Tags
Dancing Penguins, Dick Van Dyke, Elizabeth Fais, Emma Thompson, Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins, Movies, P.L. Traverse, Saving Mr. Banks, Tom Hanks, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Family Museum, Walt Disney Studios, WDFM
The Trailer That Stormed the Twitterverse
A couple of weeks ago, news of the just-released trailer for a new movie about Walt Disney stormed the Twitterverse. That’s how I first heard about “Saving Mr. Banks”, the untold story behind Walt Disney’s acquisition of the rights for “Mary Poppins” — the much-loved children’s book by P.L. Traverse.
P.L. Traverse’s Mary Poppins books were loved by many, well before Walt Disney turned the first book in the series into a major motion picture in 1963.
But the whole world fell in love with Mary Poppins,
when Julie Andrews starred in the leading role opposite Dick Van Dyke. The Sherman Brothers’ musical score had everyone singing the hit songs Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Spoon Full of Sugar, Step in Time, and Feed the Birds, to name a few.
Maybe it’s because so many of us grew up loving this story and its characters (even the dancing penguins!), that the trailer about the untold story behind the personalities that brought this story and film to life sparked a reaction similar “the tweet heard round the world.”
Characters Need To Be Larger Than Life
Anyone who’s seen Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color on TV (or 
became addicted to the reruns), is familiar with Walt Disney, the man: his voice, his mannerisms, and demeanor. So, it would be a hard-sell for any actor to fill those shoes. The same could be said for P.L. Traverse, if we were as familiar with her as we are with “Uncle Walt.”
I admit, that at first I was taken aback by Tom Hanks‘ impersonation of Walt Disney. My internal editor said things like, “Walt Disney didn’t talk like that” and “Walt Disney wasn’t that demonstrative.”
Then I took a step back and realized that P.L. Traverse probably wasn’t as pinched and twitchy as Emma Thompson‘s impersonation either. I finally realized that, much like the characters in the stories we write, the characters in movies have to be larger than life to be interesting.
Along with the characterizations of Walt Disney and P.L. Traverse … I’m sure embellishments were added and (or left out), to make the “story” screen-worthy. I’m OK with that, for the sake of an engaging (based-on a true) “story”. How about you?
A Sneak Peak at “Saving Mr. Banks”
To Learn More About the REAL Walt Disney…
If you are captivated by Walt Disney (the man) and all he accomplished, you should most definitely visit the Walt Disney Family Museum (WDFM) in the San Francisco Presidio. Trust me. It’s not like any museum you’ve ever been to. You will be amazed. You can find out more on my blog post about the WDFM here.
Elizabeth Fais 
Oh, I loved Mary Poppins as a kid. I Love to Laugh was my fave song of the movie. I’m definitely going to go see Saving Mr. Banks. 🙂
Ed Wynn (Uncle Albert) was one of my favorite actors! I laugh EVERY time I watch the I Love to Laugh scene. So wonderful!
I’m super excited for this film, but still quite disappointed with Tom Hanks’ portrayal of Walt Disney!
I think the only person I’d be happy with portraying Disney, is Disney himself. 😉
Yeah, me too! It’d have been cool if they re-used taped footage of Walt and merged it in with Emma Thompson’s portrayal of P.L. Travers, lol!
I didn’t know this was coming. Thanks! I’ll be watching for it. Loved the trailer.
It won’t be out until December, close to Christmas. Which, I understand their timing of the release. The holidays bring hordes of people into theaters. But I’m going to find it hard to wait that long for this movie. I’m glad tyou liked the trailer. Emma Thompson is awesome! 😉
I will definitely see the movie. Love Tom Hanks, love Mary Poppins and the trailer looks great!
Mary Poppins is one of my all-time favorite movies. I have to admit that I don’t know anything about P.L. Traverse, and this movie has made me want to learn more about her.
Wow. This looks like fun. Too bad we have to wait for Christmas to see it. Thanks for letting us know about it in advance.
It does look fun, doesn’t it? I’m super excited about this movie. When December finally gets here, we’ll probably be saying “Where did the time go?” 🙂
I recall going to see the Julie Andrews movie as a kid – NOT on first release, I add! It was about five. Back then, New Zealand cinema audiences had to stand while the national anthem was played ahead of each session, which I confess I remember rather more than anything about the movie… 🙂
Must check out this new movie when it’s released. I find Disney fascinating as a character and Hanks is a fantastic actor.
I first saw Mary Poppins when I was 8, and I have to admit that the character “Mary Poppins” rather scared me. I loved Dick Van Dyke as Burt, the chimney sweep, the children, and “I love to laugh” Uncle Albert, but Mary Poppins herself was a bit terrifying. It wasn’t until I reached my 20’s that I fell head-over-heals in love with the film. The “Jolly Holiday” dancing penguin scene makes me laugh every time I watch it!
Disney was such a visionary. If there’s one person I could have dinner with, dead or alive, I would pick Walt Disney. I think Tom Hanks is a fabulous actor too. I know I’ll walk away loving what he did with the role.