Disney’s Saving Mr Banks, Review; Now in Theaters

A fellow blogger, Susannah from Creative Mama on a Dime, recently attended a pre-screening of Disney’s newest movie, Saving Mr Banks.  Below is her review. Make sure to check out the movie over the holiday break.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you love Mary Poppins then you must make time to see Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks this holiday season.

Set in the 60’s, the film tells the story of how Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) spent 20 years trying to convince children’s author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) to allow him to make a film version of her much beloved book, Mary Poppins.  When book sales dwindle and money becomes tight she finally concedes to an exploratory meeting.

Set in her ways and staunch in her desire to keep true to the book, Travers has many stipulations; the first of which is that Mary Poppins cannot be a musical, another, that it cannot be animated.  As we now know, Walt Disney was just as staunch in his vision and the result was Disney magic that is just as powerful 50 years later.

Both Hanks and Thompson are strong in their roles offering both serious moments and comedic breaks.  Collin Farrell is brilliant as Travers Goff, P.L. Travers’ father in flashback scenes.  He captures your heart and you root for him – flaws and all.  Newcomer Annie Rose Buckley plays the young P.L. Travers and pairs beautifully with Farrell.
The biggest surprise for me came from Jason Schwartzman. Cast as composer Richard A. Sherman, one half of the musical duo the Sherman Brothers, his performance blew me away. His voice was beautiful, his piano playing magical and his understated performance brought so much light and depth to the film. It is the music that emotionally ties a Mary Poppins fan to this movie and Schwartzman did it justice.

As you watch the movie you can’t help but sing along with the familiar tunes.  The audience laughed out loud at the right times and I even saw a few tears being wiped away. Saving Mr. Banks is a beautiful movie that is destined to be a favourite.