Mary Poppins

written by PL Travers

directed by Robert Stevenson

starring Julie Andrews & Dick Van Dyke

There are some films that every family should take the time to watch together and this is most definitely one of the first on the list. Surely there isn’t anyone under 30 who can’t whistle or hum at least one of the songs?!

It’s been quite a few years since I last saw Mary Poppins, but spotting it in the TV listings for New Year’s day, I told Simone, Lydia and Elijah that we had a date in front of the television. It turned out that Simone had somehow missed experiencing the wonders of Mary Poppins, growing up in the culture-rich Netherlands (!), so there was novelty value all round. And Mary Poppins didn’t disappoint.

Lydia sat absolutely spell-bound throughout, only occasionally breaking her concentrated gaze and quiet attention to ask a question about a character or event, or to express her delight at one of the song and dance routines.

I have to confess that I just couldn’t help myself and had to join in singing “Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”. I’m sure that I wasn’t the only one amongst my peers.

The wonderful thing about Mary Poppins as a film is that it is absolutely wholesome and without anything dodgy all the way through. There’s the odd reference to something magical here and there but without any great hocus-pocus or sinister insinuation. Even the moral of the story speaks to the importance of parents spending time with and properly appreciating their children.

Dick Van Dyke’s attempt at a cockney accent sounds no better as the year’s go by and there are moments when it becomes positively cringe-worthy. But that doesn’t matter in a film like this. Julie Andrews is superb, conveying a concerned and committed discipline beautiful balanced by a mesmerising sense of fun as the nanny, Mary Poppins. Watching the film now, I noticed for the first time that she really was quite a pretty attractive young woman all those years ago.

So there’s little left to say by way of a conclusion to this review. This is a timeless film, brilliantly made (consider the quality of the animations mixed with film given it was 1964!) which entertains for a full 140 minutes! If you haven’t seen Mary Poppins, why not? You’ve missed a formative childhood experience. And if you’re going to watch it, whether for the first or tenth time, watch and enjoy it with some children.