One of the most beloved films Mary Poppins comes to Blu-ray for the first time and it’s just in time to be united with the release of the movie Saving Mr. Banks. Now in its fiftieth year since the original movie release the fun family film won 5 Oscars including a Best Actress for Julie Andrews. Released in a Blu-ray combo pack that includes the Blu-ray, DVD and a Digital Copy, there’s loads of extras.
Set in England the movie centers on Mr. and Mrs. George Banks a stuffy banker and a women’s rights advocate with two children Michael and Jane they’ve have had trouble keeping the right nanny. They’re very particular and the children are roughens so that’s been a problem for most of the applicants. The children write an ad for a new nanny and Mary Poppins comes by offering her services. Using her magical ways and wonderful spirit she charms the kids. When chimney sweep Bert comes along, things start getting “supercalifragilisticexpialidociously” interesting.
The family adventure is sweet and the music and dancing help to fill out the story showing how problems can be solved in delightful ways. Director Robert Stevenson moves his film along in this charming movie that uses animation and music to entrance the audience. His animation with live action mounted a breakthrough in film making and although it doesn’t hold a candle to what the computers are putting out today, the kids shouldn’t mind a bit. The penguins and butterflies are a nice touch to the great award winning songs by Julie Andrews and dance by Dick Van Dyke.
In addition to Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, the film features some very famous actors for their time. Most older folks with recognize Arthur Treacher, Reginald Owen, Ed Wynn and Elsa Lanchester, but it’s also cool that they get introduced to families that have not had the opportunity to see the great comedic acting and zany comedy they give.
Music makes this feature very enjoyable to watch and creates the mold for many of the live action Disney releases that have followed over the years. Memorable songs like “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”, “Chim-Chim-Cheree” (won an Oscar for best song), “A Spoonful of Sugar”, “Step in Time” and “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” will have children dancing while the music congers up some great memories for parents.
Mary Poppins gets some new life with the release of the upcoming film Saving Mr. Banks. Saving Mr. Banks will be released on December 20th and stars Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as original book writer P.L. Travers. The movie is based on a true story and involves purchasing the film rights to the book so it can be filmed at the Disney Studios. The comical drama shows how adamant Travers is in getting her book filmed under her supervision and not wanting it to be exaggeratedly “Disney”.
The sound and video quality are very good on the Blu-ray disc with DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 on just your television speakers you should be able to hear all the dialogue and enjoy the music. The film is beautifully remastered in HD with very fine restoration, excellent color and very little distortion.
SPECIAL BONUS FEATURES:
The following are included as special bonus features on the Blu-ray Disc:
- “Becoming Mr. Sherman” a behind the scenes look at Mary Poppins in a special way. Here we find Jason Swartzman who plays one of the characters in the upcoming Saving Mr. Banks in a conversation about the music with Richard M. Sherman.
- “Mary-Oke” is an all new sing along to four of the leading songs from Mary Poppins.
- “Original Bonus Features that were featured on the DVD release”
- “Audio Commentary: Composers/lyricists Richard and Robert Sherman and actors.” “Disney on Broadway”
- “Backstage Disney” is a documentary on the making of Mary Poppins.
- “Deleted Song” Chimpanzoo
- “A Magical Mujsical Reunion with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke”
- “Supercalifragilisticexpaladocious” The making of Mary Poppins.
- And much more in this over 3 hour bonus package
- The Blu-ray and DVD box set also includes a Digital Copy that will allow you to watch the movie on your mobile devices.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynis Johns, Matthew Garber, Elsa Lanchester and Karen Dotrice
Director: Robert Stevenson
MPAA Rating: G
Genre: Comedy, Musical, Family
Running Time: 2 hrs 19 min
Video Release Date: December 10, 2013
Original Film Release Date: August 27, 1964
Language: English
Format: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy
Audio: Blu-ray- DTS- HD Master Audio 7.1, DVD- Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Digitally Remastered
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Number of Discs: 2 Discs
Distributed by: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Between 1959 and 1975 Director Robert Stevenson put 13 family films on the screen including Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Love Bug, That Darn Cat and The Absent Minded Professor.
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
