• About Me
  • Writer’s Corner

Elizabeth Fais

~ Where awesome begins…

Elizabeth Fais

Tag Archives: Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins gets a spoonful of Google Translate!

22 Saturday Jul 2017

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Humor, Movies, Music

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

A Spoonful of Sugar, Brian Hull, Chim Chim Cheree, Elizabeth Fais, Feed the Birds, Google Translate, Humor, Jolly Holiday, Malinda Kathleen Reese, Mary Poppins, Musicals, Step in Time, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Studios

The Walt Disney classic film, Mary Poppins, has been translated into 20 languages. Now Google Translate makes for 21. Don’t get me wrong. Google Translate is an amazing tool! But the translation algorithms have somehow managed to develop a language all their own, that no one else quite understands.

Most everyone can recognize at least one of the Mary Poppins songs in the following medley. Many know the words by heart. But even if you’re not an MP aficionado, you’ll pick up on the oh-so unique (!) Google Translate interpretation of the lyrics.

Mary Poppins and Bert in Jolly Holiday

Compare the original lyrics to the songs (in the banner above the window) with the Google Translate version (in subtitles below), and have a jolly good time watching the brilliant video clip. In the words of Google Translate, “Oh, good night is blowing up!”

Sing it again Google Translate … or maybe not


The Story Behind Mary Poppins ~ “Saving Mr. Banks”

25 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Disney, Disneyland, Movies, Walt Disney

≈ 13 Comments

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

Mary Poppins book coverA 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,Mary Poppins movie poster 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 Tom Hanks as Walt Disneybecame 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.”

Emma Thompson as P.L. TraverseI 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.


34.052234 -118.243685

The Book that Rocked Your World

18 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Reading, SCBWI, Story

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Charlotte's Web, Elizabeth Fais, Emma Walton Hamilton, Favorite Books, It Takes Two, Julie Andrews, Julie Andrews Collection, Mandy, Mary Poppins, NY13SCBWI, SCBWI, SCBWI Winter Conference 2013, The House at Pooh Corner, The Little Gray Men

Young girl reading bookMagic happens at writers’ conferences… So it was no surprise that the air was sparkling with it at the “Practically Perfect” NY13SCBWI Winter Conference. Seriously. How could it not, with Julie Andrews (a.k.a. Mary Poppins) and her amazingly talented daughter Emma Walton Hamilton as keynote speakers?

Julie Andrews has been writing wonderful books for children for forty years–on top of launching the Julie Andrews Collection–and has collaborated with her daughter on 27 titles. To read the SCBWI blog on their presentation, go here: “It Takes Two”. You won’t want to miss it. It’s awesome!

What I wanted to talk about today came from a question asked of Julie Andrews after the presentation…

What book influenced you the most growing up?

A simple enough question … on the surface. But when I peeled back the layers of Open book with sparkles and light swirling outtime and re-experienced the feeling that one book gave me, hooking me on reading for the rest of your life…

Four words: It rocked my world.

That book opened a doorway to magic, imagination, and adventure, and I could go there any time I just by opening the pages. Pretty powerful stuff.

For Julie Andrews, that book was “The Little Gray Men“. She loves that story so much, that she brought it back into print in the Julie Andrews Collection. For the person asking the question, it was Julie Andrews’ first book, “Mandy“.

The House at Pooh CornerFor me it was “The House at Pooh Corner“. I was in the third grade, and the silliness of the story and clever misspelled words, like “rox” and “Wol” won me over instantly. And all the endearing characters were my new BFFs.

My fourth grade teacher read “Charlotte’s Web” to our class, and I fell in love with Wilbur and Charlotte. I’d never really cared much for pigs until then, and I’d been terrified of anything spidery. One story changed all that.

There have been many books since… But “The House at Pooh Corner” will always be my first; the book that was the key to a world of wonder.

How about YOU…

What book rocked your world?

Don’t be shy. You’re among friends here.

And don’t be afraid to tell us about more than one treasured story that changed your life!

Dancing Penguins ~ Jolly Holiday Style

22 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Animation, Dancing, Funny Videos, Tap Dancing

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Dancing Penguins, Dick Van Dyke, Happy Dance, Jolly Holiday, Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins, Walt Disney

Because Fridays are always better with a Happy Dance!

Or … maybe … because my previous post on Animated Storytelling is the perfect excuse set up for posting a dance sequence that ALWAYS makes me laugh ... The dancing penguins sequence from Walt Disney’s “Mary Poppins”!

I especially love the penguin who toboggans off-screen, and then – try as he might – can never get back in sync with the group. I think that’s because I frequently feel like I’ve gone barreling off the map and am forever out of step with everyone else!

What movie always makes you laugh, and why?

Inquiring minds want to know!


Walt Disney’s “Mary Poppins” ~ Jolly Holiday

Calendar

January 2021
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« May    

Enter your email address to have new posts sent directly to your inbox.

Join 232 other followers

It's really me!

  • Elizabeth Fais

Life is Tweet

Follow @elizabethfais

Recent Posts

  • MG Review ~ HOW I BECAME A SPY
  • The “Creative High” is real!
  • MG Review: Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo
  • Weird things I wonder about: WHY butt pockets?!!
  • MG Review: FRONT DESK by Kelly Yang
  • MG Review: WISH by Barbara O’connor
  • Television IS writing research!

Past Posts

Officially SCBWI


Member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators

Reading Fun

Advice for Writers

I Write for Apples

Author Photos


Categories

Adventure Amazing but true! Animals Animation Blake Snyder Book Reviews Books Cats Character Dancing Disneyland Elizabeth Fais Fiction Fun Facts Funny Videos Giveaway Giving Back Holiday Humor Inspiration Middle Grade Movies Music Mystery Nonfiction Paranormal Reading Romance SCBWI Shakespeare Story Supernatural Thriller Winner! Writing YA YAppiest Young Adult Zombies

Keeping It Real

wordpress analytics

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel