Cynthia Haines

I wish I could give it a half thumbs up. There were definitely good moments in the movie. The special effects were also great. The singing parts were sweet but for the most part lacked that special something that makes them memorable. The tunes were not catchy. There were parts that were very reminiscent of the original Mary Poppins for us older people and I actually liked the story line. However Mary Poppins seemed to have aged backwards looking younger than the original. I found her acting also to be missing the depth of a bit more mature actress. I don't mind Mary Poppins not aging as that fits well for her but going backwards in age doesn't really work. Also I dont understand why the writers couldn't have fit at least 1 or 2 of the songs from the original movie in. Supercalafragilistiexpialadoshis would have been a good one. I could see the dad and/or his sister recalling it and singing it at some point during the movie. This would have helped tie the 2 movies together better. It was about halfway through the movie before I could connect with the characters at all. It was nearly the end of the movie before I could connect with the dad. However, the guy who turned off and on the lights was easy to connect with right away. I thought the dad's sister and the kids fit their roles perfectly as did all the supporting actors. The Dad and Mary Poppins just seemed to be saying their lines without really becoming the characters until close to the end. So all in all I give it a hesitant thumbs up. It was good but could have been better. It really took too much time to get its act together. I really think at least one of the old songs towards the beginning would have helped and a bit more catchy relatable tunes throughout.