Elizabeth Reneau, Mary Poppins Disney Film Response

The whimsicality, the magic, the girl meets boy, the songs; these are all themes present in Disney’s take on Mary Poppins in their 1964 film. Disney transformed the story of Mary Poppins written by P.L. Travers and made it their own by the Dinseyification of many characters and scenes throughout the film. There is a reason why before reading the book written by P.L Travers that I believed there was more of a magic, whimsy, and a particular kindness surrounding Mary Poppins which I remembered from my childhood. I am going to decode why the fun Mary Poppins story I remembered watching when I was little was pretty accurate to what Disney portrayed in their 1964 film. I was not just a little eight-year-old girl who thought this film was whimsical because at age nineteen I still felt that same magic.

First, Mary Poppins in the film brings a different vibe to its audience compared to what P.L Travers describes her as. Mary Poppins seems younger in the film and she seems a bit humbler than how she was portrayed in the book. She tends to not be as stern with the kids or sniff her nose at people as she did in the book. Disney portrayed her as a bit more nurturing and kind-hearted than the book. Second, MARY POPPINS SINGS!! The iconic “spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down…” or “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” was integrated into the film of Mary Poppins because they wanted their audience to interact with her story. The book in my opinion seems a bit dry in certain parts or seems so unrealistic it is hard to follow as a member of the audience. Disney helps to solve this translation issue and make Mary Poppins marketable and someone children can sing about.

Next, we’ve got Walt’s prized animation. Animation is a founding principle of Disney and something that brought a certain respect to Walt himself. So, why not add some of that animation into the 1964 film. During the scene with Michael, Jane, and Bert… Mary Poppins uses her special magic and jumps through a drawing in the park. In this drawing they are all brought to a magical land of fine clothes, dancing penguins, and horse races. This scene helps children visualize the creativity Mary Poppins can represent, but also the innovation Disney brings through animation.

Well, we were just speaking about Bert so why don’t I just address the elephant in the room? Does Mary Poppins have a crush on the handsome Mr. Bert? Disney adds little hints along the way in regards to Mary Poppins and Bert with the occasional flirtatious remark or long gaze into each other’s eyes which allow the audience to question what their relationship with each other truly was. Even though there was no “boy gets girl” scene, Disney still loves to portray a male and female dynamic throughout most of their films and movies.

Together, these changes Disney has made to the story of Mary Poppins reminds us that Disney will always bring us more magic than the original story. They will portray things in a lighter way; one with a different type of kindness, whimsy, and intention to draw its audience in and capture the hearts of everyone around them.