Ondelyn Banks

The critical reviews that have panned this film’s being “a (What?! Not AN?) homage” to the first Poppins film seem to have forgotten, as adults do, the age group we set it up for. When the first film came out for boomers, we were 5 to 9 years old. And that’s what this one is for too. It’s raucous with color, antigravity, some wistful moments, and some lightly scary ones. It’s FOR KIDS. Its new cast delivers beautifully; Emily Blunt is indeed practically perfect in every way, and Lin-Miranda is excellent. No problems with the kids being glib or obnoxious, the side characters are all delightful old pros. My only beef is with the music. The tunes are a bit crammed with wording, that’s my only complaint—they can’t easily be remembered or sung, and that’s too bad, because they diligently tried to harken back to the first movie. Simplicity is hard to hang onto when Disney is looking for a recreation, rather than a new original. An admirable attempt, and some truly fun and sweet moments. I think small kids would like it more than older, but it’s got a lot going for it. The reviewers coming from a jaded history of criticism of Disney’s entire catalog should be stepped around and marched past, step in time.