“mary poppins returns” movie review

I have to admit I didn’t think it was necessary to make another Mary Poppins movie since the original was practically perfect in every way.

After seeing Mary Poppins Returns, I still kind of feel like that. If anything, it stops at “super,” never quite reaching “-califragilisticexpialidocious” status.

Emily Blunt IS a modern Mary Poppins, though, and it’s impossible to imagine anyone else taking on Julie Andrews’ iconic role and making it her own, the way Blunt does.

It’s also impossible for anyone who has loved the original to not feel a little weepy when that little figure is seen in the sky for the first time in years, holding her umbrella in one hand and her magic carpet bag in the other, ready to change the lives of the next generation of Banks children forever.

In this sequel, Jane (Emily Mortimer) and Michael (Ben Whishaw) have grown up. Jane is a labor organizer who has never married, and Michael is a grieving widower with three children, about to lose their family home.

The story feels generic and not overly interesting, and it’s up to poor Mary, as always, to add a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down. For the most part, she does — thanks to Blunt — but by the end, the whole thing is forgettable.

While the songs from Mary Poppins feel as fresh today as they did half a century ago, the new ones are pleasant enough in the moment but, as I write this, I can’t really remember them. The filmmakers do a good job of subtly throwing in snippets of the old tunes so you subconsciously think about flying a kite up to the highest height and feeding the birds tuppence a bag, and you get all emotional about the beloved movie you remember rather than the one you’re actually watching.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who I adore, is, in theory, the right actor to play the Bert-ish character, Jack but, in practice, is just too Lin-Manuel Miranda. As he danced and sang and rapped — with a British accent, mind you — I couldn’t help thinking of him giving himself a pep talk and saying, “I am not throwing away my shot.”

I’ll be curious to see how today’s kids react to Mary Poppins Returns and whether it will touch them in the way the original touched their parents and grandparents. I don’t really think this one stands well on its own but I guess if it introduces a new generation to Mary Poppins, it will have served a purpose.