite characters in this film. However, on this latest viewing, I realized how puzzling she can be as a character. On the one hand, she’s a strong force to be reckoned with. She knows how to ace a job interview (even though she insists on never giving references) and she turns it on its head to where she’s interviewing her would-be employer. She easily makes her demands for salary, time off, and a trial period, and what’s even better is that her demands are accepted without hesitation (granted, it is largely due to Mr. Banks’s confusion, but I’ll take it). Here is a woman who has power (magical and otherwise) and knows how to use it to get what she wants. However, on the other hand, Mary Poppins indulges in a fair amount of gaslighting. For example, after a wonderful outing where they jumped into Bert’s chalk drawing and explored the animated countryside, Mary Poppins speaks to the children as if the whole thing never happened and the children simply imagined it. Later, when it looks as if Mr. Banks is about to fire Mary Poppins, she convinces him to take the children on an outing to the bank, making him believe it was his idea. Yet when the children call her out on giving Mr. Banks such an idea, she responds with “Me? Putting ideas into people’s heads?” While it would seem she engages in much of this gaslighting behavior as a way to conceal her magic, I found it to be a puzzling element of her character. Even at the end of the film, as she is packing her things to leave and Jane asks “don’t you love us?” she tells the children “And what would happen to me, may I ask, if I loved all the children I said goodbye to?” The implication seems to be that she does not love them, and yet, the parrot at the end of her umbrella calls her out at the end of the film:
MARY POPPINS: Practically perfect people never permit sentiment to muddle their thinking.
PARROT: Is that so? Well I’ll tell you one thing Mary Poppins: you don’t fool me a bit.
MARY POPPINS: Oh really?
PARROT: Yes, really. I know exactly how you feel about these children and if you think I’m gonna keep my mouth shut any longer I—
MARY POPPINS: That will be quite enough of that, thank you.
Perhaps Mary Poppins is merely trying to make the transition easier, since she knows she’ll only be with the children for a short period of time. After all, as she tells the parrot, her goal is for the children to love their parents more than they love her. But is it to make the transition easier for the children or easier for her, I wonder? Though it may be harder, I would think allowing yourself to love the children in your care and allow them to love you in return, even if you must leave them, would be far more beneficial for all involved.
Racism is racism, even if unintended
Kevin: I will admit right now that prior to this film I had no idea what the word “Hottentot” meant, or that it was even mentioned in the film. That’s just my ignorance at play, and shows I have much to learn. But there are at least two moments where Admiral Boom uses the word and I was unfamiliar with it, so I decided to look it up. Unfortunately, it has some bad history associated with it, and it goes way back to the novels. Although the word seems to have originally been used as the term for the group of indigenous people now known as the Khoikhoi, “Hottentot” has now fallen out of common vernacular and is considered offensive and racially insensitive. In fact, research suggests it was used as a racial slur as early as the 18th century. There are apparently several uses of the word within the original book itself, and the way it’s used is done as a clear negative depiction of black people.
Since looking this up, I have seen articles calling the use of the word (and, even further, the depiction of a group of white chimney sweeps covered in soot) racist, and articles saying it’s not. I don’t really agree on the chimney sweeps covered in soot part, because that’s what happens when you’re cleaning chimneys. Unless the chimney sweep and soot gimmick was intentionally done just to set up using “Hottentot” as a joke, I don’t think the chimney sweeps are the problem. Instead, the problem is that we should not have characters shouting racial slurs, or at least not being called out on it to help show why it’s wrong. There are supposedly recurring messages throughout Travers’ books that call out upper-class snobbery and racism, and that while the usage of “Hottentot” was due to the time period of the books, characters were called out for their negative attitudes and behaviors. I have no way of demonstrating this to be true because I have not read the books. However, Admiral Boom is certainly never called out in the movie for his language, not even by “practically perfect in every way” Mary Poppins, so the movie doesn’t appear to have any problem with it. Indeed, while the first time the word is used it is done in casual conversation, the second time it is done during a comedic scene, so it flies over your head, as it apparently did for me for many years.
Kevin: As much as I’ve enjoyed Disney films, Disney has had a history of controversy, especially in its earlier films. It is wrong to have included this racial slur and not at least call out how wrong it was. Or, the studio could have avoided using it completely. Just because it was common at the time does not mean modern audiences should ignore it. Was there bad intention? Highly unlikely. Is it still bad? Absolutely. With all that said, I am not saying Mary Poppins is suddenly a terrible film and that you shouldn’t watch it. The fact is, it’s not a terrible film and I think it deserves to be seen. There are so many things this movie gets right in terms of storytelling, symbolism, imagery, and music, so much so that there are reasons it has endured. If anything, blocking people from viewing controversial material appears to do more harm than good. I believe a better approach is to allow folks to come to their own conclusions about stories while doing our part to point out the negative parts, explain why it’s wrong, and emphasize that we should not emulate that behavior.
There’s beautiful imagery all throughout this film
Kevin: There is so much fantastic artistry all over Mary Poppins that I don’t really know how to begin. In spite of taking place in London, most if not all of the film was shot at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. The background shots of London were hand-crafted matte paintings by Peter Ellenshaw, imposed onto various scenes. While it’s obvious they are paintings, they don’t take me out of the film at all. Actually, they enhance it. For example, just before “Step in Time” there is one shot of the sun setting over the London skyline as a slightly more upbeat, melodic version of “Feed the Birds” plays. It’s completely gorgeous, whimsical, and breathtaking. It’s during this shot that Bert says “there’s a whole world at your feet” and you can’t help but believe him and know it’s true.
The scenes within the chalk drawing are also fantastic. Not only do the backgrounds look like chalk, but the way the live-action characters interact with the environment is so well done. I mean, you can actually see the poles of the merry-go-round horses create trails in the dirt as they hit the ground. That is true attention to detail, and it enhances the belief that the live-action characters are truly interacting with the animated world that they’re occupying in that moment. Speaking of the animation, the animated sequences mixed in with the live-action is done very well here. It doesn’t look out of place, and the director(s) clearly gave the actors some good visual cues, because both Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke manage to look at just the correct spots where the animators would later add their animation. Either that, or the pair are just too good at what they do, or quite possibly there were real-life props to help direct their heads in the right direction. The animation itself looks great, too. We’re still in the early stages of Xerox animation, but the black lines look as smooth as they did in earlier films like Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.
I also wanted to mention a couple of shots that happen at the bank towards the end of the film. The first one happens when George Banks returns to the bank following a heartfelt conversation with Bert and his children, and a foreboding phone call from Mr. Dawes, Jr. After arriving at the bank, George is led to a room where Mr Dawes, Jr., Mr. Dawes, Sr., and the other directors are waiting. During the walk, George is led by a bank security officer, while another officer brings up the rear behind George. The shot looks ghastly similar to how a prisoner is led to the gallows, or a firing squad, or some other manner of impending doom. For the second shot, we get a similar feeling of doom when George opens the door to the room where the directors are waiting. Once again, I’m not the first person to point this out, but it’s interesting to note how this shot of the directors is a straightforward, flat angle shot of a long table, surrounded by a dimly lit red floor. Whether intentional or not, the long table surrounded by the directors calls to mind a coffin and pallbearers, and the red floor could symbolize Hell or death. I think this shot is a direct allusion to George’s impending firing from the bank—in a way, his “death” within the company. These are but a few of the many instances of clever and intriguing imagery used within the film.
Why “Feed the Birds” is so good
Kevin: I can actually understand why “Feed the Birds” is not a favorite for everyone. As Megan mentioned, it’s not exactly a happy song. For me, the beauty of the song lies in what it’s trying to say. The lyrics talk about the importance of kindness and giving to those who need it the most. When Mary Poppins first sings it, she describes an old woman who is penniless and homeless, yet she spends all her time feeding birds, asking for nothing more than tuppence a bag so that others can help feed the birds as well. It’s important to mention, too, that the song is introduced by way of Mary explaining that people don’t always notice the important things going on right in front of them. With George and Winifred, not only are they missing out on what’s literally right in front of them in the form of their children and having strong relationships with them, but they also miss out on other important things. George has walked through the city many times to get to work, and he probably has seen the old woman sitting at the cathedral feeding the birds, but he has not truly understood why she is there, and how much even a little goes a long way to help those who are less fortunate. This is what Mary Poppins means when she says some people “can’t see past the end of their nose.” It isn’t just noticing people exist, but about knowing their needs and, if possible, how to help them. That’s why it’s ironic when George later uses the same phrase when his children ask if he can see the old woman. In that moment, he only knows that she is there, but nothing further.
As I mentioned above, we hear a slightly more positive melody of “Feed the Birds” during the shot when the group look out over the rooftops of London. I think the reason for this more upbeat rendition is because it’s about discovering the adventure that’s right in front of you. There is so much one can learn by exploring the world and seeing the way others live, and that by doing so we can better understand how we can help each other when needed. George and Winifred are not bad people; their goals and ambitions are important and should be focused on, but just not at the expense of their children. After all, if you choose to be a parent, you should act like one. “Feed the Birds” continues to be important towards the end of the movie, when the sadder melody is played as George returns to the bank. He passes by the cathedral; this time, he pauses and approaches the steps, but the old woman is not there. While this moment is up to interpretation, I believe the movie takes the stance that she has passed away.
Megan: I personally have always interpreted it as she’s gone home for the day. After all, it’s 9 p.m. when George is asked to return to the bank. I always just assumed he was “too late” because the day was done. Either way, it still fits.
Kevin: With this view, George is now too late to “feed the birds” and do the very thing that was important to his son. The reason “Feed the Birds” plays during this scene is pretty clear to me. Still, while George may have missed this chance, he is able to make up for it. While the movie puts more focus on George, we must include Winifred here, too. Both parents re-learn the value of being a family and being with their children. There are many reasons why this happens, but I believe the message of “Feed the Birds” is what really drives the message home.
The mark of a good story
Megan: There is so much more I could talk about with this film, but that might turn this blog post into a novel. It truly is the mark of a good film when each time you view it you find something new that you hadn’t noticed before, whether it’s the life experience gained as we grow up, or simply paying closer attention to a small moment that we didn’t notice on first viewing. I’m looking forward to seeing what else we uncover when we next view this film.
Verdict
Megan: 8
Kevin: 8
Final Score: 8
Did you discover anything new on this latest re-watch of Mary Poppins with us? Let us know in the comments!
