Mary Poppins, the beloved Disney movie of 1964, which was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and won numerous other awards, has been known for decades. What hasn’t been as well-known, until now, is the story behind the story. In Saving Mr. Banks, Tom Hanks plays Walt Disney, and Emma Thompson is brilliant as P.L. Travers, the contankerous creator of Mary and a real test of patience. How Disney and his people were able to work with her to bring her book to the screen is a testimony to how dedicated they were to this endearing children’s story.
The flashbacks of Pamela Travers’ childhood with her sick father in Australia greatly inform the 1961 storyline of the development of the screenplay for a film Travers really didn’t want to see made. We’re glad she did finally allow it to be made since the film allowed many legions of families to be introduced to her characters.
Sadly, Travers never allowed any more of her Poppins books to be adapted, and thankfully, Saving Mr. Banks doesn’t delve into that aspect and leaves us on a much more happier note, just like Mary Poppins herself would have done.
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