Image source: http://collider.com/emma-thompson-tom-hanks-saving-mr-banks-interview/
During my holidays I have watched a few films at the cinema. The most recent being "Saving Mr. Banks".
This film shows the story behind the adaptation of Mary Poppins based on the first four well loved books in the series to the later well loved 1964 film. The author of Mary Poppins Mrs P.L Travers resisted Walt Disney's offers for the film rights as early as 1938, until finally in 1961 she reluctantly decided to supervise his fantastical ideas to see if her treasured stories might work as a film. Travers demanded and received script approval rights.She was originally very hesitant as she didn't want her books to be turned into one of Disney's animated cartoons.
Image Source: http://www.factmonster.com/spot/disney-mary-poppins.html
The film of Mary Poppins was based loosely on the novels that Travers wrote of a desperate family in need of a nanny. Set in London, 1910 the first novel begins when the latest nanny of the Banks family Katie Nanna leaves the household after the family's two children Jane and Michael run off for the fourth time in a week. They are found in a local park by a police constable and brought home. Later on, their father, Mr. Banks writes an advertisement for a strict, no nonsense nanny. An alternative advertisement is written by the children for a fun, kind hearted nanny which is later torn up by their father and thrown into the fireplace... the paper pieces fly up the chimney and out into the London sky. Mary Poppins floats down from the sky with her umbrella and trusty carpet bag the next day after a strong gust of
wind blows away the other nanny candidates. Mary Poppins not only helps to look after and teach the children many valuable lessons in life, such as tidying their bedrooms and caring for each other and the people in the world around them she also helps the family come back together, particularly restoring Mr. Banks' relationship with his children.
This was something Mrs Travers was very passionate about and this is portrayed in Saving Mr. Banks, as she exasperatedly asks Walt and his employees "You think Mary Poppins has come to save the children? Oh dear." Disney, played by Tom Hanks in Saving Mr. Banks is desperate to please Mrs. Travers and do justice to her story, and eventually realises that there is a deeper reason for her strong attachment to the story. Mrs. Travers, played by Emma Thompson says, "Mary Poppins and the Banks' , they're family to me." Disney comes to find that Mr. Banks is not just a made up character and neither is Mary Poppins, the characters are based on her life and the relationship she had between her father and also her nanny. Mrs. Travers wants to save her father. Flashbacks are shown throughout this film to show Mrs. Travers admiration for her alcoholic father when she was a child despite his flaws and shows his loving heart.
This film spoke to me about the attachment a daughter can have to her father and how much daughters need a strong father, or at least a father figure who is willing to be a positive role model in their lives. Mrs. Travers felt a need to impress and make her father proud when she was a young girl but also long after he has died when she grew up. She doesn't want to let him down again, like she felt she did when she was younger so she tosses and turns at night over the changes made to her story, hoping she is doing the right thing by turning it into a film. Eventually she decides that it is the right thing to do as she is bringing joy not just to a few children but many across the world and she forgives herself for feeling responsible for what happened to her father during her difficult childhood.
As a huge fan of Mary Poppins when I was growing up I really enjoyed watching Saving Mr. Banks, as it gave me more of an insight about the authors views of the story and her opinions about the film adaptation. Admittedly I have watched the film far more often than I have read the books but as an aspiring
writer I could relate to Mrs. Travers struggling to hand over the film rights to Disney as stories are usually based on parts of an author's life. The characters created, whether they are based on family members or not do tend to become like family members to an author if they have worked on them for so many years. They just seem to come to life. This film was engaging and tugs at the emotions strongly towards the end. I give this film an eight out of ten. :)
