Jay Stern

After reading some of the really $hitty reviews posted here, my wife and I felt compelled, COMPELLED I say, to watch it. We just came home and I'm writing this review before I've even removed my jacket. "MARY POPPINS RETURNS" is utterly SPLENDID! It is an absolutely wonderful sequel to the original with performances that are equal to the original, if not greater. No. That is impossible. They are equal --- and we adored it. Emily Blunt is NOT Julie Andrews and she doesn't attempt to be. She is her own person. Similarly, Lin-Manuel Miranda does not emulate Dick Van Dyke, and he doesn't have to either. The story line is poignant, the animation sequences are pure Disney, the dancing and choreography is perfect, the singing and songs had me tapping and humming along. The cinematography made feel like I was there. As Mary Poppins would say, "Practically perfect in every way." What, really, is not to love about this "instant classic?" Two hours and ten minutes sped by too fast!