MARY POPPINS RETURNS [4K UHD]

As a lifelong fan of the original 1964 masterpiece, I found this movie very hard to watch. While the performances are all exceptional and the details are lovely, the melodies bear almost no resemblance to the score and songs from the first movie and therefore strike no nostalgic tones. It doesn’t feel like a sequel or a continuation of the story at all, which was very disappointing to me personally. It would have been quite welcome to hear such melodies as Feed the Birds, Sister Suffragette, Jolly Holiday, Spoonful of Sugar and Chim Chim Cheree reworked into new songs. Dick Van Dyke pulls out the movie’s only superior reference to the original film; however, he fails to complete the line and it is disappointing. It might have been downright delightful to learn that some in world now populated by leeries instead of chimney sweeps still “love to laugh.” And, I haven’t even mentioned the lack of significant historical context that made the original film such an important movie at the time In was released in that it addressed gender roles and women’s suffrage. Well, at least there’s a kite (and some other props), even if that unforgettable song is altogether absent as well.

The Disney magic of cinematic legend is in fine shape in the new “Mary Poppins Returns,” even if the imagination of the fabled Disney Imagineers is a little rusty. The stars of the picture during publicity appearances have been going out of their ways to stress that the movie is not a remake of the fabled Academy Award-winning 1964 classic “Mary Poppins,” but a sequel. And that might very well be.But viewers who mistake the picture for a remake can be forgiven, because “Mary Poppins Returns” pushes its narrative through the self-same template of the original, right down to the placement of the musical numbers. Only the haunting and heartbreaking place occupied in the original picture by actress Jane Darwell and “Feed the Birds” is left vacant. In fact, about the biggest difference between “Mary Poppins” and “Mary Poppins Returns” is that this time around the magical nanny has three children in her charge instead of two.Set some thirty years after the events of the original picture, in “Mary Poppins Returns” Jane and Michael Banks are now adults who barely remember their childhood adventures with the nanny who literally drifted down from the clouds. Jane has taken after her suffragette mother and is now a political activist fighting for the rights of oppressed workers. And Michael, a recent widower unable to support his three young children as an artist, has recently taken a part-time job as a teller in the Fidelity Fiduciary Bank where his late father once toiled as a senior partner.Already disenfranchised by the death of their mother, Michael’s three adorable children are soon additionally troubled to learn that the bank is about to foreclose on their family home. Michael’s absentmindedly forgotten to make the three most recent payments to Fidelity Fiduciary after mortgaging the property to meet the family’s expenses. The family will be evicted if they’re unable to pay off the loan in full by Big Ben’s final toll of midnight, three days hence.To breathe some desperately-needed order into this chaotic situation, Mary Poppins returns, literally descending from the clouds to return the children’s kite during a stormy day. And with the help of her old chum Jack the Lamplighter, a former apprentice to the original film’s Bert the Chimney Sweep, the magical nanny endeavors to teach the Banks children the value of organized imagination...and remind the grown-up Michael and Jane of the love and wonder often left behind when children become adults.The biggest danger of producing a new movie founded upon the magic of a beloved motion picture classic is that the new movie will inevitably and automatically be compared with the original, a risk that Disney of all studios knows well. Since...well, since forever, the studio’s been occasionally pilfering their own vaults to wring new memories--and money--from old classics.Fortunately--thankfully--”Mary Poppins Returns” is strong enough and contains sufficient movie magic to not only withstand comparisons with the 1964 musical classic, but also to stand on its own feet. The viewer can’t help comparing the two pictures, but the filmmakers seem to expect the comparisons, if not welcome them...and even challenge them. And you know what? They win the challenge.There’s been some minor complaining about actress Emily Blunt’s characterization in the title role being...well, a little nasty, snotty with a capital B. Detractors suggest Blunt invests the beloved nanny with unnecessary amounts of sternness, conceit, arrogance, and a chilly exterior. Translation: Emily Blunt is not Julie Andrews.But that’s just the price the actress pays for her characterization being accurate to Travers’ storybooks. Julie Andrews could sing through a smile even when she was weeping tears of heartbreak, an attribute which worked well for the 1964 picture. But Blunt, who has a surprisingly strong singing voice and has been referred to by co-star Lin-Manuel Miranda as “human sunshine,” is primarily known, and lauded, as a dramatic actress. Occasional eye-rolling aside, Blunt brings all of her artistic qualities to bear in the picture, and more than holds her own in the choreography department also.Blunt is an experienced-enough performer to invest the role of Mary Poppins with wit, charm, charisma...and during her performance of the song “The Cover is Not the Book” even an unexpected breath of sexuality Andrews could not manage even during her brief nude scene in the 1981 comedy “S.O.B.” Had Andrews not appeared in the role first, and won an Academy Award for her performance, Blunt’s interpretation might be considered definitive, and receive unqualified praise. The highest accolade: P. L. Travers would be delighted with Blunt’s characterization. And that says a lot.No slouch in the human sunshine department himself, Lin-Manuel Miranda shares many of Emily Blunt’s artistic qualities as Jack, the Lamplighter. Already an entertainment legend through his historic success as the author, composer, and star of Broadway’s “Hamilton,” Miranda with his warm smile, kind eyes, and open, guileless countenance transforms the Lamplighter into a wonderful companion for the children...and also eventually for the single Jane Banks. Miranda shines in his every scene, but wisely--and generously--dims his star power a little when sharing the stage with Blunt or the children.Also making appearances in “Mary Poppins Returns” are Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer as the adult Michael and Jane Banks, Julie Walters as Michael’s housekeeper, and Colin Firth as Wilkins, the president of the Fidelity Bank and villain of the piece. That’s Royal Shakespeare Company veteran and frequent film villain David Warner as Admiral Boom next door.Dick Van Dyke appears in a charming cameo, at age 93 almost miraculously nimble as Mr. Dawes, the bank’s chairman. Meryl Streep and Angela Lansbury also contribute brief musical performances, Streep in more or less the spot occupied in the original picture by the great comic actor Ed Wynn. Karen Dotrice, the original picture’s Jane Banks, can be seen in one brief shot near the beginning of the picture, as an stylishly-dressed woman in front of the Banks home. And that’s the voice of Chris O’Dowd as the animated Shamus the Coachman.Directed by Rob Marshall, an old hand with movie adaptations of Broadway musicals after his experience with the Academy Award-winning “Chicago” from 2002, as well as “Nine” in 2009 and “Into the Woods” in 2014, “Mary Poppins” was adapted from Travers’ books by David McGee, with new songs by composer Marc Shaiman and lyricist Scott Whitman in the tradition of the 1964 original. Academy Award-winning “Mary Poppins” co-composer Richard Sherman was a music consultant on the new film.If some of the sets seems familiar, the original background artwork created for “Mary Poppins” by legendary matte artist Peter Ellenshaw was resurrected for the picture.The highly-recommended “Mary Poppins Returns” is rated PG for some mild thematic elements and brief action.

Not particularly interesting. No memorable songs. No engaging characters. Mediocre performances. For the most part, it's incredibly boring and I was asking myself repeatedly "when will this thing ever end." The best moments in the film were provided by cameo appearances by Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury. Those performances were well worth watching. Unfortunately, those were fleeting moments in a rather boring, flat and entirely too long film. Taken as a whole it seems a little dark for most children and far too tedious for adults.

I believe the only way one could truly enjoy this film was if they had never seen the original Mary Poppins. The acting was all good and the vocals as well but the score and the lyrics were very lacking. Very little creativity and many of the songs just seemed to bunch as many words into the song as they could instead of giving the songs cleverness and meaning. Not one of the songs will go down in musical history like so many of the cherished melodies from Marg Poppins. I did enjoy the “Trip A Little Light” number and the choreography in it was fun. But that fun element seemed to be missing from everything else (until Dick VanDyke shows up and that is at the end). It was all dark and dreary, no joy or beauty that is produced by the truly creative. Meryl Streep’s charcter was utterly pointless. I did enjoy the throw back cartooning that brought you back to a 1960’s style of Disney characters. I watched the movie expecting it to be awful so I wasn’t disappointed but there were a few positive notes so I give it a one star. If you and your children want to be entertained and leave singing a song then you should rent the original story.

I'm SUPER EXCITED about owning this AMAZING film; and I am SUPER EXCITED about adding it to my bluray collection. Saw it 3 times in theaters. It's a big, splashy and lavishly mounted movie musical that holds up beautifully to the 1964 original. What REALLY makes this a special cinematic experience is that it is an ORIGINAL movie musical with a completely ORIGINAL musical score!! Excellent acting/singing by all the principals, sublime choreography, exemplary cinematography; and a breathtaking 2-D animated sequence all pulled together by Rob Marshall-(The new grand protector of the American movie musical). By the way, I'm 55 yrs old, and a HUGE fan of the 1964 original. When I watch the sequel, I'm 7 yrs old again; and the adult me is BEYOND PROUD to have witnessed this incredible work of cinematic work of art.

This movie is a must see! The music is fantastic and as a fan of the original I was a bit worried that it would not be good. It isn’t good. It’s GREAT! The story is well written and just fun for the whole family!!

A terrible movie. A poor reproduction of the original. Harshness an agenda were obvious. This movie is just terrible.

UK buyers please note though the Amazon listing does state the "DVD" is region 1 (USA etc.). There is no DVD so that part of the listing is irrelevant in this case!Onto the practicalities: I have just played the 4K disk in my standard UK 4K Blu-ray player (and tested the Blu-ray).I can confirm that the 4K version WILL play in a UK player and the Blu-ray WILL play in the same UK player.However, the digital code will not 'redeem' in the UK! This is very disappointing, given that is why I paid the extra for this ultimate edition with code.The film is great in my view, but don't buy this particular version if you want a download code that works in the UK!I hope this helps someone avoid spending the extra £s for this specific version.

Total waste of money. Way too much singing, and the songs are overly complicated and too fast for kids to understand. Even I could not follow the songs. Not memorable at all....There goes 50% of your movie devoted to terrible songs.Emily Blunt just doesn't make a plausible Mary Poppins. Again, I come back to the songs.... they just all sound so alike and one-dimensional... so that's not Emily's fault..... I don't think any actor could have salvaged those songs. I guess she did the best she could.The ending is just stupid, for lack of a better word. Just when I thought the movie was over, they drag it on for longer by having everyone SING again while flying in the sky. The kids don't even say goodbye to Poppins.They could have made the main plot a lot more fun and interesting by having the children get more involved in getting the bank manager to admit his guilt..... lots of fun ways to teach a lesson..... but alas, no such luck. Just boring they way they got their house back.I can't say enough negatives about the movie. It always comes back to the songs..... I would not want to hear a single song again.... ever.... they are that bad.This movie will collect dust in the back of my movie pile. "A spoon full of sugar" is it NOT.

Adults after seeing this should quickly book an appointment with their dentist. Sticky sweet goop pours from every cell. And there so few redeeming features. Marshall made one solid musical, "Chicago" which has been followed by a string of badly misconceived musicals, "Nine" being the best example of how to take a truly special stage musical and botch it completely from casting to every production value he turned his club fisted hand to.Please keep Marshall away from "Dear Evan HunterThe colours here are too cutesy-poo, so that the costumes are all Mackie-run-amock, unless one is a Barbie doll fan in senility. The songs are not memorable, or even serviceable, and too many seem just variations of a monotonous mind at work work. Watson survives, most of the time in spite of the script that is determined to make Mary Poppins into a woman who should be arrested for child-neglect, and Angela Lansbury is a breath of air near the end. But Meryll Streep (Spelling due to a desire not to damage the reputation of the fine actress impersonated here.) in a bit that should even now be edited out, is a monstrous waste of talent and a Marshall-monstrosity bit that is absolutely cringe-worthy.If one is under eight, there may be joy to be found in this film, but my heart bleeds for the parents of such children when, to preserve their happiness, they, too, must pretend to like it. This is not a sequel to the fabulous "Mary Poppins" but a poor parody of it.

I was thrilled with this movie, I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised to see how well she portrayed Mary Poppins. Songs were great. You will be tapping your toes along with this great addition. A must have for any musical movie buff.

This was a sequel the longest ever awaited I am thinking in the movies by 54 years. The computer generated aspects are superior as we are now more advanced. but the movie lacks the crisp quality of the original and yes, that illustrious musical voice (now silenced) of Julie Andrews. Despite the lesser musicality of the original, this was an entertaining and engaging sequel sufficient to allow a rating of 5 stars. By all accounts, Disney produced a lovely sequel as best as they could indeed. Emily Blunt is admirable.