So… I ended up getting the music from the film stuck in my head. It was inevitable, of course, but it does speak to the memorability of the film. Overall, I found the Disney adaptation of Mary Poppins arguably more engaging than the book, with the catchy tunes and character development more impactful in comparison. However, the Disney film adaptation of Mary Poppins altered the thematic focus from the original— although the film still commentated on the relations between adults and children, it specifically emphasized the importance of understanding and self-reflection in familial relationships, delivering a happy ending at the end as expected from a Disney film.
The movie centered a lot more on the interactions between the children and the parents rather than the lack of parenting present in the book. For example, while the father was still absent from the children’s lives, he was more responsible and his whole character was shown to be punctual and controlling, which gave more context in why he was so distanced from his children and the people around him. It seemed likely to me that Disney was attempting to recreate the atmosphere of family relations in the 1960s to generate a more relatable setting for viewers. With these parents and children tensions, conflicts of interest would definitely arise as evident through the arguments between the kids in the film and their father. However, Mary Poppins’s arrival changed the whole vibe of the house, bringing about a level of joy and carefreeness that pleased the kids and, ultimately, all the adults including Mr. Banks. The film even added a whole new “adventure” to the story that created a central conflict that the book lacked with its choppy chapters of short stories. In this new “adventure,” the children visited their father’s workplace, the bank. After the drama of this visit and losing his job, the dad amazingly reformed his character and realized how important his children were to him opposed to his work. Unsurprisingly, this was all due to Mary Poppins (and Bert, who played a more prominent, fatherly role in the film) and her spirit and songs. I honestly rolled my eyes when Mr. Banks got his job back at the end because of how predictable it was. Disney simplified the conflicts between adults and children and delivered a happy ending as expected, sharing to the audience that families can be happier if people were to act more empathetically and considerate of each other and didn’t take things too seriously.
Beyond altering Mr. Bank’s character, Mrs. Banks character was more involved with society unlike her idleness in the book. Disney incorporated aspects of real life by characterizing Mrs. Banks as a women’s suffragist who participated in the rights movement. Once again, the Disney version can be seen as adapting stories to the present day and age, making the story more approachable and relevant for a diverse, modern-day audience. However, for someone who was insistent on women's rights, Mrs. Banks did not actively demonstrate the part, as Mr. Banks gave a "head of the household" vibe while Mrs. Banks had near no say in the decision-making of the family, possibly further representing the familial/gender relations of the time in a more traditional, and sexist, manner.
A BIG problem I had with the film was the blackface involved, not only shaming color of skin, but also wealth. Bert’s face was covered with what was supposed to be soot, but the connotation of it being associated with the poor working class and the fact that Michael looked at Bert and literally said the word “filthy” is REALLY revolting. The fear Jane and Michael expressed in the dilapidated area of the city offered a general sense of disgust with industrialization and the less fortunate and those who weren’t living comfortable white, upper-middle class lives. It was upsetting to me that this film was released in 1964 yet still contained these forms of not-so-subtle racism and wealth commentary.
I would say that the film was a more cohesive story with relatable characters in comparison to the book. The long musical numbers in some parts of the film became a bit of a snooze, but the central plot line sealed with a happily-ever-after contributed to a heart-warming story about family and how sweetness can make even the most bitter things bearable (a reference to “a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down” if you couldn’t tell).
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