Saving Mr. Banks

The story of Mary Poppins is arguably one of the most well-known and beloved children's stories of all time. Written by P.L. Travers in 1961, Mary Poppins ultimately had become more than just a character written on paper - she became family to Mrs. Travers. As the success of her books grew, offers of buying the film rights came rushing in. Mr. Walt Disney himself was one of the many suitors looking to adapt the story of Mary Poppins. For 20 years Mr. Disney pursued Mrs. Travers in an effort to fulfill a promise he made to his daughters that he would bring their favorite book to life. For 20 years Mrs. Travers resisted, fearful that her story would be ruined by needless embellishment on the big screen. Finally Mrs. Travers gave in to an offer from Walt Disney to bring her to Walt Disney Studios and oversee the process herself to bring her story to life the way she wanted. What followed was an experience neither of them would ever forget, as Walt Disney tried to closely follow Mrs. Travers' demands, while Mrs. Travers made sure her story was told correctly - ultimately opening up to Disney just how much Mary Poppins means to her.

Saving Mr. Banks is without a doubt one of the sweetest, and best feel-good movies of the year. A lot of films like these tend to make me roll my eyes at how obviously they want the audience to go "awww!" and wipe tears from their eyes. That was nowhere near the case here. It was sweet without being overbearing, charming without being insincere. Emma Thompson was perfectly cast as P.L. Travers, and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney. At times I found myself wishing Mrs. Travers would just give in and let Walt Disney adapt her story, if only for the reason being that I've seen the end result and absolutely loved Disney's interpretation. After I saw Saving Mr. Banks with my family, we looked up Mrs. Travers history to learn more about her and the creation of Mary Poppins. A lot of what we learned was really interesting. Saving Mr. Banks is not on my top 5 favorites of the year, but is most definitely on my top 10 of the year. It is a must-see film that adults and teenagers will enjoy, especially those who remember seeing Disney's take on the classic tale.