tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524743884416328260.post3430738747708033217..comments2024-03-11T22:15:48.675-07:00Comments on ONCE UPON A BLOG: On 'Mary Poppins Returns', the Issues of Being Practically Perfect & Time LordsGypsy Thorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376146830985305127noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524743884416328260.post-9219746002180062422018-03-08T14:47:53.572-08:002018-03-08T14:47:53.572-08:00I don't agree with Disney Mary being perfect. ...I don't agree with Disney Mary being perfect. <br />She clearly is vain: She pays a lot of attention to her appearance and has a big problem with being outshone.<br />That can be seen when her mirror image hits a higher note than her and she is clearly offended by that replying with a quite childish "Cheeky" and in some interactions with Bert which show that she is worried, that Bert will be more popular with the children. In my opinion that fear is the only reason she agrees to take the children to the chalk drawing or joins the tea party on the ceiling.<br />In fact all her charming moments with the exception of the Feed The Birds sequence are a result of Berts meddling. <br />Otherwise she is too obsessed with keeping up appearances, which makes her very similar to Mr Banks, while Bert who is more approachable due too his cheerful demeanor, but in the first half of the movie too silly and fickle can be compared to Mrs Banks (he changes jobs depending on what is most convenient like she is implied to change "hobbies").<br /><br />Feed The Birds is the only moment when Mary Poppins lets her aloof facade down in front of the children (The other two instances Jolly Holiday and the moments before her Fare-Well are not witnessed by them) and also the only moment where she is truly of help to them helping along Janes and especially Michaels character development.<br />But then the children's arc is concluded by Berts talk to them after Chim Chim Cher-ee, when he drops his wacky antics (which may be just as much of a facade as Marys aloofness) and is therefore able to make his own connection with them.<br />And after that (and the Step In Time sequence which shows that he did not completely change his character, but merely showed a new side of himself) he is once more able to share an earnest moment with Mr Banks in A Man Has Dreams, acting as an important contributor to his arc.<br /><br />Without Bert Mary Poppins wouldn't have been able to resolve the conflict within the Banks household, because her obsession with keeping up her "practically perfect" appearance and her fear of making a meaningful connection with the childrens, because she knows she can never stay for long, almost prevented her from not only "Saving Mr. Banks" a plot point introduced by Disney, but from being a good nanny.<br /><br />So if anything I would say Mary Poppins in the Disney movie is even more flawed than in the books, specifically because she attempts to be "practically perfect".Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16990100281865596375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524743884416328260.post-21614498684695523162018-03-07T04:52:45.316-08:002018-03-07T04:52:45.316-08:00Well, she does have a TARDIS carpetbag... I think ...Well, she does have a TARDIS carpetbag... I think I’ve seen that horror movie trailer recently, can’t recall where. I loved Saving Mr Banks. Emma Thompson was a wonderful P.L Travers. And who would have thought Tom Hanks could play Walt Disney? Sue Bursztynskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09362273418897882971noreply@blogger.com