Today I half-watched Mary Poppins as I took care of my little one and quilted a little bit. You know, the classic with the classy Julie Andrews and charming Dick Van Dyke. I have fond memories of the film from my childhood.
1. THE OWNER OF THE FIDELITY FIDUCIARY BANK (the old man that hobbles around and nearly topples over a jillion times during the bank song) was listed as being played by "Navckid Keyd." But when the credits rolled, that name got un-scrambled-up after a few seconds and revealed that this character is played by none other than Dick Van Dyke, who also plays Bert! Gah! I feel like I have to watch it all over again now that I know.
2. Who the heck is Uncle Albert, and why does he compulsively laugh (or cry)? Whose uncle is he? And why are Bert ant Mary responsible for helping him calm down??
3. Also, building off the last question, why does Mary Poppins condemn his laughter so much, and say to Bert, "you're just as bad as he is?" I was very confused by her actions in this movie and the extremes of them. If she's trying to encourage play and positivity (and ultimately help the Banks family form healthy, involved relationships) why does she jump from horse races in chalk drawings to her serious tone and condemning of frivolity?
4. What is Mary's connection to the woman that feeds the birds, and why is she so important to her (enough that Mary would sing a lullaby about her to Michael and Jane?). I realize that the idea of buying bread crumbs was a way to teach charity, towards the woman and the birds, but there's so much feeling in the song I can't help but wonder if there's more to it.
5. In "Saving Mr. Banks," a film that details the backstory to the book and the movie of Mary Poppins, mainly talks about the difficulties of the author (and of Jane and Michael) in loving a neglectful father and wanting him to change. But as you watch the movie, it's very plain to see that the mother is equally absent from the children's lives. She leaves for women's rights rallies, even when her children don't have a babysitter. She pawns them off on Bert--a man she's never before met and who just walked her children home from a backstreet in the city-- in a flighty, desperate way. Why is this mother with confused priorities forgotten in the dialogue about mending family relationships?
6. Mary Poppins (or rather, her script writers) invented the phrase "spit spot", which means something along the lines of "hurry up", or "come on."
7. What is Bert's real job? It seems like he's a jack of all trades, convenient to the needs of the story... he makes chalk drawings for them to hop into, sweeps chimneys which gives him an excuse to run into the children in the inner city, and sells kites so that everyone can be flying a kite for the ending scene.
That's it for now, but now I'm curious... what about Mary Poppins intrigues you or ignites your curiosity? What do you notice about the film now that you're grown that you didn't notice as a child?
But for some reason, so many elements to the movie totally skipped my memory or flew over my head as a kidlet. So today I share some of the things that confused me, surprised me, and/or blew my mind.
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1. THE OWNER OF THE FIDELITY FIDUCIARY BANK (the old man that hobbles around and nearly topples over a jillion times during the bank song) was listed as being played by "Navckid Keyd." But when the credits rolled, that name got un-scrambled-up after a few seconds and revealed that this character is played by none other than Dick Van Dyke, who also plays Bert! Gah! I feel like I have to watch it all over again now that I know.
2. Who the heck is Uncle Albert, and why does he compulsively laugh (or cry)? Whose uncle is he? And why are Bert ant Mary responsible for helping him calm down??
3. Also, building off the last question, why does Mary Poppins condemn his laughter so much, and say to Bert, "you're just as bad as he is?" I was very confused by her actions in this movie and the extremes of them. If she's trying to encourage play and positivity (and ultimately help the Banks family form healthy, involved relationships) why does she jump from horse races in chalk drawings to her serious tone and condemning of frivolity?
4. What is Mary's connection to the woman that feeds the birds, and why is she so important to her (enough that Mary would sing a lullaby about her to Michael and Jane?). I realize that the idea of buying bread crumbs was a way to teach charity, towards the woman and the birds, but there's so much feeling in the song I can't help but wonder if there's more to it.
5. In "Saving Mr. Banks," a film that details the backstory to the book and the movie of Mary Poppins, mainly talks about the difficulties of the author (and of Jane and Michael) in loving a neglectful father and wanting him to change. But as you watch the movie, it's very plain to see that the mother is equally absent from the children's lives. She leaves for women's rights rallies, even when her children don't have a babysitter. She pawns them off on Bert--a man she's never before met and who just walked her children home from a backstreet in the city-- in a flighty, desperate way. Why is this mother with confused priorities forgotten in the dialogue about mending family relationships?
6. Mary Poppins (or rather, her script writers) invented the phrase "spit spot", which means something along the lines of "hurry up", or "come on."
7. What is Bert's real job? It seems like he's a jack of all trades, convenient to the needs of the story... he makes chalk drawings for them to hop into, sweeps chimneys which gives him an excuse to run into the children in the inner city, and sells kites so that everyone can be flying a kite for the ending scene.
That's it for now, but now I'm curious... what about Mary Poppins intrigues you or ignites your curiosity? What do you notice about the film now that you're grown that you didn't notice as a child?
So . . . Books! I haven't read them yet, but, apparently, Mary Poppins is actually slightly vain (practically perfect in every way, yes?) and actually didn't want to feed the birds. Those are the differences that I've been informed of. That might help . . .
ReplyDeleteDefinitely helps, I'm realizing that reading the books will probably help me a lot in understanding her haha.
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