After watching Sound of Music I googled for some more of Julia Andrews movies. Since I had already watched the Princess Diaries I decided to watch the movie which fetched her an academy award. And now I wish I hadn’t.
I liked the main concept of the wonder nanny Mary Poppins popping in into the lives of the Banks family to help the children bond with their parents. But since I had watched Sound of Music just a day earlier I kept comparing the two & Mary Poppins falls short when compared to Fraulein Maria. The jumping into pictures drawn on the streets, the wooden carousel houses galloping away with their riders, the fat man filled with glee may have made a fascinating read in a book but somehow seeing them on screen bored me. All the songs except the “Tuppence” too seemed dull. I loved the dance of the chimney sweeps which was very energetic & nicely done.
Mary Poppins, though a magical creature seemed cold & distant. She didn’t have the warmth one might expect in a nanny. Or maybe that was the whole point since she is so practically perfect? But somehow I liked the chirpy Maria much better than the serious, spit spot 😛 Mary.
Julia Andrews looks beautiful as ever. In some shots I imagined her playing a witch (Bewitched!). Dick Van Dyke was refreshing. So were the Banks family. I failed to understand the whole Mr. Boom thing. Maybe I did not understand this movie. But what little I did I did not much like. A onetime watch for me.
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