Based on the New York Times article “I Never Wrote for Children” by P.L. Travers, I would assume that she would be extremely displeased with the Disney adaptation of Mary Poppins. While Travers insisted that she didn’t have children in mind with the creation of Mary Poppins, it is pretty clear that the Disney version of Mary Poppins was created for children.
In the novel by P.L. Travers, the whole story was predicated on the fact that the parents were too busy/absent to take care of the children… that’s where Mary Poppins stepped in. The whole story somewhat correlated with Travers’ life herself, because her parents were absent in her and her siblings’ lives; however, in this adaptation of Mary Poppins, the relationship between the parents, namely the father, and the children formed the conflict in the film. This takes away from the whole idea of Travers’ family being represented in the story, which I would assume to be grounds for disapproval from Travers herself.
Also, although Poppins was the main protagonist in the novel, it seems as though Bert takes the main role in the film. While Poppins is extremely reluctant, Bert is the one who encourages Poppins to use her magic and take the children on an adventure. When Poppins up and leaves her Uncle Albert when he’s crying on the floor, Bert is there to take care of him (well at least he tried). When Poppins is on her day off (which so coincidentally happens to be on the day that Mr. Banks takes the children to the bank), Bert is there to take care of the children and calm them down when they’re panicking. He’s there along with his companions on the rooftop to provide entertainment to the children. While Mary Poppins does no explaining to Mr. Banks, Bert is there to talk sense into him over the fact that he has neglected his children. Bert is the real hero in this story… I’m not sure whether this has anything to do with the gender roles of the time?
I understand that the whole “magic” idea may have been appealing to Disney to transform it into a children’s film, but Poppins herself is also portrayed in a different light. While she does seem extremely self-interested and does have a sort of powerful sentiment to her (everyone just listens to her no questions asked), she matches the Disney portrayal of rosy cheeks and an extremely fun personality. In the book, I received a sort of a negative vibe from her and didn’t necessarily like her as a person (although she worked wonders in the lives of the children), but from the film, she only radiated positive vibes. This was probably because of Julie Andrews, but it was no mistake on Disney’s part to cast her for this role. Also consistent with the Disney formula was the immense amount of song throughout the film, which also added to the fact that the film was meant for children. The film also did a decent job of following the storyline for the first half of the film (with the exception of the two baby twins), but then veered off towards the end to capture the happily ever after, which again is consistent with the formula.
One aspect of the film that was slightly inconsistent with the Disney formula was the color (with the exception of the short animation scene and Mary Poppins). Maybe this was due to the rudimentary technological advances of the time from the film perspective, but the whole movie was sort of dull in a sense. London itself is portrayed as extremely run down. Black is a very common color throughout the streets (and in the chimney scene with the soot). London seems like a terrible place to live and an even worse place to raise children.
Another thing that was interesting to note was the relationship between Mr. Banks and Mrs. Banks. Mrs. Banks, I am sorry to say, to me represents the typical blonde stereotype of not knowing anything and having zero common sense. While she does advocate for Women’s suffrage she is honestly doing an abysmal job at it and has basically no say of anything that goes on in the household. Mr. Banks, on the other hand, is extremely occupied at work and full steam ahead in making money for the family but is not doing a great job of parenting the children. At the end of the film, we see a change of heart for Mr. Banks, but nothing really different arises in Mrs. Banks… which may also be typical of the gender roles of the date.
The movie by itself was entertaining, and I would have loved it as a child. However, taking a broader look at Travers’ life and how Disney remodels movies, although this film would have made Disney money, it did Travers absolutely no justice with her character.
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