Mary Poppins Returns Review

Mary Poppins Returns is a sequel that comes many, many years after the original. Despite the large gap in time, and the completely different cast of actors this works naturally as a sequel. The film is of course a musical and it leans into this aspect heavily. In general, things have changed a lot over the years as we see a very different Banks family. The kids have grown up and while one is out in protests, the other has lost their wife recently. The home they've always owned might be taken, and with two kids to look after the father is having a hard time coping.

Just when everything seems lost, a friendly and familiar face descends into the situation. Emily Blunt is excellent as Mary Poppins bringing a perfect performance that captured the original style while also being somewhat fresh. This is a time piece so it takes place relatively close to the original and you'll see many familiar faces if you've watched the first one. They added some new characters, and by doing so sort of stuffed things a tad. It definitely does have some pacing issues and they could have cut down on songs a tad. While the music was solid, some of the scenes were slightly long.

This was a very lovely film that brought back the spirit of the original in many ways, while also doing something new with the material. With modern technology the magical worlds came alive beautifully. The use of colors was thrilling and this could be such a vibrant, lively showcase when it needed to be. It was also a well developed story bringing an interesting tale, while still having high points throughout.

There was a lot of charm here and it was great to watch the various characters interact throughout. The acting was solid, with the kids performing well. The song choice was fine, could have used less of them however as it did bog things down and make it rather long. I'm not sure any really stood out, I can't recall them as of writing this. Still, I remember enjoying them generally while viewing the film.

The Conclusion

Mary Poppins Returns is a solid musical that acts as a true sequel to the original. It doesn't exactly bring anything too new, really leaning on old elements. That aside, the two leads are excellent during the music segments with Emily Blunt absolutely nailing Mary Poppins in every scene.

She's joined by Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda) who brings joy and excitement to the various core parts of the story. I liked the setup of the narrative as it was sorrowing, while giving this a clear starting point for a key return. They did a lot of things right, but at the same time the pacing was an issue. It was rather long and I felt some of the musical segments could have been shorter or at least not included.

Mary Poppins Returns Review at Theater with Standard Viewing
Screening Provided by Disney

Rating Overall: 7.5