Saving Mr. Banks reveals the inspiration and creative process behind the Disney classic Mary Poppins, in commemoration of its 50-year anniversary.
It's 1960s Los Angeles and author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) finally gives in, albeit bitterly, to Walt Disney's (Tom Hanks) ten-year appeal to produce a movie adaptation of her Mary Poppins books. So we watch how this difficult, uptight, and angry woman meticulously criticize the Disney process of creating the movie.
The film, directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side), simply follows the highly annoying Travers as she torments the jolly people of Disney with her ridiculous rules. You'll grow tiresome of the character. And in between watching her demands, we are presented with flashbacks of Travers's childhood in Australia with her drunken father (Colin Farrell), revealing to us the real people that inspired the characters in Mary Poppins, and the reason for her controlling, impatient nature.
The film has the kind of forced and overt sentimentality to it, and it's boring, only piquing up your interest and delight whenever the Disney team is composing your favorite Mary Poppins songs.
The movie hasn't got much Disney magic going on. You just wanna quit and watch Mary Poppins instead.
Also starring Paul Giamatti and Jason Schwartzman.
2 out of 5 stars
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