Movie Review: Saving Mr. Banks

Where her book ended, their story began.

It’s 1964 and Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) has been trying for 10 years to coax Mary Poppins author, P.L. Traverse (Emma Thompson), to sign over the rights so he can fulfill his promise to his daughter’s and make it into a movie.

Begrudgingly (and mostly because she has run out of money), Mrs. Traverse agrees to come to California to meet with the Walt and the team. They try to convince her through character sketches, musical numbers and even a trip to Disneyland with Walt Disney himself.

But Mrs. Traverse stays resistant. She’s a no-nonsense kind of person and won’t have them making up words (supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, what?), turning Mary Poppins into some silly cartoon character.

Because, to Mrs. Traverse, she is family. Throughout the whole experience at the Disney studios, she has flashbacks to the events from her childhood that inspired her to write in the first place: her spirited father who drank too much, her distant mother who grew resentful, her own imagination that seemed squashed by tragedy.

This film adds incredible depth to a much-loved story about the importance of family.

Here’s the run down:

History: Because there were a ton of Disney archives on this time period (including original sketches, audio recordings of the meetings, etc.), this film is full of Disney history. It’s a must-see for any fan of the iconic mouse. For more info about history behind the film, check out this article: A Spoonful of History.

Comedy: The dynamic between the happy-go-lucky Walt (and his team of song/script writers) and the don’t-ever-call-me-by-my-first-name Mrs. Traverse, creates great moments that get the whole theatre laughing.

Music: You will walk away from the theatre with Mary Poppins songs stuck merrily in your head (and you might even have an urge to dig out your copy of the movie to watch once more).