robert atherton

I personally loved the original Mary Poppins with Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke and was cynical about the remake or as I should really call it sequel. Boy was I in for a surprise - I adored it. This film is actually truer to the spirit of PL Traver’s books and Emily Blunt’s Mary Poppins is exciting to see. I love Lin Manuel Marandas Jack the lamplighter character, & for Jane and Michael Banks as grown-ups played by Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishall was thoroughly believable and with great sensitivity to the character of the originals. I thought the music was stunning whilst playing homage to the original Sherman brothers score, and the visualisation of the sets, costumes, and animations exceptional. The remainder of the cast were sensational, Angela Lansbury a delight, Meryl Streep great fun, and sheer joy to see Dick van Dyck appear in his role. I loved it and completely reverted back to being a child again (I’m now 57!) I spent the last 10 minutes of the movie shedding tears of pure joy and for the lost innocence of childhood. It’s the best sequel I’ve ever seen. I took my 10 year old granddaughter with me and she loved it as much as I did. Rob Marshall’s production is sheer genius and to me has done something that I thought could never be done. I think it’s a masterpiece!