SAVING MR. BANKS
There! That wasn't so hard was it?!
I found this to be a delightfully enjoyable movie! I'm sure it helped that I've always loved the original movie Mary Poppins and have very fond memories of it from my childhood. The picture above depicts Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers, in a scene where Disney gives his guest a tour of Disneyland. I chose this picture from the hundreds of them I found because it captures these 2 characters as they are throughout most of the movie. Disney is almost always smiling and "selling" his brand, and Travers is determined to be a sourpuss almost ALL the time.
Pamela Lyndon Travers is the pen-name of an Australian writer and actress who published a series of books about a magical nanny named Mary Poppins. The first book came out in 1934, and by 1961, when Saving Mr. Banks is set, there had been 4 books in the series. The premise of this movie is that Walt Disney's daughters had loved these books, and he had come to love them as well, and was determined to make the story into a Disney movie. Saving Mr. Banks is the story of how the movie Mary Poppins came to be made.
Here is an interesting photo I found with the real people superimposed over the actors:
P.L. Travers was born in Australia in 1899 and was named Helen Goff. "Travers" was the first name of her father who died when she was a child. She lived until 1996 and spent most of her adult life in England. She was never married, but she did have an adopted son. She also was in an "intense" (and possibly ambiguous) relationship with a woman named Madge Burnand, and they lived together for decades.
These Mary Poppins books are new to me. I don't remember ever knowing about them when I was a child. I also don't ever remember hearing that the Disney movie was based on books. (Here we go again with more holes in Amy's knowledge and memory!) Ms. Travers was also an actress. Here is a photo of her as an actress when she appeared as Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Here is a photo of her(right) with Julie Andrews (left), who played the role of Mary Poppins in the movie, and Walt Disney, taken at the premier of Mary Poppins in 1964.
In Saving Mr. Banks, Mr. Disney has asked for the rights to the Mary Poppins stories, and Ms. Travers has refused to sign the papers. Her lawyer has advised her that she needs to give Disney the movie rights so that she can make some money because she was in need of an income. So, when Disney invites her to California to work with the writers so that she will feel she has some control over the script, she goes - but just for 2 weeks. She dislikes much of what has been written and argues with the writers over very small details. Travers is difficult for everyone to get along with. Everyone at the Disney studio seems to be puzzled by her and frustrated with her, but they all maintain the "Disney Likability" and bend over backwards to do things for her.
As the movie progresses, the story of Travers and Disney is interspersed with the story of her childhood in Australia. Her father tried to be "magical" in his dealings with her. She clearly was his favorite, and he loved to tell her stories and entertain her. However, all his happy story-telling was hiding the fact that he was an alcoholic who had trouble keeping his job as a banker. Hence, the connection with the name "Banks". He ended up dying when she was still quite young. Here is a photo of Colin Farrell who plays the father Travers Goff and Annie Rose Buckley who plays the young Helen "Ginty" Goff.
Saving Mr. Banks shows the process of making Mary Poppins. Along the way we get to hear some of the songs and see some brief scenes from Mary Poppins as well. Travers didn't like the idea of Dick Van Dyke playing Bert the cockney chimney-sweep. Clearly she didn't win that battle! She was also very much against having any animation in the movie. She thought the idea of animated penguins dancing with real people was just ludicrous!
There was one battle that Travers did win with the writers. It involved the portrayal of the character of Mr. Banks in the movie. She wanted people to be left with a good feeling about him, in spite of his minor character flaws, and so the ending was written to accomplish this goal. Hence, they "Saved" Mr. Banks.
This movie was a great pleasure to watch. There's really a lot going on it, and it does give food for thought as well. I highly recommend it to all viewers!
Thanks for tuning in here, and Happy Movie Viewing!
:)Amy
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