Musical Guide - Review Of Mary Poppins
In this article we're going to cover one of the most unusual
musicals of our time, the part human, part animated Mary
Poppins.
Mary Poppins. It's probably the one musical responsible for
making Julie Andrews a household name. But Mary Poppins was more
than just that.
The musical movie, made in 1964, was probably the crowning
achievement in Walt Disney's career. It was his first feature to
mix real people with animated characters. At the time, this was
some pretty cool stuff. And Disney made sure that everything for
this movie masterpiece was just right. He hired one of the best
songwriting teams of the time, the Sherman brothers, Robert and
Richard. The score for this movie is still to this day
considered the teams best ever. The movie itself was nominated
for 13 Oscars. It won 5 of those nominations, including Best
Actress, Julie Andrews, Best Musical Score, and Best Song, "Chim
Chim Cher-ee."
But Mary Poppins was more than just great music. It was a purely
delightful story of two children in desperate need of their
father's love. Ultimately it took Mary Poppins to make the
father realize that it wasn't a nanny that the children needed
but their father. As the movie goes on we get to see this man,
who at first is only concerned with the bottom line figures at
his bank, transform into a loving father who takes his children
out to fly a kite. Ultimately, Poppins, who the children had
grown to love almost as a mother, drops out of the picture at
the end realizing that the children belong with their father and
that she would only be in the way. The ultimate sacrifice one
would say.
Musical highlights in this one are numerous. There is of course
the ever popular "Spoonful Of Sugar" which Poppins sings to the
children in order to get them to take their medicine after an
outing in the rain. Then there is the classic
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" which was sung during the
animated horse race that Poppins, Bert the chimney sweeper and
the children attended. And if you want to hear one of the most
beautiful songs ever, and sung by an angelic voice, there is
"Feed The Birds." This is probably the highlight of Andrews'
vocal performances. Aside from that, the story of the old lady
feeding the birds is one that only a soul without a heart
wouldn't cry to. Of course you can't leave out the Oscar winning
tune "Chim Chim Cher-ee" which was sung during Poppins', Bert's
and the children's moonlight walk on top of the buildings of the
city.
The great music just goes on and on. There isn't a bad tune in
this movie. The final tune "Fly A Kite" where the father and
children are finally doing something together as a family is
really what the whole thing is all about. Yes, a lot of this
musical is pure fantasy. But the lessons taught are lessons that
every parent in this world should long remember. Children need
their parents, not a nanny.
Even if she can talk to animated creatures.