Abandoning all sorts of logical sense and not imposing limits on the imagination, here is the right spirit with which to watch the film-musical “Mary Poppins” (1964) by Robert Stevenson if you are already an adult.
I remember watching this film once, as a little girl, on a videotape at a cousin’s house, since in my house – listen, there was no VCR and VHS recorder and the TV was rarely watched. Yet I survived and grew up without trauma despite not having endured all the Walt Disney films like my peers.
True, Disney fairy tales are quite stereotypical and, for my taste, there are too many princesses in pink. When I was little, an elegant dress on me would immediately get dirty and no bows hairstyle would last more than a minute.
I confess that now, now an adult, however, I do not disdain to watch some of these Disney cartoons or films to understand what I missed in childhood.
One of these and precisely Mary Poppins , of which I discovered some curious information concerning him a short time ago. The very famous London super-nanny was born from the pen of the English writer Pamela Lyndon Travers, of Australian origin, who had created the character of Mary Poppins to give a little fun to herself and her little sisters, thus alleviating the tense climate in which they lived due to the mother’s health problems.
Pamela Lyndon Travers, whose real name was Helen Lyndon Goff, was born in Australia in 1899, has lived her entire life in London and has been a writer, actress and scholar of Eastern religions.
That of Mary Poppins is a real saga that spans the twentieth century and consists of numerous novels: Mary Poppins (1934), Mary Poppins returns (1935), Mary Poppins opens the door (1943), Mary Poppins in the park (1952) , Mary Poppins from A to Z (1962), Mary Poppins in the kitchen (1975), Mary Poppins in via dei Ciliegi (1982) and Mary Poppins and the neighbors (1989).
The original Mary Poppins, that of the books, is very different from the best known one in the film and played by actress Julie Andrews. The nanny created by Travers is in fact old, ugly and very strict; despite this she will be able to make herself loved by the children of the Banks house and make a breakthrough in their hearts.
The great producer Walt Disney struggled not a little to be able to buy the rights from the writer, so much so that the film Save Mr. Banks (2013) by John Lee Hancock was made in relation to this story, in which Tom Hanks plays Disney and Emma Thompson plays Pamela Lyndon Travers.
Compared to the book Mary Poppins, the film omits many episodes and also creates unreleased ones. Surely the most obvious difference is the appearance and character of Mary Poppins, who in the film is beautiful, young, cheerful and nice.
The arrival of Mary Poppins from heaven already heralds her magical gifts and the wind that accompanies her announces that something new is about to happen. And Bert (Dick Van Dyke in the film), a nice all-rounder who roams the streets of London, announces to the viewer that the story that is about to begin involves the family who lives at 17 Viale dei Ciliegi.
The Banks house is at the mercy of confusion as yet another nanny has resigned due to indomitable children, Jane and Michael. The father, the strict banker George Banks, decides to take matters into his own hands and, accused his wife Winifred of not being able to select a competent nanny, sends an advertisement to the Times looking for a rigid and uncompromising babysitter.
The children also write an ad listing the characteristics they would like for the ideal nanny, but Mr. Banks tears up the paper and throws it in the fireplace.
Magically this sheet is recomposed and literally flies into the hands of Mary Poppins who, gliding from the sky with an umbrella and a bag, comes to meet Mr. Banks for an interview.
With a gust of wind all the aspiring nannies lined up outside the door are swept away and Mary Poppins, with a clever speech turns the situation around with Mr. Banks and decides that she will do a week of probation before accepting the job.
It goes without saying that the two brothers instantly adore Mary Poppins, while her father finds her too lenient.
The new nanny conquers the children by making them live fantastic adventures in the streets of a smoky and Victorian London, thanks also to the help of his friend Bert who becomes, from time to time, a street artist, painter and chimney sweep. To the sound of music (the soundtrack of the film won the Oscar in 1965) and ballets now on the roofs of the houses, now in the fantastic landscapes inside Bert’s paintings, the two brothers discover a lively and colorful world, very much different from the gray and austere one in which the father makes them live.
Mr. Bank, disappointed with Mary Poppins’ educational methods, lets herself be persuaded by the woman to take her children with her to the bank where he works to show them the kind of behavior he thinks is correct. However, the man’s experiment turns out to be a total failure: not only will his children flee, but he will also be fired.
But, of course, we are in a Walt Disney fairytale and the ending can only be happy: the return home of Jane and Michael, the repentance of Mr. Banks about his mistakes and a new awareness to the whole family that Mary Poppins and managed to convey.
The wind picks up, we are now at the end of the story and it is time for Mary Poppins to go to another family that needs her help.
An unlikely and fantastic story, made unforgettable by the most famous producer of all time, who was able to make young and old dream.
