“Winds in the East – mist coming in. Like something is brewing – about to begin.” Colin Farrell’s opening lines in Disney’s “Saving Mr. Banks” say it all. I predicted five months ago when the first, and only, trailer for this film was released, that the “Making of Mary Poppins” movie was going to be one of the best films of the year. With two, 2-time Oscar winning stars: Emma Thompson as Poppins author P.L. Travers and Tom Hanks as the legendary Walt Disney (who has never been portrayed like this on screen before), and director John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side”) at the helm, “Saving Mr. Banks” exceeded all my expectations. It’s more than just a “Making of” film. This masterpiece captures the sadness and love, the joy and the pain it took to turn a popular children’s book into one of the most beloved movie musicals of all-time.
“Banks” is designed as two parallel stories. Normally, I’m not fond of films that bounce back-and-forth between the past and the present. But Lee Hancock intertwines these two tales so marvelously, giving them both equal importance, value and emotion, that it’s now impossible to imagine the movie being made any other way.
Growing up in Australia in the early 1900s, young Pamela (played by Annie Rose Buckley) lives with her mother, younger sisters, and father (Farrell), who calls her Ginty and encourages her to dream, use her imagination, and not turn-out like him: a drunk. This serves as the backdrop for the story behind the story of the flying nanny.
The adult Travers, an acclaimed author, has been courted by Walt Disney for twenty years. He promised his daughters that he would make Mary Poppins “fly off the pages of her books”. But Travers has refused to give Disney the rights to her work. Finally, in 1961, in need of money, she decides to travel from London to California for two weeks, to listen to Walt’s latest pitch, read the script, and see if the Disney version of her story is up to her very high standards.
The bitter Travers dislikes everything from the moment she arrives in Los Angeles: the smell of the air, the weather, the fact that no one walks. Her friendly personal driver Ralph (played by Paul Giamatti) tries to lighten the mood but can’t get through to her. And then Travers steps into the Disney studios and lets her opinions loose on every single idea. She doesn’t like musical numbers, Dick Van Dyke as Bert, or the use of animation because she hates Disney’s “silly cartoons”. Not even a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth (“Who gets to go to Disneyland with Walt Disney himself?”) helps. And throughout her visit, Travers is haunted by her painful childhood memories, making her afraid to allow Disney to take her very personal story and turn it into a silly Hollywood musical.
To borrow a line from Julie Andrews herself, who won the ’64 Best Actress Oscar for playing Poppins: “Saving Mr. Banks” is “practically perfect in every way”. I haven’t walked out of a film so touched, so invigorated and so moved in a very long time. There is so much love and care poured, by the heaping spoonful, into every scene.
You’ll learn new details, including original and cut concepts, script changes, and all the behind-the-scenes process, as well as the entire Travers backstory.
Thompson captures Travers quite well. She’s quick-witted and brutally honest, but has such a warm, deep soul and a troubled past that needs to be reconciled. Hanks is fantastic as the no-nonsense “Master of the Mouse”. A scene with him towards the end is effortless. Both actors deserved Oscar nominations, and I would’ve liked to see Thompson win – she’s simply exceptional. Farrell is very good, and Giamatti’s Ralph knows just what to say. That’s thanks to a wonderful original screenplay written by Sue Smith and Kelly Marcel. All of the situations are natural, sentimental, and often quite funny. Bradley Whitford as screenwriter Don DaGradi and Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak (“The Office”) as the Sherman Brothers provide some of the best lines and facial expressions as they agonize through the process.
But as everyone gets a little bit jollier, there are some vocal renditions of classic songs “Chim Chim Cher-ee”, “Spoonful of Sugar”, “Feed the Birds”, “Fidelity Fiduciary Bank”, and “Let’s Go Fly A Kite” (or as Travers points out, in proper English: “Let Us Go and Fly a Kite”). The score of “Saving Mr. Banks” is beautiful, the set design and costumes are excellent, the attention to detail is exquisite (from Walt’s office to Travers’ hotel bedroom), and it brought a tear or two not only to my eyes, but to everyone at the screening I attended. This film was made to be experienced in a movie theater. One of the most famous theaters is the centerpiece for the film’s final showcase scenes.
“Saving Mr. Banks” is rated PG-13 for some language, drinking, and a few smoking cover-ups from Disney. It’s appropriate for teens and up. This is a sweet, heart-tugging movie that’s destined, like the film it inspires, to become a classic. Be sure to stay through the end credits for some of the actual candid conversations of Travers, who specifically requested everything to be recorded. It’s a splendid ending to a film that truly is Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “Saving Mr. Banks” gets an A. It was the best film I saw in 2013.