Saving Mr. Banks

Saving Mr. Banks, tells the story of how Walt Disney made the movie Mary Poppins. I wanted to watch this movie because I've always admired Disney's work, and can remember very vividly watching the movie Mary Poppins as a young child, and then sharing the wonderful film with my son years later. The movie, Saving Mr. Banks, is based on truths, or shadows of the truth, so this made it intrinsically interesting to me. I had no idea that Disney struggled for over twenty years to get the rights to create the film. I had no idea who wrote the book, Pamela Travers, or anything about her story. I never read her book, but I certainly love the movie. Now I understand that the book and the movie are actually very different stories, and after reading some more about Mrs. Travers, I understand that the movie Saving Mr. Banks is also very different from reality. I understand why... Disney believes in happy-endings.

The acting was good, Tom Hanks was decent, but not at his best. Emma Thompson was great. The music and supporting cast were excellent, giving it a very authentic flavor to Disney's empire, and the making of the movie. The movie was well-written, nicely paced, and a refreshing break from the intense, drama filled, action-packed, movies of late. If you are looking for high drama or action, this is not your cup of tea.
So, who is Mister Banks? Without spoiling the movie, I can tell you that he is the father in the original Mary Poppins movie and book, and that he is based on a mix of childhood memories of their own fathers – Disney and Travers, mostly Travers. The movie is not about Mary Poppins. It's about the drive and determination that Disney and Travers had to create timeless masterpieces, and how their very different visions melted together to create the classic movie. This is enough of a story to create a decent movie, but had the writers gone a little bit deeper, I believe this could have been a much better film. First of all, we are told almost nothing about Mrs. Travers adult life. All of her memories are based on her childhood. By adding more information about her later life, some of the quirky and unique behaviors of Mrs. Travers would have been better played and more meaningful. Secondly, Mary Poppins does not even appear in the movie until we are almost towards the end. Sadly, I wanted to know more about Mary Poppins – showing I guess, how powerful the original Mary Poppins character really is... I recommend this movie, if you are interested in learning more about Walt Disney and the reflection of reality in the Mary Poppins story.