Tam Alexander

I grew up as a fan of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. I had all the albums. I loved the music videos. As an adult, when I would see news clips of him with children, I thought it was...strange. I understand Michael did not have a normal childhood, but as a child sexual abuse survivor, I remember when the allegations came out and he settled out of court, it seemed so damning. If you're innocent, why would you do that? The marriage to Lisa came out of nowhere, that weird kiss at the awards show, then he was with Debbie, and she was pregnant...it was so confusing. But then more allegations surfaced. Look: I was kept silent by my abuser with "if you tell anyone, YOU will go to jail." By the time I could speak about it, the statute of limitations had run out. Meanwhile, my assailant publicly participated in events to fight child abuse, and became a deacon at his church. The only people who believed me were other victims I found later. But I see that in this movie, that these boys were kept quiet and Michael's philanthropy and celebrity protected him. In my gut, I always believed he did something -- I didn't want to believe, but I could see it. Anyone who has been through that knows what it's like, and we're used to being called liars. I believe the victims. I also believe Michael was really messed up, and instead of getting the help he needed he saw himself as Peter Pan: the boy who never grew up and who seduced other children to join him in Neverland so he wouldn't be alone. It is heartbreaking on so many levels.

Wonderful follow-up to the original, with music by the surviving Sherman brother, so we have strains from the first film's score threaded throughout. Blunt played a practically perfect Poppins, and Lin-Manuel brought his best game as Jack. There are parallels to the original, and Disney chose to go with the same animation style. Knowing the true story of PL Travers and what inspired her to write the books, it was not lost on me that the story of the single-parent household and the grief felt by the surviving family members was something of an homage to Travers (and a long time coming, too). There was some predictability to it, but it's a movie for CHILDREN, so it's not too complicated. But it's delightful, and I walked out of the theater wanting to do a little tripping of the light fantastic, myself.