Movies

A magic nanny (Julie Andrews) comes to work for a cold banker's unhappy family.When you look over the history of the Disney film, you have some good eras and some bad eras. The Golden Age could be "Snow White" and "Cinderella". The Second Golden Age would be "Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin". But there is a huge gap in there, with very few winners. Many simply have not stood the test of time very well."Mary Poppins" is a bright spot. The animation is nothing terribly special, but it has many memorable scenes and even more memorable songs. As far as the 1960s goes, this may be the highest achievement that Disney had for the entire decade.

MARY POPPINS is one of those films that I grew up watching as a kid and have retained a fondness for in adulthood. I typically dislike Disney productions with their twee sentimentality and kiddie sensibility, but this film is so colourful, so vibrant, so energetic, that you can't help but love it. I'm no fan of Julie Andrews and indifferent to her supposedly warm presence here, but the great Dick Van Dyke is a real scene-stealer and involved in all of my favourite moments in the movie. The songs are fantastic too, and there's never too long to wait before the next. Add in plenty of spectacular and undated special effects and you have the cinematic equivalent of drinking a cup of warm cocoa in front of a roaring fire.