Publisher: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Ages: five and up
Parental
Advisory:
None
Editor's Choice
Among Disney's finest films, and perhaps his crowning cinema achievement, Mary Poppins returns in an entertaining and fully restored and re-mastered 2-Disc 40th Anniversary Edition. It's the ultimate in family entertainment that will appeal to those who fondly recall the film from their youth and to generations of kids to come. And the DVD extras rock.
Of course, Mary Poppins was the film debut of Julie Andrews who portrayed the magical nanny who brings cheer and happiness to children and leaves an important message to grown-ups. Andrews won the Academy Award for Best Actress, 1965 for her portrayal of Poppins and the brilliant film snapped-up Academy Awards for Best Score, Best Song (Chim Chim Cheree), Best Visual Effects and Best Film Editing.
Starting with Andrews, the cast which included the multi-talented Dick Van Dyke as Bert, the carefree chimney sweep, among several occupations; David Tomlinson as the no-nonsense father and banker; and Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber as his two charming, mischievous children, are excellent. The film, which blends live-action with animation, was a technical achievement in its day, and still plays well.
The soundtrack by songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman featured 14 songs, many of which are now classics. In 1965, the film's soundtrack was the #1 album for 14 consecutive weeks and maintained the #1 position longer than "The Sound of Music" and entries that year from the Beatles, Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones. The songs from the film, which include"A Spoonful Of Sugar," Chim Chim Cheree," "Jolly Holiday," "Step In Time," "Feed the Birds," and yes, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," are truly memorable.
The DVD extras are an entertaining goldmine. For those who love the film, there's the "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: The Making of Mary Poppins" 50-minute documentary; a "Movie Magic"-special effects featurette; the movie premiere and trailer and Dick Van Dyke's make-up test for his second role as the elder Mr. Dawes. The intriguing "Deconstruction of a Scene: "Jolly Holiday" & "Step In Time" shows the live-action and animated footage before they are integrated and combines them before your eyes.
"A Magical Musical Reunion" brings together Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and Richard Sherman and there's an interesting "A Musical Journey with Richard Sherman." There's also "Chimpanzoo," a deleted song that was probably best left out of the movie. An entertaining animated short, "The Cat That Looked Like A King," stars Julie Andrews and is based on one of the original Mary Poppins stories. Finally, for the kids, there are sing-alongs and games.
Without resorting to that "Super..." word, we can say that Mary Poppins (40th Anniversary Edition) is practically perfect in every way. It's extraordinary family entertainment.
12/2/04 www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff
