Charming story of the rivalry between Walt Disney and Mary Poppins author PL Travers has its moments, but distracting head-hopping may make you dizzy
Rated: Three Stars
by Gabrielle Pantera
“Saving Mr. Banks is about the making of Mary Poppins, not about the filming of Mary Poppins,” says star Tom Hanks who portrays Walt Disney in the film. “It’s about the translation of Mary Poppins from book to screen. It’s about the creative process, of how Travers’ character started on paper first before it became the classic movie.”
“I think that P.L. Travers felt that Disney was making her version of the world somewhat dishonest because she was denying the darkness,” says Emma Thompson, who portrays the prickly author. “Disney, who had experienced enough darkness of his own, wanted to create a world for children that was not dark. The books have a very particular atmosphere and are rather different to the movie, which has Disney’s and the Sherman brothers’ extraordinary, bubbly, champagne-like life force. Americans have a kind of energy and life force that’s very, very different to P.L.’s and to her designedly and forcefully British outlook.”
As the film unfolds we learn that for twenty years Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) has wanted to make the book Mary Poppins into a movie. He’s promised his daughters he’ll do it. One big problem; he doesn’t own the rights to the book. The author, Australian writer P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) is anti-social and dislikes everyone and everything, including Disneyland. The only thing she loves is her book. She wants full final say on the movie and surprisingly, Disney agrees. Travers and Disney battle to make Mary Poppins a great film.
Saving Mr. Banks sprang from the efforts of Australian filmmaker Ian Collie, who made a television documentary about P.L. Travers in 2002 called The Shadow of Mary Poppins. Collie became interested in Travers after reading a book by Valerie Lawson published in Australia in 1999, Out of the Sky She Came: The Life of P.L. Travers. The Mary Poppins author was born in 1899 in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. She moved to London in the 1920s.
After making the documentary, Collie asked Australian television writer Sue Smith to write a screenplay about Travers. It was Smith who came up with the film’s title. Later, Owen brought Kelly Marcel (Terra Nova) to work on the screenplay with the support of BBC Films. Before approaching Disney, Owen shared the script with songwriter Richard Sherman, who had collaborated with Travers 50 years before at Disney.
“This movie is a very honest picture,” says Sherman. “It tells it the way it was. Walt got a couple of songwriters and a story man together to create a film that he knew he could sell to the world. Nobody in the world really knows this story. We’ve always said she was difficult, but this is the first time it’s actually been talked about.”
Saving Mr. Banks is a must-see for Mary Poppins fans, yet it could have been so much more. There are two movies here. The one about P.L. Travers and Disney and another about Travers’ troubled childhood, where her beloved father drinks too much and neglects his family. Even though the flashbacks are hopelessly distracting, Colin Farrell as Travers Goff does a wonderful job portraying the charming father who loves his daughter but loses the battle against his demons. Paul Giamatti plays Travers’ driver Ralph, who comes the closest to becoming her friend.
Thompson is magnificent as Travers. The scene where she comes to her hotel room the first time and finds all the Disney merchandise is priceless. Tom Hanks looks nothing like Walt Disney, but as always Hanks delivers fine acting.
The filmmakers had access to the Disney archives and research library to make this movie. It’s disappointing they didn’t include any of it in the bonus material. During the credits there are a few photos and a little of the audio recorded for Travers during the approval sessions, but not nearly enough.
Bonus features include three deleted scenes which may be watched individually or in a single montage.
Saving Mr Banks, Studio: Disney
Video Resolution: 1080P/AVC Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA, Spanish 5.1 DD, French 5.1 DD
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 2 Hr. 5 Min.
MSRP: $36.99
