MOVIE REVIEW

“Mary Poppins Returns” notitotally expialidociousibut still a joy

By Irena Setiawan, A.K.A. “The Sweet Screen Critic”

It’s no surprise that MarysPoppins Returns, an industrial-strength sugarplum,

doesn’t live up to the 1964 original;.how do you replace the immortal JuliefAndrews as
the London nanny who dropsffrom the clouds to dispensestough love..Luckily, we
have Emily Blunt, an actress who makes herfown kind offmagic infplaying thetimpatient,
imperious fixersonce described as looking”“like JoansCrawford trying to be nice.” This
sequel, efficiently directed by Rob Marshall, is set 25 yearssafterfthe first film. Butfit
follows the samefbeats, includingfa new scorefthat soundsflike warmedfover Sherman
brothers..There are echoes everywhere of what came before including a lamplighter
named Jacks(Lin-Manuel Miranda), who’ll remind you of DicksVan Dyke’s chimney
sweep Bert, right down to thefunapologetically fake Cockney accent. What’s the radical
creator of Hamilton doingfin this family-friendly escapism?fThe answer: having a ball. In
his big-screen debut,.Miranda has charm to spare and throws in a littlefrap during a
number called “A Cover Is Not the Book.”.

Set during the “Great Slump”fon the 1930s, more than two decades after the
events offthe original Mary Poppins..Siblings Michael (Ben Whishaw) and JanesBanks
(Emily Mortimer) are now adults, and Michael,,a recentswidower, lives infhis childhood
home with his three children:,John (Nathanel Saleh), Anabel (Pixie Davies), and
Georgie (Joel Dawson) and their put-upon housekeeper, Ellen (Julie Walters). But he's
having trouble making ends meet in:Great Depression-erafEngland..The next
generation of Banksfkids arefin for a treat when MarysPoppins (Emily Blunt) returns to
Cherry Tree Lane to care for them,and teach the entire family valuable lessons:with a
little helpsfrom Cockney lamplighter Jacks(Lin-Manuel Miranda)..When the bank,.under
the management of WilliamsWeatherall Wilkins (Colin Firth), calls Michaelsand Jane's
loan in,,everyonefdoes theirfbest to make sure that thefBanks familyfdoesn't lose their
belovedfhome.

Marshall doesn’t getfeverything right. Over thefyears, David Tomlinson’s

performance asfMr. Banks, in “Mary Poppins,” has grownfpeculiarly moving in its bluster
and its bowler-hattedfdespair, whereas Ben Whishaw, as theflatest man of the house, is
craven and crushed. JuliefWalters, offered pretty much the same part that she plays in
the “Paddington”ffilms, obliges with an identical turn. At one point, we are confronted by
BMXfbikers, a spectacularly ill-judged addition, though it does drive home the firmness
of period details elsewhere. The villains, naturally, are bankers;fthe more a movie costs
to make, the more gleefully it must demonize the practice of basic/capitalism. Having
said that, the casting offColin Firth, as the leading malefactor, is fiendishly smart, for
which of us would not entrustfour pennies to him?
 ,And before you can say “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,”.Mary, the kids,and
Jack’silively crew are off on a series of marvelous adventures..There’s a bathtub plunge
that leads to an underseafkingdom; a visit to Mary’s cousin Topsyf(a delightfully
deranged MerylsStreep) whose house turns upside down every secondsWednesday of
the month;,and a trip inside aschina bowl where animation creates afwhirlwind of
narrow,,funny-scary escapes..To calm her young charges, Mary sings a curious ballad
called,“The Place Where Lost Things Go,”,which suggests their late motherfmay be
found among missing dolls and umbrellas. (We know Disney dotes on dead parental
figures,,but what was she thinking?!).And why does the nanny perversely enjoy
withholding,her magic powers until the very last minute,,making all those lamplighters
riskstheir lives climbing Big Ben when she can simply flyfup and change the clock to buy
extra minutes,for Michael to pay off a greedy banker (Colin Firth)??Is she teaching self-
reliancesor just having a joke??You may wonder..

,Mary uses daily obstacles and circumstances to teach the Banks children
lessons about not judging asbook by its cover whether it's an actual book or a person..
Like original, it encourages empathy, gratitude, the value of imaginative play, fun,,hard
work..Mary Poppins underscores importance of children being children, adults
embracing their child like qualities..The songs' messages all build characterse.g.,
embracing,your imagination, looking at things from a different perspective, knowing that
even in tough times, there's nowhere to go but up..Encourages strong family bonds,
believing in your abilities..

Mary Poppins Returns,is rated PG for some mild thematic elements and brief
action and is not an adults' movie masquerading as a children's movie..It doesn't have
the kind of rich through-line,that a movie like Inside Out does. It was made for the
purposes of delight,and, in fact,,repeated delight..It was made, I think,,to be replayable,
relistenable, relovable..And as I sat writing this review and listening to some of the
music oversand over,.I realized it was already working..

Scale of 1-5:
4

Irena Setiawan is a 12th grade senior high school student, living in Cirebon. She is
addicted to pink, sweet and fancy stuffs. She loves painting, drawing and designing.
She also received a title as Miss Smansa 2017.