Sunday 23 December 2018

THE GRANDMA GOES TO THE CINEMA: 'MARY POPPINS'

Mary Poppins Returns
Today, The Grandma has received the visit of Tonyi Tamaki and Claire Fontaine and they have decided to go to the cinema to watch the new sequel of Mary Poppins. The Grandma loves this character. She remembers one of her wonderful families, an unforgettable one that Tonyi Tamaki knows very well.

Before going to the cinema, The Grandma has studied a new lesson of her
Elementary Language Practice manual (Grammar 51).

More information: Articles 1

Mary Poppins is a 1964 American musical fantasy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney, with songs written and composed by the Sherman Brothers. The screenplay is by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, based on P. L. Travers's book series Mary Poppins.

The film, which combines live-action and animation, stars Julie Andrews in her feature film debut as Mary Poppins, who visits a dysfunctional family in London and employs her unique brand of lifestyle to improve the family's dynamic. Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, and Glynis Johns are featured in supporting roles. The film was shot entirely at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California using painted London background scenes.

Mary Poppins was released on August 27, 1964, to critical acclaim. It received a total of 13 Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture -a record for any other film released by Walt Disney Studios- and won five; Best Actress for Andrews, Best Film Editing, Best Original Music Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song for Chim Chim Cher-ee.

More information: Bustle

In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Mary Poppins is considered Walt Disney's crowning live-action achievement, and is the only film that earned a Best Picture nomination in his lifetime.

In Edwardian London, 1910, Bert entertains a crowd as a one-man band when he senses a change in the wind. Afterwards, he directly addresses the audience, and gives them a tour of Cherry Tree Lane, stopping outside the Banks family's home. George Banks returns home to learn from his wife, Winifred, that Katie Nanna has left their service after Jane and Michael ran away again.

Mary Poppins
They are returned shortly after by Constable Jones, who reveals the children were chasing a lost kite. The children ask their father to help build a better kite, but he dismisses them. Taking it upon himself to hire a new nanny, Mr. Banks advertises for a stern, no-nonsense nanny.

Instead, Jane and Michael present their own advertisement for a kinder, sweeter nanny. Mr. Banks rips up the letter, and throws the scraps in the fireplace, but the remains of the advertisement magically float up, and out into the air.

The next day, a number of elderly, sour-faced nannies wait outside the Banks' home, but a strong gust of wind blows them away, and Jane and Michael witness a young nanny descending from the sky using her umbrella. Presenting herself to Mr. Banks, Mary Poppins calmly produces the children's restored advertisement, and agrees with its requests, but promises the astonished banker she will be firm with his children.

As Mr. Banks puzzles over the advertisement's return, Mary Poppins hires herself, and convinces him it was originally his idea. She meets the children, then helps them tidy their nursery through song, before heading out for a walk in the park.

Outside, they meet Bert, working as a screever; Mary Poppins uses her magic to transport the group into one of his drawings. While the children ride on a carousel, Mary Poppins and Bert go on a leisurely stroll. Mary Poppins later enchants the carousel horses, and participates in a horse race, which she wins. While being asked to describe her victory, Mary Poppins announces the nonsense word Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. However, the outing is ruined when a thunderstorm dissolves Bert's drawings, returning the group to London.

On another outing, the four meet Uncle Albert, who has floated up in the air due to his uncontrollable laughter; they join him for a tea party on the ceiling, telling jokes. 

More information: The Guardian

Mr. Banks becomes annoyed by the household's cheery atmosphere, and threatens to fire Mary Poppins. Instead, Mary Poppins inverts his attempt by convincing him to take the children to the bank for a day. Mr. Banks takes Jane and Michael to the bank, where they meet Mr. Dawes Sr, and his son. Mr. Dawes aggressively attempts to have Michael invest his tuppence in the bank, snatching it from him. Michael demands it back, causing other customers to misinterpret, and all demand their own money back, causing a bank run.

Jane and Michael flee the bank, getting lost in the East End until they run into Bert, now working as a chimney sweep, who escorts them home. The three and Mary Poppins venture onto the rooftops, where they have a song-and-dance number with other chimney sweeps, which spills out into the Banks' home.

Mr. Banks returns, and receives a phone call from his employers. He speaks with Bert, who tells him he should spend more time with his children before they grow up. Jane and Michael give their father Michael's tuppence in the hope to make amends.

Mr. Banks walks through London to the bank, where he is given a humiliating cashiering, and is dismissed. Looking to the tuppence for words, he blurts out Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!, tells one of Uncle Albert's jokes, and happily heads home. Dawes mulls over the joke, but finally gets it, and floats up into the air, laughing. 

Mary Poppins
The next day, the wind changes, meaning Mary Poppins must leave. A happier Mr. Banks is found at home, having fixed his children's kite, and takes the family out to fly it.

In the park, the Bankses meet Mr. Dawes Jr, who reveals his father died laughing from the joke, and re-employs Mr. Banks as a junior partner. With her work done, Mary Poppins flies away, with Bert bidding her farewell, telling her not to stay away too long.

More information: Vogue

Mary Poppins Returns is a 2018 American musical fantasy film directed by Rob Marshall, with a screenplay written by David Magee and a story by Magee, Marshall, and John DeLuca. Based on the book series of the same name by P. L. Travers, this sequel to 1964's Mary Poppins stars Emily Blunt as the eponymous character with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Dick Van Dyke, Angela Lansbury, Colin Firth, and Meryl Streep in supporting roles. Set in 1930s London, three decades after the events of the original film, it sees Mary Poppins, the former nanny of Jane and Michael Banks, returning after a family tragedy.

Walt Disney Pictures announced the film in September 2015. Marshall was hired later that month, and Blunt and Miranda were cast in February 2016. Principal photography lasted from February to July 2017, and took place at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England. Mary Poppins Returns held its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on November 29, 2018, and was released in the United States on December 19, 2018, making it one of the longest gaps between film sequels in Disney history at 54 years.

The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Blunt's performance, the musical score and numbers, visuals, production values, and sense of nostalgia, although some critics found it derivative of the first film. It was chosen by both the National Board of Review and American Film Institute as one of the top ten films of 2018 and received numerous award nominations, including four at the 76th Golden Globe Awards, including for Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy, nine at the 24th Critics' Choice Awards and a SAG Award nomination for Blunt at the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The Grandma doesn't want to explain the plot of this sequel. It's better for you to go to the cinema, if you are interested in it and discover it by yourself.

More information: Cosmopolitan


In every job that must be done, 
there is an element of fun.

Mary Poppins

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